Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), founded 1916. Originally a branch of the city's municipal government, it was reorganized as a private institution in 1942. Its main home is the 2,443-seat Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (1982, renovated 1997); it also performs at the Music Center at Strathmore (2005) in North Bethesda, Md., a 1,976-seat concert hall and education center. The orchestra's first conductor was Gustav Strube, who led the group from 1917 to 1930. Among the BSO's more recent music directors have been Peter Adler (1959–68), Sergiu Comissiona (1969–84), David Zinman (1985–98), and Yuri Temirkanov (1999–2006). In 2007 the BSO named Marin Alsop as its new music director; she became the first woman to head a major American symphony orchestra.
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