BAY ATLANTIC SYMPHONY OFFERS SCOTTISH FLAIR IN ROWAN CONCERT

(GLASSBORO, NJ) -– Music inspired by Scottish legends and themes is at the heart of Bay Atlantic Symphony's "No Bagpipes!" concert at Rowan University on Friday, November 5, 2010 at 8 pm in the university's Pfleeger Concert Hall. The performance will be preceded by a one-hour "Conversation with the Maestro" beginning at 7 pm.

Led by musical director Jed Gaylin, the evening features selections from Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor, performed by members of Opera Vivente. This celebrated bel canto opera is based on Sir Walter Scott's historical novel, The Bride of Lammermoor. The performance includes the haunting "Sextet," one of the most famous ensemble pieces in all of opera, and the "Mad Scene," a coloratura tour de force for the title character. Mendelssohn's spirited and richly-hued Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 ("Scottish") is part of the program as well. At turns mystical and snappy, this symphony provides an alternate mood and style.

"There is everything in this opera: love, murder, insanity; juicy stuff," Gaylin states, also noting that "Mendelssohn's Symphony is a masterpiece of form. The program is a study in contrasts."

The concert is the first of two performances BAS will give at Rowan this season, with a return on Friday, May 6 at 8 pm for "Soave and Scorching" featuring Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 in Eb (Eroïca) and Ravel's Mother Goose Suite and Piano Concerto in G Major, with guest pianist Cong Fan. Again a pre-concert begins at 7 pm.

Bay-Atlantic Symphony, ensemble-in-residence at Rowan, is a professional orchestra that offers symphonic and chamber music concerts and sponsors educational experiences for student, adult and special populations throughout southern New Jersey. This region-wide outreach is unique among orchestras the size of BAS, exhibiting the Symphony's mission of exposing the citizens of southern New Jersey to the beauty and power of classical music through live performance and education.

The Symphony's first commercial label recording, She Comes to Shore – a concerto for improvised piano and orchestra by the contemporary Hong Kong-born/Canadian-based composer and pianist Lee Pui Ming, was recorded at Rowan University in August and will be released in December on the Innova label, distributed by Naxos.

Thanks to a generous grant from PNC Arts Alive, tickets for all BAS concerts are $25. Admission for Rowan students is free with valid ID. Pfleeger Concert Hall is located in Wilson Hall on the campus of Rowan University, Route 322 in Glassboro. For reservations or additional information, call the box office at (856) 256-4545, email arts@rowan.edu or purchase online at rowan.tix.com.