Rehearsal at the Peabody Institute

Maryland Historical Society

"The Peabody" is one of the world's great Conservatories of Music. Each year, about 640 exceptionally talented young musicians from all over the globe are enrolled here. They study with faculty members who are themselves internationally renowned artists. Peabody transmits the great classical music traditions of the past to future generations. However, the term "classical" is pretty elastic. The school nurtures a wide diversity of styles and particularly encourages the performance of new music. Nowadays there is also a vibrant jazz scene at Peabody.

Each year, Peabody students and young alumni win top prizes in international competitions, from the Tchaikovsky in Moscow to the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. Peabody composers have won every prestigious award, from the Pulitzer on down.

Main stairs outside the Friedhem Concert Hall

Maryland Historical Society

Peabody graduates occupy the top ranks of the music profession. They perform as conductors and soloists, as members of symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles. They teach at colleges and universities and in private and public schools. Some are church organists or members of choirs. The Peabody Recording program provides sophisticated engineer/producers to the digital sound industry.

Students, faculty and guest artists perform in Peabody's own concert series. There are over 80 major public events a year.

The Peabody will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2007. Founder George Peabody was America's first great philanthropist, and his innovative example continues to inspire. The Peabody Institute is currently in the forefront of national thinking on the role of the arts in urban revitalization.

External view, Peabody Institute

Maryland Historical Society

Peabody as an Architectural Landmark
Listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, the Peabody Institute anchors the south-east side of Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore. The main Conservatory building was completed in 1866. The George Peabody Library was finished in 1876. Both were designed by Edmund G. Lind in the Renaissance Revival (or Neoclassical) style. The Conservatory's spectacular Circular Staircase is a favorite of photographers and moviemakers. The George Peabody Library has one of the most dramatic interiors on the East Coast. Ornate, gold-encrusted balconies soar upward in a sky-lighted atrium.

Over the course of the twentieth century, so many other buildings were added to the campus that Peabody now occupies an entire city block. A $27 million reconstruction project, completed in spring 2004, integrated Peabody's historic buildings into a harmonious whole. A magnificent Grand Arcade has become Peabody's new "Main Street."

Peabody concerts take place in elegant venues. Friedberg Hall has a roof supported by Caryatid statues. A Renaissance tapestry hangs in Griswold Hall. East Hall doubles as a cabaret-style jazz café.

In 1894, the Conservatory added a Preparatory division. Currently, over 2,000 students a year take lessons there. It is one of the largest and most innovative community music and dance schools in the country. In addition, an Elderhostel Program brings close to 4,000 senior citizens annually to Peabody for week-long courses in music.

On the other side of the globe, in collaboration with the National University of Singapore, Peabody has helped establish the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, which opened in summer, 2003. Its students come from the entire Asia Pacific region.

The fortunes of the Peabody Institute have fluctuated with the economic health of Baltimore. A boom period followed World War II, with returning soldiers swelling enrollment. But, in the 1950s and 1960s, the flight to the suburbs and consequent decay of the inner city led to the Institute's near financial collapse. In the mid-1970s, the State of Maryland entered into a partnership with Johns Hopkins University to restore Peabody to the front rank of conservatories worldwide. Peabody's 1977 affiliation with the university produced a synergistic effect that has benefited both partners.