MONTGOMERY PHILHARMONIC

DEEPLY COMMITTED TO OUR COMMUNITY

RECENT EVENTS

We are pleased to announce the 17th Season of the Montgomery Philharmonic. Please mark your calendars to participate with us. This season’s theme is EMBRACE!

In the 2023-24 season, the MP explores how great music embraces society through inclusion, expression, equality, and enthusiastic acceptance while surrounding our community with thoughtfulness and love. We want you to be with us throughout the season as member of the orchestra, a member of our audience, and a supporter of the Montgomery Philharmonic.

October 15, 2023 – Concert 1 (Regular Season), Opening Concert (Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church – Sanctuary), 6:30 PM

This concert EMBRACES a hidden period of time in musical composition where women were composing great works that went unnoticed for almost 100 years.

Symphony in C major (1855) – George Bizet (1838–1875) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STvVanu1fQU

Overture in C (1830–1832) – Fanny Hensel–Mendelssohn (1805–1847) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi0K83ZVQQg

Sinfonia in C Major – Marianna Martines (1744–1812) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP1vlX5j4Qk

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Our Mission

The Montgomery Philharmonic is a community orchestra in Montgomery County, Maryland, serving the greater Washington DC area. We primarily rehearse and perform in Gaithersburg and Rockville, and welcome enthusiastic adult musicians as members.

Dedicated to providing opportunities to enjoy, explore, and create music, the Montgomery Philharmonic promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion by programming a diverse repertoire alongside “standard literature” and constantly striving to find diversity in musicians who add to our orchestral culture.

We also give school-age musicians equity in orchestral playing by hosting orchestra clinics and a summer Youth Leadership and Chamber Music Festival. Additionally, we play a side-by-side concert with students in our local school cluster.

We provide an environment that promotes excellence for musicians who want to play orchestral music for themselves and for the community. Our goal is for our audience to experience classical music from great composers ranging from JS Bach to Joseph Bologne to Florence Price to Anton Webern and everything in between. We come together in the community to share a love of music in an exciting and welcoming environment.

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JOIN THE MONTGOMERY PHILHARMONIC

We are currently welcoming all fully-vaccinated adult musicians capable of playing the standard symphonic literature.

We are especially in need of first violinists and violists, but will consider all volunteers who play an orchestral instrument.

Email to inquire about joining us:

info@montgomeryphilharmonic.org

We rehearse in-person on Mondays at 7 pm at:

Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church
610 S. Frederick Avenue
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20877

We have adopted COVID-19 best practices discovered by leading orchestras around the world. We rehearse masked and distanced with a modified orchestral layout, use aerosol-limiting acoustic shields for wind & brass sections, and limit the total number of musicians present during rehearsals.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Winners of the Bernie Rappaport Competition get to perform at a Montgomery Philharmonic concert

BERNIE RAPPAPORT MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUNG ARTIST COMPETITION

Bernie Rappaport was a member of the Montgomery Philharmonic in the trumpet section. Dr. Rappaport was a Pediatric Dentist in Prince George’s County and loved playing the trumpet. Community music was important to him, as well as helping young people. When Bernie passed away in 2009, the Montgomery Philharmonic felt that it was important to pass along his love of music and children by holding a Young Musician’s Competition in his honor.

SUMMER READING SESSIONS

The Montgomery Philharmonic, Inc. is excited to again offer FREE Summer Reading Sessions as part of its season. The reading sessions are open to musicians of all ages who are accomplished enough to play in a symphony orchestra and who have reasonable sight-reading skills.

Montgomery Philharmonic musicians rehearsing outdoors during the summe

String Ensemble at MP Youth Leadership and Chamber Music Festival

Youth Leadership Chamber Music Festival

In the summer, the Montgomery Philharmonic hosts a free Youth Leadership Chamber Music Festival for youth ages 11-19. Members of the MP serve as coaches for the chamber music ensembles. For most of the students, it is their first experience with chamber music and this unique way of learning music. It teaches listening skills, leadership, and how to rely on one another.

Students from around the area gather on Monday evenings for 6 weeks in June and July for the Youth Leadership Chamber Music Festival. On the first evening, each student auditions for placement in the various ensembles. Nobody is turned away, so this audition is for placement only. Chamber music is carefully chosen to match the abilities of each ensemble.

This is great preparation for studying music later in life. Even if participants do not wish to become professional musicians, playing in chamber groups prepares these young musicians for forming their own musical groups and performing for their own enjoyment!

Join us in 2022! Check the website for information about joining the program.