GBYOA Touring and Cultural Exchanges

Recognizing the power music has to bring the world's peoples together, cultural exchanges and touring are central to the GBYO Association's mission. The Youth Orchestra is finalizing its plans to travel to Austria and the Czech Republic in June 2007! Watch this page for more details soon.

Part of the GBYO Association's mission involves musical study through cultural exchanges. The orchestra has toured extensively in Canada, Taiwan, Rotterdam, Austria, and throughout the United States, winning numerous awards in major national and international festivals. In June, 2001, the GBYO won acclaim in Japan serving as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. as part of the twentieth anniversary celebrations of the Sister State relationship between the Kanagawa Prefecture and the State of Maryland. The exchange continued when the Star Ensemble Fujisawa traveled to Maryland in June 2002 for activities culminating in a spectacular joint concert!

GBYO Conductor Jason Love and
CCM Director Betty Bertaux with Galaktika

In the spring of 2003, the Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra and Concert Strings participated in “Vivat! St. Petersburg,” a city-wide arts festival commemorating the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, Russia. The orchestra performed at The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall with the Galaktika Youth Chorus from St. Petersburg, as well as the Children’s Chorus of Maryland.

While hosting our Russian colleagues for two weeks (in the midst of the great snow of 2003), we formed many friendships!

Then June 19-28, the GBYO traveled to Estonia and Russia for nine days to continue the cultural exchange! Sixty-five students and twenty adults traveled first to Estonia where the orchestra gave a marvelous concert in the town of Rakvere. Then, while touring St. Petersburg, we re-connected with our friends from Galaktika and gave a thrilling joint concert in Smolny Cathedral.

The GBYOA continues to strnegthen ties between our community and others across the globe by bringing our wonderful young people together.