Now in its 44th season, the Columbia Orchestra is a community orchestra with 85-100 members based in Columbia, MD. The mission of the Orchestra is to foster lifelong appreciation of, enthusiasm for, and participation in music.  Hailed as “a pillar of the local arts community” by The Washington Post, the orchestra performs not only the masterworks of the classical repertoire but also works by great contemporary composers.

The Orchestra offers a series of Classical, Family, and Pops programs at the Jim Rouse Theatre, outdoor concerts at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, chamber programs at various venues throughout the community, and a jazz series by our partner organization, The Columbia Jazz Band. The Orchestra also offers a number of educational programs including "Meet the Instrument" programs in local pre-schools, In-School Concerts for elementary school children, a Young Artist Competition for middle and high school students, and Open Rehearsals, Program Notes, and Pre-Concert Lectures for audiences of all ages. The Orchestra has experienced tremendous growth under the leadership of Music Director Jason Love and now reaches an annual audience of over 15,000.

Music Director Jason Love leads the Columbia Orchestra in his twenty-third year as Music Director, the fourth person to have held that post in its forty-one seasons. Praised for his “intelligent and innovative programming,” the Baltimore Sun has called the orchestra “Howard County’s premier ensemble for instrumental music,” noting that “Love has the musicians playing not only with verve and passion, but with an awareness to enter into the emotional core of the works they perform.” He has received many recognitions including the American Prize for Orchestral Programming, a Peabody Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Music in Maryland, and a “Howie” Award recognizing achievement in the arts in Howard County, Maryland.

Love was Artistic Director of the Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestras (now the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras) for thirteen years, and Music Director of the New Horizons Chamber Ensemble, a new-music group, for five. He has guest conducted a wide variety of ensembles such as the Baltimore Symphony, Washington Sinfonietta, Hopkins Chamber Orchestra, Bismarck-Mandan Symphony, Maryland Classic Youth Chamber Orchestra, and RUCKUS, a contemporary music ensemble at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he taught conducting for seven years.

As a cellist Mr. Love has performed a wide array of concertos with orchestras. In 2019 he gave the U.S. premiere of Guillaume Connesson’s Cello Concerto and previously played the North Carolina premiere of Tan Dun’s multi-media concerto, The Map. In recent seasons he has performed Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 with Piedmont Symphony, the Dvořák Concerto with the Frederick Symphony, and concertos by Haydn and Boccherini with the Columbia Summer Strings. His many chamber recitals include work with the Columbia Orchestra Piano Trio featuring Concertmaster Brenda Anna and pianist Nancy Smith, and the Franklin-Love Duo with pianist Rachel Franklin.

A highly respected educator, Mr. Love spends part of each summer conducting at the Baltimore String Orchestra Camp and recently joined the faculty of the chamber music festival, Play Week Maryland. In his eleven years on the faculty of the Governor’s School of North Carolina he taught Twentieth-Century music, philosophy, and other subjects to academically gifted high school students. He led the McDaniel Orchestra Camp in Westminster, MD for five years and conducted the Repertory Orchestra of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony in Annapolis, MD for four. He has adjudicated and guest conducted at music festivals around the country.

Born in Burlington, North Carolina, Love studied violoncello with Ronald Thomas and conducting with Frederik Prausnitz at the Peabody Conservatory. He is a Past President of the Peabody Alumni Association.