Symphony Number One was founded in 2015 by Jordan Randall Smith, Nicholas Bentz, and Sean Meyers, all of whom were graduate and undergraduate students at the Peabody Institute. Symphony Number One is a chamber orchestra devoted to performing works by emerging composers. A non-profit performing arts organization, SNO maintains close relationships with the other independent classical music organizations of Baltimore, and is a part of Maryland's classical arts space. With its focus on contemporary music, SNO can also be classified as a contemporary classical ensemble. The orchestra's president is Dr. Janan Broadbent and Ben Goldberg is SNO's Composer-in-Residence. The orchestra's current concertmaster is Nikita Borisevich. Founder Jordan Randall Smith and co-founder Nicholas Bentz are current members of the collective. The other co-founder was Saxophonist Sean Meyers; Smith, Bentz, and Meyers first met at the Peabody Institute. The three put together the inaugural concert in May 2015 at the Baltimore War Memorial. In 2017, SNO appointed Brian Tracey as Executive Director. SNO was invited to perform at the inaugural Light City festival on April 2, 2016 in Baltimore. In September 2016, Symphony Number One began its second season with compositions by Strauss, Mahler, and Steve Reich. SNO was named a "Category Buster" by Baltimore Magazine in their 2016 "Best of Baltimore" issue; SNO also won runner up for "Best Band" in Baltimore Magazine's Reader's Poll. In addition, SNO was featured in I Care if You Listen's Mixtape #20. Symphony Number One emphasizes inclusionary policies in orchestra membership, audience access, and selection of featured composers. SNO is a two-time recipient of grants by Women's Philharmonic Advocacy for multiple commissions of female composers. SNO is the 2019 winner of The American Prize in Orchestral Performance.
Repertoire
Notable premieres
Symphony Number One’s cornerstone project is the commissioning of new works. SNO has commissioned several works from American and international composers, which include:
Kirsten Broberg: In Search of Imagery
James Lee III: Chamber Symphony: Awakened to Eternal Realities
SNO is a flexible collective of approximately thirty artist-entrepreneurs, including instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, and sound and production designers. The musicians also serve as the executive and operational leadership.
SNO offers small tours concerts called "SNO on the Road." In February 2016, members Sean Meyers and Elizabeth G. Hill used the series to present saxophone and piano recitals in which the piano reduction of the Andrew BossSaxophone Concerto was premiered, their second album–Emergence–was released, and the sheet music for the concerto went on sale. More recently, Symphony Number One performed at TEDxMidAtlantic 2017 in Washington, D.C.
Community outreach
SNO offers several programs to engage with a variety of audiences in Baltimore as well as to work with composers internationally.
Beethoven's Kitchen
In May 2016, Melissa Lander presented SNO's first significant chamber music concert under the umbrella of "Beethoven's Kitchen." The series focuses both on new music and concert experiences and on combining food and drink.
Call for Scores
SNO holds an annual Call for Scores competition, recognizing two winners each year. The winning composers are commissioned to write new works for Symphony Number One. In its third call for scores, Symphony Number One added a number of additional prizes, including the "Maryland Prize," recognizing a Maryland composer's achievements. Howard County native Karena Ingram was the winner.
KALW's ': Radio broadcast featuring SNO's third album, More. Hosted by Danny Clay.
Discography
SNO emphasizes recordings as an integral component of its program. In addition to freely releasing live performances of individual compositions, SNO records albums on its own custom label, SNOtone.
2015: Symphony Number One: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra, feat. Raoul Cho, Jordan Thomas; Gabriel Fauré: Pavane; Mark Fromm: Symphony No. 1, feat. Hanul Park – bassoon.
