Annapolis Symphony Orchestra

08/27/2026

https://www.wmar2news.com/local/art-installation-at-annapolis-city-dock-ties-local-artists-to-symphonys-65th-season-theme
🎨🎻 Sight. Sound. And a construction fence we saw a little differently.

Thank you to WMAR-2 News for spending time with us at City Dock today as we unveiled An Exhibition of Sight & Sound — 180 feet of public art connecting the extraordinary work of local artists with the music of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra’s 65th Season, In Nature’s Realm.

This project began with questions we think about often: How can music become part of the life of our community, inside and outside the concert hall? How can we ensure our art is relevant and accessible? How can we partner with other nonprofits and businesses to grow the arts in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.

Sometimes the answer is a symphony performance. Sometimes it’s a photograph of the Chesapeake, a remarkable portrait, or - in this case - a walk along Ego Alley in Downtown Annapolis.

Today belonged to the artists who generously shared their work with all of us.
Darin McFadden
Jay Fleming
Emily Carter
Jeff Huntington
Alison Harbaugh
Arden Haley
Charles T Lawrance
Joanna Bigelow
Pam Ehrenfield
Jennifer Casey Photography
Marissa S. Evangelista
Gia Tonic
Anita Hagan
Glory Paredes
Alison Chase Radcliffe

Take a look at WMAR’s story — and then go take a walk to City Dock.

The exhibit is free and open to everyone.



ArtFarm Annapolis
Sugar Farm Productions
The City of Annapolis

A temporary outdoor exhibit on construction fencing at City Dock highlights local artists and connects to the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra's nature-themed 65th season.

08/24/2026

We're looking forward to Pops in the Park at Quiet Waters Park and Pops in the Park at Down Park coming up Labor Day weekend. Our Artistic Director José-Luis Novo envisioned a commemoration of America250 that celebrates not simply our past, but the diversity, creativity, and resilience that continue to shape our nation.

The program that goes well beyond a patriotic celebration. It tells a broader American story—one that acknowledges the nation's ideals, its diversity, its contradictions, and its remarkable capacity for reinvention.

Rather than presenting a simple chronology, this concert traces different voices that together define America: Indigenous, African American, immigrant, Latin American, urban, popular, and classical.

The music program includes works from Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Gabriela Lena Frank, and many more. Check out the program here: https://annapolissymphony.org/events

Plan to join us: Saturday, September 5th at 11 AM at Downs Park and Sunday, September 6th at 5 PM at Quiet Waters Park. Maryland Poet Laureate Lady Brion will perform at both concerts. Annapolis Symphony Academy and The Talent Machine Company will perform at 5 PM at the Quiet Waters Park. Their performance will include a dance to Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk - everyone can join!

08/21/2026

Over the past several months, we partnered with ArtFarm Annapolis/AND Creative, Minuteman Press of Annapolis and The City of Annapolis to create and install a series of large-scale photographic panels at City Dock in downtown Annapolis.

Each panel is 5 feet tall and 10 feet wide. The exhibit stretches approximately 180 feet along Ego Alley.

Images by Jay Fleming, Photographer, Emily Carter (Nature as Art Photography), Alison Harbaugh (Sugar Farm Productions), Pam Ehrenfield, Jennifer Casey Photography and Arden Haley capture familiar extraordinary views of the Chesapeake region.

Visual Artists Joanna Bigelow, Charles Lawrence, Marissa S. Evangelista, Gia Tonic, Anita Hagan, Glory Paredes, Alison Chase Radcliffe (ACR), and Jeff Huntington contributed portrait pieces for the exhibit.

We hope you will go walk the exhibit, pause to enjoy the natural world around you, enjoy a snack or a meal at a Downtown Annapolis business, and think about all the music we will enjoy together in Season 65!

A celebration of the free exhibit will be held on August 26th at 1 PM. Members of the press and the public are invited to attend.

🤳 Take a selfie while you're there, and share it with .

Learn more: https://annapolissymphony.org/news/pr-819/

📸 J. Jaques, courtesy City of Annapolis

08/04/2026

Congratulations to A*O Artistic Director and Conductor José-Luis Novo for his work this summer with Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra of the United States. Maestro Novo prepared the ensemble ahead of the arrival of conductor Karina Canellakis and pianist Kirill Gerstein, who will bring the NYO-USA to perform a tour of Europe. Read more here: https://symphony.org/national-youth-orchestra-of-the-united-states-nyo-usa-embarks-on-european-tour/

07/31/2026

Tickets to performances in our 2026-27 season are on sale starting tomorrow, August 1.

💭 Some helpful tips to remember:

➡️ Tickets start at $25 - there's a seat waiting for you!
➡️ Signature Series subscribers can purchase tickets through their portal and use their 20% off benefit for additional tickets to Signature Series and Holiday Pops concerts. Bring a friend!
➡️ FlexPass subscribers get 20% off tickets to our Holiday Pops concerts at Maryland Hall and Severna Park High School - we hope it makes sharing the holiday season more affordable and fun!
➡️ All student tickets are $15. Students = elementary to college, faculty, and staff. Please provide proof of attendance when you call the Box Office to purchase these tickets.
➡️ Military, law enforcement, and first responder discounts are available. Please call the Box Office to redeem these discounts.

💻 Visit our website to purchase tickets https://annapolissymphony.org/events/.
☎️Call the Box Office for subscriber discounted tickets, student tickets, or special discounts starting Monday, August 3 at 410-263-0907
📩 Email us for help at [email protected].

07/27/2026

Are you ready for the A*O's 65th season? Tickets for concerts in 2026-27 go on sale August 1 (this coming Saturday). Here's what to look out for:

➡️ 1 Collaboration with Maryland Hall and the -String-Quartet performing Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet alongside A*O principal musicians
➡️ 2 Pops in the Park performances at Quiet Waters and Downs Parks
➡️ 2 Holiday Pops performances, both with vocalist Stephanie Waters (.studio) at Maryland Hall and Severna Park High School
➡️ 2 All New Matinee performances - these Sunday at 3 PM performances are great if you want to enjoy a shorter concert, prefer a Sunday performance in the afternoon, or want to experience the music on repeat.
➡️ 2 performances of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf with Really Inventive Stuff, a bilingual production in Spanish. We'll have 4 School Field Trip concerts and 1 Family concert that include the collaboration.
➡️ 2 Chamber Orchestra concerts
➡️ 5 Guest Artists of international renown, like Julian Schwarz, Vadim Repin, Esther Yoo - 에스더 유 and Stewart Goodyear
➡️ 10 Signature Series performances over 5 weekends, at Maryland Hall and Strathmore

⏰ ⏰ Don’t miss the music! Tickets are sure to sell fast, so get yours starting August 1. To reserve your favorite seat all season, and save on tickets, consider a subscription. View the options at https://annapolissymphony.org/events-tickets/subscribe/

🗒The A*O does not engage with third party ticket vendors. Tickets should be purchased only through our Box Office or at https://annapolissymphony.org/.

PC: Emily Carter, "In Nature's Realm"
PC: Photo credit for our guest musicians can be found on their websites.

07/25/2026

👏👏 Catherine Shoichet of CNN wrote an exceptional piece that was published today about our concertmaster Netanel Draiblate (Airline Violinist), who is also a United pilot. Check it out, and comment here with one fact you didn't know about Nati before reading the article. So many nuggets! 👼
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/25/travel/united-pilot-violinist-netanel-draiblate-enterprise
We're very proud of Nati, who is not only a highly-respected concertmaster, but also the founder and Director of Annapolis Symphony Academy, a program he grew from scratch to 170 students this year. He is a valued member of our administrative staff team. He's an enthusiastic and caring leader and partner on innumerable projects in the community. And he's a good friend to everyone he meets. Bravo Nati! You're rocking the Airline Violinist gig like no one else. 🤩 🤩

United Airlines First Officer Netanel Draiblate is also concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. He says his careers as a pilot and a violinist share some striking similarities.

07/15/2026

The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra (A*O) announces four new board members to its Board of Trustees, as well as a new Musician Representative from the Player’s Committee.

As Anne Arundel County's oldest and largest performing arts organization, the A*O is a cultural cornerstone of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. The Orchestra enriches lives through exceptional live music, music education, and service to the community.

Serving on the Board of Trustees is one of the highest forms of volunteer leadership within the organization. Trustees provide strategic governance, financial oversight, philanthropic leadership, and community advocacy while working with the Orchestra's professional staff to ensure the A*O continues to fulfill its mission for generations to come.

Joining the Board of Trustees are Andy Bienstock, Karen Bell-Wright, Lisa Hillman, and Siena Scott.

Collectively, they bring diverse leadership experiences, thoughtful perspectives, and a shared commitment to strengthening the Orchestra's connection to the community while helping guide its long-term success.

Musician Representative to the Board

Derek Smith will be the musician representative from the Player’s Committee, a non-voting role on the Board of Trustees. Derek is the Associate Principal Violist and Chair of the Musicians' Players' Committee for the A*O. He holds Master’s degrees in Violin and Viola Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, and performs regularly with the Richmond Symphony, National Philharmonic, and the Washington National Opera Orchestra. He is a faculty member of Annapolis Symphony Academy.

To read the full announcement, which includes a note of gratitude to our outgoing board members and Musician Representative Alexandra (Sasha) Mikhlin, and a listing of current board members, please visit our website at https://annapolissymphony.org/news/board-announcement/

07/08/2026

In her inaugural State of the A*O speech to the Board of Trustees on June 30, Executive Director Erica Bondarev Rapach asks the question, "What does it take to prepare a 64-year-old organization for its next 64 years?"

Looking back on the 2025-26 season, what makes us most proud isn’t any one accomplishment. It’s that we’ve become much more intentional about asking—and answering—this, and many other questions together.

➡️ Please click here to read Erica's State of the A*O. We think you'll be amazed at all we accomplished, and be inspired by the work -- and music -- ahead: https://annapolissymphony.org/news/state-of-the-aso/