John Baltimore
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John Baltimore is an American Orchestra Conductor. Born in Washington, DC in 1978, John began studying music as a percussionist in 1989 at the age of 10. On January 17, 1992 he attended a "Meet the Orchestra" concert of the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, conducted by then Associate Conductor Randall Craig Fleisher and narrated by the late Yolanda King. He became enamored with the conductor-orchestra relationship and decided he wanted to make a career as an orchestra conductor. As a high school student at Bishop McNamara in 1994, John auditioned and won a space in the elite National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship Program. While studying in this program, John formed a life-long friendship and bond with his private teacher and mentor, National Symphony Orchestra Principal Percussionist F. Anthony Ames.
In 1996, John entered college at the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University where he studied percussion with Jonathan Haas and audited the graduate conducting course with Markand Thakkar. In 1999, John transferred to the Mannes College of Music where he completed an undergraduate diploma in music performance with major concentrations in both conducting and percussion.
John's private teachers have included Elizabeth Schulze, Robert Gutter, Gustav Maier, and David Gilbert. He has been coached by such notable conductors as Victor Yampolsky and National Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leonard Slatkin. John's conducting style is based in organic teachings and to that end he has studied pilates, yoga, and other organic body movement techniques with Boston University Professor Emeritus Joseph Gifford.
John has guest conducted orchestras all over the globe, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Oltenia Philharmonic in Romania, St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra in Russia, and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra in Egypt.
On July 12-13,2006, John recorded his first album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, UK. The album entitled [American Classics] was released to the public on February 1, 2007 and features An American in Paris by George Gershwin, Billy the Kid: Symphonic Suite by Aaron Copland, and Westside Story: Symphonic Dances by Leonard Bernstein.
One of John's greatest priorities is the exposure of music to the world's youth and as a result he has founded the not-for-profit corporation Chloe's Playhouse Productions. Inspired by and named after his daughter Chloe, Chloe's Playhouse Productions produces young people's concerts and instrument petting zoo experiences for many school aged children annually.
John Baltimore resides in Washington, DC with his daughter Chloe.
