Based at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center of the University of Maryland, the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic is an orchestra consisting of student musicians who have passed rigorous auditions to participate. With a program to foster individual musicianship and orchestral excellence, the NOIP performs at a monthlong festival each June, offering chamber recitals and full orchestral concerts as well as community outreach programs. Founded in 1988, the NOIP has assisted in the training of musicians by matching them to prominent conductors and mentors on the faculty who prepare them for the festival. The NOIP has released a series of recordings of American music on the Naxos label, featuring works by John Corigliano, Michael Torke, Carl Ruggles, John Harbison, Steven Stucky, and Randall Thompson, among other American composers. ~ Blair Sanderson, Rovi