The National Philharmonic (NatPhil) at Strathmore is an orchestra with over fifty professional musicians based at the Music Center at Strathmore in

North Bethesda, Maryland North Bethesda is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located just north-west of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. It had a population of 50,094 as of the 2020 United States ce ...

. Founded in the mid-1980s as the Montgomery Chamber Orchestra by principal conductor Piotr Gajewski, it became the National Philharmonic in 2003 after merging with the Masterworks Chorus. Originally based in the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

, it became the Music Center at Strathmore's ensemble-in-residence when that facility opened in 2005. In 2021, the orchestra began performing at the newly-opened Capital One Hall in

Tysons, Virginia Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, spanning from the corner of Virginia State Route 123, SR 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and Virginia State Route 7, SR 7 (Leesburg Pike ...

. The largest and most active orchestra in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

, it gives over thirty performances a year often accompanied by world-renowned guest artists like Brian Ganz,

Sarah Chang Sarah Chang (; born Young Joo Chang; December 10, 1980) is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled ...

, and

Zuill Bailey James Zuill Bailey, better known as Zuill Bailey (born April 24, 1972) is an American Grammy Award-winning cello soloist, chamber musician, and artistic director. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the Juillia ...

, or by leading musicians with the elite orchestras in the area, like

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

Nurit Bar-Joseph of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

. The orchestra provides hands-on music instruction for all second-graders in Montgomery County public schools continuing through middle school and high school with opportunities to perform in youth ensembles and master classes. Additionally, concert admission was free to all youths. The orchestra threatened to close in July 2019, citing increased costs and reduced funding from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, but reorganization and a fundraising effort that brought in $500,000 enabled it to continue operating.

References

External links

* Symphony orchestras Musical groups established in 2003 Orchestras based in Maryland Montgomery County, Maryland Wikipedia requested audio of orchestras 2003 establishments in Maryland {{US-orchestra-stub