The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids program has performed for over 250,000 audience members since the program’s inception in 2007. Our students have performed at major venues across the United States, including the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, DiMenna Center (NYC), Verizon Center and in countless other venues in Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, California, and New York.

OrchKids inspires its over 1,900 students to explore all genres of music. The orchestral, choral, drumming, composition, chamber music, and mixed genre ensembles have performed with varied artists, from Roger Waters, Renee Fleming, and Matisyahu, to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, beat boxer Shodekeh, Pink Martini, and Hilary Hahn.

In fulfilling its foremost mission of social change, the OrchKids have performed at TEDx Baltimore and Diversity Conferences. As a laboratory for other socially-minded music programs, OrchKids has hosted over 100 El Sistema-inspired programs, countless universities, several major American orchestras, and various city and state governments.

OrchKids has been recognized for its accomplishments on CBS’s 60 Minutes, the New York Times, PBS, and the Washington Post. In the fall of 2013, student Asia Palmer and Artistic Director Daniel Trahey traveled to the White House to represent the program and receive the 2013 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from First Lady Michelle Obama.

The ensembles listed below can be presented in various combinations to create a more varied performance and longer program. Please use the performance request form below to request more information about our offerings and for questions about pricing.

Performance Bucket Band
The Performance Bucket Band is sure to have your audience on its feet and dancing with rhythms and grooves of their own creation, which they play skillfully on black buckets with gold drumsticks.

Performance Choir
Performance Choir harnesses the power of each child’s voice to present a moving performance of a wide range of repertoire, from Handel to Pharell’s “Happy.”

Chamber Music Groups
Choose a string quartet, woodwind trio, or brass ensemble to class up your party or conference with the likes of Mozart, Bach, or Handel.

Harp Ensemble
Six harpists will entertain your crowd with angelic renditions of popular hits like “La Cucaracha” and new compositions such as the “OrchKids Harp Anthem.”

Passionate advocates of social change through music education, OrchKids administrative staff have presented at a multitude of events both internationally and throughout the US.

Organizations and conferences at which the administration has lectured include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, League of American Symphony Orchestras, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Princeton University, Yale University, New England Conservatory, Maryland Institute College of Art, Mozarteum, American Visionary Art Museum, Urban Music Education Conference, the South Banke Center, and TEDx Baltimore.

Past speaking topics include “Reconceptualizing the Urban Landscape,” “Integrating Community Engagement into Higher Education Curriculum,” and “Integrating Creative Composition into the Classroom.”

As skillful presenters, OrchKids staff can tailor their lectures and topics in order to best connect with a variety of audiences.

Please contact our staff using the performance request form below in order to discuss possibilities for future engagements.