The Peabody Institute’s Founder’s Week honors the legacy of George Peabody, with a focus on the arts, philanthropy, and community engagement in Baltimore City. Founder’s Week is intended to honor Peabody’s rich history while shining a light on our vision for the future, rooted in the 5 Pillars of the Breakthrough Plan.
The Peabody Institute was founded in 1857 with a bequest given by the institute’s namesake, George Peabody. George Peabody believed in the power of the artist to enrich the lives of others and The Peabody Institute remains the practical embodiment of this belief, to this day.
By making a gift during Founder’s Week, you are directly supporting the success of our students as 21st Century Performing Artists, partnerships throughout Baltimore City, our renowned and talented faculty, and much, much more.
If you are a JHU employee and would like to make a gift via payroll deduction, please download and complete the
Payroll Deduction Form and return it to Michael Carlton, Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Engagement.
(p) 667-208-6558
(e) mcarlto3@jhu.edu
Breakthrough Plan Pillars
- Excellence: Peabody graduates are among the most successful musicians and dancers competing for high-level positions as soloists, orchestra and ensemble members, chamber musicians, choreographers, and educators; and should emerge as the trailblazers and innovators in their respective disciplines and across disciplines, equipped with the skills needed to achieve the flexibility and connectivity increasingly required of contemporary artists.
- Interdisciplinary Experiences: Peabody leverages its competitive position as a top conservatory within a world renowned research university through development of cross-disciplinary programs.
- Innovation: Through innovative initiatives like the Breakthrough Curriculum and LAUNCHPad, Peabody builds on the strength of traditional training while breaking the mold to incorporate skill-sets required of the 21st century artist. Innovation also means embracing music of our time, and taking a leadership role externally in a dialogue on the value of music and arts in society.
- Community Connectivity: Peabody is building strong and meaningful relationships within the region that enable Peabody to better serve the community and at the same time instill in our students an understanding and enthusiastic embrace of the role they must play in communities as citizen-artists.
- Diversity: Diversity is key to future audience development in the performing arts amid rapidly shifting demographics. Growing audiences for the future requires diversifying audiences, and audiences can only become truly diverse when the performers on our stages are diverse, making the focus on diversity and inclusion a strategic imperative vital for the future of classical music and in the interest of all genres of music, dance, and the performing arts. At the same time, artistic barriers are breaking down; different genres are influencing today’s composers and performers. In order to foster this fantastic and rich landscape, we benefit from different voices in that conversation, as performers, composers, and audiences.
How Do You Break Through?
During, Founder’s Week, we are asking our students, alumni, faculty, and staff the simple question: How do you break through?
How has Peabody helped you break through? Whether it is in your studies, your career, your network, in your community, or in other areas of your life—what are you doing to break through and how has Peabody helped you to do so?
Peabody is dedicated to developing 21st century artists in society and training our students to meet the realities and opportunities of that role. We would love to hear from you, our students, about your experience and how Peabody has helped you Break Through.