Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Participates in Baltimore Running Festival Today, 10/13

For the third consecutive year, musicians, staff, donors and volunteers from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) will participate in the Baltimore Running Festival. Today, October 13, 2012, this team of 160 runners will run as members of BOLT for the BSO, a group dedicated to raising awareness and funding for the Orchestra. Interested supporters or runners should contact Jennifer Barton at 410.783.8122, jbarton@BSOmusic.org or visit BSOmusic.org/bolt.

As an official charity of the Baltimore Running Festival, BOLT gives runners the option of participating in the 5K, half-marathon, marathon or relay, and equips them with personal fundraising web pages to display their progress toward their fundraising goals. In 2011, the team raised $52,000, exceeding their fundraising goal, which contributed to the BSO’s annual fund.

In 2010, BSO Governing Member Cindy Renn and her friends from the orchestra, violinists Ellen Troyer and Ivan Stefanovic, gathered 10 runners to form the first BOLT for the BSO team, which raised $15,000. This year, the BOLT team plans to raise $60,000. Fifteen BSO musicians have stepped up to the challenge, including Concertmaster Jonathan Carney, Associate Concertmaster Madeline Adkins, First Violinist Ellen Pendleton Troyer, Assistant Principal Second Violinist Ivan Stefanovic, Acting Assistant Principal Cellist Bo Li, Cellist Kristin Ostling, Principal Bassist Robert Barney, Bassist Erik Stahl, Principal Oboist Katherine Needleman, Oboist Michael Lisicky, English Horn player Jane Marvine, Assistant Principal Clarinet Christopher Wolfe, Contrabassoonist David P. Coombs, Associate Principal Horn Gabrielle Finck and Horn player Mary Bisson.

The public is invited to support the team at a BOLT for the BSO Happy Hour on Thursday, October 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Mad River Bar and Grille in FederAl Hill. For a $10 contribution at the happy hour, donors will receive a free drink and $1 off all subsequent drinks. Celebrity bartenders’ tips will be donated to BOLT for the BSO. Participants receive a BOLT t-shirt and have the opportunity to meet with other BOLT runners and get an opportunity to run side-by-side with musicians from the Orchestra.

The Grammy Award-winning Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is internationally recognized as having achieved a preeminent place among the world's most important orchestras. Acclaimed for its enduring pursuit of artistic excellence, the BSO has attracted a devoted national and international following while maintaining deep bonds throughout Maryland with innovative education and community outreach initiatives.