The unique nature of the group allows it to stage large orchestral/choral works at a level of quality only viable in-house for a few other institutions on the East Coast.
This partnership is likely to continue on some level, as the Baltimore Sun's classical music critic was not impressed by the performance of the more-expensive BSO in the Lyric's pit.
Frequent venues for the group over the years have included Friedberg Hall, Owings Mills' Gordon Center and the Baltimore Lyric Opera House.
[2] Over the decades, critics have had good and bad things to say about the group, with one typical example being a Baltimore City Paper writer who, in 2000, said Polochik's conducting was "expressive," even as he chastised the director's programming, noting that guitar soloist James Hontz "did his technical best but didn't communicate excitement, which, when playing technically challenging music composed of weak tunes, doesn't keep an audience awake.
"[3] Indeed, one of the hallmarks of the group is its willingness as a secondary orchestra to program less-known works: As an example, in 2005, while active as resident artists at Baltimore's Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, the group performed a show including Poulenc's 1938 Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Timpani in G Minor, followed by Haydn's "Lord Nelson" Mass[4]—both works that would not frequently make it onto the programs of many large cities' "primary" orchestras.