Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

Barbara Mayer Kirstel, manager of the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, died Wednesday at Sinai Hospital after a four-year struggle with cancer. She was 57.The Baltimore resident was a homemaker when she landed a secretarial job with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1980. She rose quickly, becoming administrative manager of the new Meyerhoff Hall in 1984 and manager of hall operations in 1990."Barbara was one of the most caring, dedicated and gracious people you will ever meet," said John Gidwitz, executive director of the BSO. "She added immeasurably to the quality of musical life in Baltimore and to the success of the BSO and the Joseph Meyerhoff Hall."

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is launching a Music Box Series, designed for the 6-month- to 3-year-old set. BSO vice president of education Carol Bogash calls the project “the final piece in the BSO's educational framework” and cites a McMaster University study indicating that “early musical training benefits children even before they can walk or talk.” The series will feature actress, dancer, storyteller and Baltimore School for...

When Painters Mill Theatre went up in flames early Monday, it burned a big hole in Baltimore's live music scene. Granted, it's always sad to see a concert hall silenced so abruptly, particularly one that was home to so many musical memories. Over the past three decades, the hall was host to an astonishing array of talent, including Derek & the Dominos, Bruce Springsteen, the Police and others. Bob Dylan had played to a sold-out house there just weeks before the fire.But the loss of Painters Mill cuts deeper than that.

Standup comedian and television auteur Louis C.K. announced on Twitter today that he will end his U.S. standup tour at Baltimore's Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on April 6. Tickets are on sale now through the comedian's website. C.K. does not use Ticketmaster, which has made him a bit of a folk hero to fans and opponents of the mega-company's surcharge fees. A ticket for his Meyerhoff show costs $40.45 + $4.55 in sales tax, making the total $45. There is no fee other than sales tax. C.K. was in Baltimore only months ago. He performed at the Meyerhoff on New Year's Eve 2012.

Felix Kestenberg carries an unmistakable sadness behind his light brown eyes. "A lot of times I wonder why I was selected to live and 6 million died," said Kestenberg, a Holocaust survivor, in a slight Polish accent. Kestenberg's three older siblings and his father perished at the hands of Nazis during World War II. As a man in his 20s, he was shuttled among seven death camps over five years, barely escaping with his life. Now a Baltimore resident, Kestenberg joined other Holocaust survivors and descendants of survivors at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall yesterday for the annual Yom Hashoah Holocaust remembrance ceremony.

You don't have to wait for the start of Marin Alsop's tenure as music director to hear the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra tackle off-the-beaten-path repertoire. Thursday night at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall found the ensemble playing a good deal of adventuresome fare and, even more unusually, playing the tough stuff after intermission, not before. If you go The BSO continues its Casual Concert series at 11 a.m. today at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are $20-$48.

The unofficial beginning of this city's classical music season is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's first subscription concerts in Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.Things will start with a bang Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. when music director David Zinman conducts Mendelssohn's fantasy-drenched "A Midsummer Night's Dream" -- with actress Claire Bloom narrating the Shakespearean text -- and accompanies the celebrated Midori in Brahms' Violin Concerto.Meyerhoff Symphony Hall is at 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are $19-$52.

It's an idea that should have been nipped in the bud, and quickly - a new Thursday afternoon chamber orchestra series totally unprompted by public demand. Instead, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra bravely proceeded with introducing it anyway this week, drawing a paltry, downright embarrassing turnout - a few hundred, at most, in the 2,400-seat Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. What were they thinking over there? If You Go The BSO performs at 11 a.m. today at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are $22-$49.

AFamily Concert from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra offers associate principal trombonist Christopher Dudley's entertaining, one-of-a-kind demonstration of the great things that can happen when people are exposed to music and instruments at a tender age. Feb. 18 at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; call 410-783-8000.

Concert Temirkanov back on BSO podium At 8 tonight and tomorrow night, Yuri Temirkanov con ducts the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Julia Fischer will be soloist in Beethoven's Violin Concerto, and the program also includes Symphony No. 1 by Shostakovich. The perform ance is at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are $25-$36. Call 410-783-8000.

Barbara Cook approaches a song from the inside out, judging the weight of each measure, the point behind each word in a lyric. So when she sings, she starts from a place where there's nothing but truth. No artifice, no exaggeration, no self-aggrandizing flourish. Small wonder that Cook, who gives a concert at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall this Saturday, a week after turning 85, remains one of the most treasured vocal artists of our time. The years may have shaved some brightness and some top notes from her silvery soprano, but the glow remains as enveloping as ever.

After a hiatus of more than a year, Soulful Symphony re-emerged last month to perform for a packed house at the Hippodrome Theatre, inaugurating a concert series that continues there Friday night. Thanks to support from the recently launched Hippodrome Arts Fund, the ensemble of predominantly African-American and Latino musicians became the first resident ensemble at the Hippodrome , the flagship of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center. "It's a new chapter, a new home — but the same soul," said Darin Atwater, the composer, pianist and conductor who founded Soulful Symphony in 2000.

The Hippodrome Theatre is largely defined by marquee Broadway shows, from "The Lion King" to "South Pacific. " But starting Monday, the theater aims to be a hub for local arts groups, becoming much more than just a stopping-off spot for touring artists and productions. With the Hippodrome Art Fund, the theater envisions being able to offer a bigger stage and financial support for nonprofit dance companies, music ensembles and more. Broadway Across America, the leaseholder of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, which houses the Hippodrome , has contributed $300,000 to launch the effort.

Louis C.K., the stand-up comic, as if he needs an introduction, performed Friday at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Contributor Lexie Mountain reviews the show. Louis CK walked out onstage for his second set at the Meyerhoff amazingly enough, at about a half-hour past door time, and just started talking. No opener, no introduction, no whatever: in his words, “I just wanted to start.” A shock rippled through the crowd, as if the person everyone expected to ride in on an elephant like a pasha had instead used the side door and said, 'What's Up.' He was wearing his usual uniform: black t-shirt, jeans, New Balance running shoes, and appeared healthier and more lively than "Louie," the sitcom on FX that he writes, produces, edits and stars in. He seemed to revel in the element of surprise, and this buoyed the entire evening: a real feeling of spontaneity.

Except for the most practiced and fortified Scrooge-y types, anyone with an ounce of delight in the Christmas season and its music will find the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's sixth annual Holiday Spectacular well worth a visit. Quibble, if you like, over the designation "spectacular," but when it comes to spirit and entertainment, the show still delivers. Question, if you like, some of the elements packed into the nearly two-hour production, but somehow, as in past years, it all holds together surprisingly well.

There's something even newer than usual about the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's new season, which opens Sept. 11 with a gala concert. Patrons will walk on newly laid carpeting at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and take their places on seats that have just had their covers and insides replaced for the first time since the venue opened in 1982 — replacements long overdue. Folks in the balcony will find handrails along the center aisle, also for the first time; their absence caused a lot of grabbing onto seatbacks for leverage, leaving quite a grimy trail over 28 years.

"I'm so happy my husband doesn't know who I am," Carolyn Williams said. No, she's not a misbehaving housewife on some tacky TV show. Williams was attributing her fresh rush of cheer to her participation in the inaugural BSO Academy, which will wrap up an intensive week of activities for adult amateur musicians with a "donor appreciation concert" and party on Saturday at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Nearly 50 people from around the region paid up to $1,650 for this new community outreach venture by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a camp for grownups who wanted to take their musical interests to a different level.