Mission Statement & History

The Peabody String Sinfonia is a student-led, conductorless string orchestra with a mission to bring live music to people in the Baltimore community who often do not have access, including those going through cancer treatment, incarceration, homelessness, hospitalization, addiction, and hunger.

Since its founding in 2016 by Maria Lambros, Sinfonia has developed and maintained relationships with community partners in order to reach diverse audiences in Baltimore. Sinfonia has collaborated with the Azure Family Concert Series, Baltimore Early Head Start Program, Helping Up Mission, Hope Lodge, Marion House, Maryland State Correctional Facility, and Rise Bmore. As a Peabody ensemble, in the past Sinfonia has organized annual concerts and a warmth drive in partnership with the Charm City Warmth Drive at Peabody’s Griswold Hall.

The programming for each performance is built with the audience in mind, evolving every semester. In a typical Sinfonia performance, works range from Tchaikovsky to Etta James to the Danish String Quartet. In the past, we have invited Peabody faculty members to perform with us, including: Judith Ingolfsson (violin), John Moran (baroque cello), Shodekeh (beatboxer/dance faculty), Alan Stepansky (cello), and Victoria Chiang (viola). Merging these musical forces with Sinfonia’s creative programming and unconventional performance format has allowed for more intimate settings where both performer and audience can connect on an equal and meaningful level before, during and after the concert.

Eligibility and Requirements

Current Peabody Students, both performance and non-performance majors, are eligible to apply.

Audition Instructions and Timeline (2024-2025)

Application opens Wednesday, August 21st. Application is due Wednesday, September 4th at 11:59pm.

The application consists of a few questions in order to get a sense of why you want to join Sinfonia and what you will add to the group! These questions can be answered either verbally via a video (uploaded to YouTube) or written in the form.

1. What do you think you would bring to this ensemble?
2. What do you think makes a good leader, musically or otherwise?
3. How do you think this will differ from orchestra? What about a conductor-less string ensemble makes you excited?
4. What do you think are important qualities to becoming a member of Sinfonia?

If you have any questions about the application process or Sinfonia in general, please send an email to [email protected].