In the December issue of the New Jersey Star-Ledger’s magazine Inside New Jersey, Linda Fowler writes about the Bay-Atlantic Symphony, which has ongoing partnerships with several community groups and business organization, and has faced some unusual challenges performing throughout southern New Jersey: “At the Bay-Atlantic Symphony, Mother Nature has a nasty habit of wielding the baton. Two Christmases ago, heavy snows collapsed the roof over the orchestra’s Bridgeton headquarters. This summer, Avalon islanders headed for the hills in advance of Hurricane Irene, which shuttered a near-sellout, season-ending concert there. … The orchestra’s music director and Baltimore-based conductor, Jed Gaylin, believes expecting the unexpected is a pretty good stance for anything in the arts. … Performing throughout five counties, primarily in the shadow of Atlantic City, the BAS is a professional ensemble of union musicians striving to stay nimble and relevant in some of the most economically deprived pockets of the state. … Ruotao Mao, a sought-after violinist, is concertmaster for both the BAS and the summer Glimmerglass Festival for opera and musical theater in Cooperstown, N.Y. Flutist Beverly Pugh Corry is among other BAS players involved in a compelling initiative that brings music-making to the blind and visually impaired. The musicians and guest artists (violinist Hilary Hahn and pianists Awadagin Pratt and Adam Neiman are past soloists) play four subscription concerts each season, on Saturday nights at Cumberland County College’s Guaracini center in Vineland, then the following afternoon at Richard Stockton College’s arts center in Galloway Township.”
Posted December 5, 2011
