OUR MISSION AND VISION
With “Kinship and the Power of Music” as our motto, Our Joyful Noise Baltimore serves the essential human need for beauty and connection with art through free live musical performances of the highest professional quality presented for underserved and often forgotten communities in the Baltimore area.
Our vision is of a world where all people- regardless of economic situation, disability, challenge or circumstance- have easy access to the life affirming splendor of live music.
The visionary pianist Moisès Fernández-Via perfectly captures the spirit of our vision when he writes: “Music dignifies the process of recovery, honors the depths of experience, infuses beauty and carries the message of palpable hope, strength, compassion and celebration.”
Our Joyful Noise Baltimore is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in every facet of our organization. This is evidenced by the representation in the artists we hire, our board members, our staff, our composer commission, our venue partners, and our audiences.
WE BRING LIVE MUSIC TO:
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY HOPE LODGE RESIDENCE FOR CANCER PATIENTS
AZURE CONCERTS FOR AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR FAMILIES
THE BALTIMORE STATION RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAM FOR VETERANS
KIRBY LANE PARK
MARYLAND CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
FOR WOMEN
ST. LUKE'S YOUTH CENTER: SUPPORTING UNDERSERVED YOUTH IN WEST BALTIMORE
WELCOME TO OJN'S NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ANDREA D. LEWIS!
After a Baltimore community-wide search this past spring, we are thrilled to announce that ANDREA D. LEWIS will take on the role of Executive Director and founder MARIA LAMBROS KANNEN will continue to be engaged as the Artistic Director. A graduate of American and James Madison Universities, Andrea brings extensive experience in the nonprofit sector, including leadership positions at The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Potter’s House and Maryland Humanities. OJN is very excited to welcome Andrea to the OJN family!
Photo: Andrea Lewis and Maria Lambros Kannen
THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF MUSIC...
From Maria Lambros, Artistic Director
While a cancer patient at Mass General Hospital in 2015, I happened upon a beautiful concert presented by a professional chamber music ensemble in the hospital lobby. To hear a live concert from the other side- as a listener and patient and not as a musician- was to deeply experience how beauty and grace can be found, and felt, even in the face of difficulty, despair, and challenge. That powerful encounter became the catalyst for starting Our Joyful Noise Baltimore, in the city that I love and call home. Welcome to our exciting musical adventure!
"It's not about fixing, helping or even 'making a difference.' It's all about kinship and connection."
-Father Gregory Boyle
"This will be our response to challenge... to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” -Leonard Bernstein
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
LATISHA COATES-YOUNG
BILLY DALY
MARGO HALLE
FRED MOSS
ELISSA SACHS-KOHEN
TODD TROESTER
VILA-SHEREE WATSON
CLAUDIA ELIAZA ZANES
Our Joyful Noise Baltimore was founded in 2018 and is a 501(c) 3 organization.
PHOTOS:
LEFT: Musicians Dan + Claudia Zanes and Tyree Austin with residents at the Baltimore Station Residential Treatment Program for Veterans 2023
RIGHT: The Nightingale Trio's Patricia Tsagalakis at an Azure Concert for Autistic Individuals and Their Families 2023