ACO's BEHIND THE BATON Lecture Series Continues 2/17 & 19

Atlantic Classical Orchestra Artistic Director and Conductor Stewart Robertson presents the second lecture in the 2014 "Behind the Baton" series held at the Indian River State College campuses in Stuart and Vero Beach this February 17 (Stuart) and February 19 (Vero Beach) from 9:30 - 11:30 am. The popular program offers a greater understanding and appreciation of classical music, complete with interesting pieces of music history, selected recordings, insight into highlighted composers, and lively discussion on musicians, instruments and orchestrating a performance.

To purchase a "Behind the Baton" subscription, call the ACO Office at 772-460-0850.

Artistic Director and Conductor of Atlantic Classical Orchestra since 2004, Glasgow, Scotland native Stewart Robertson thrives on a wide range of musical interests. He has become particularly associated with the music of Mozart, Beethoven, and Benjamin Britten and his close involvement with new music has led him to having conducted over 100 orchestral and operatic world premieres. Robertson is also Music Director Emeritus of Glimmerglass Opera in New York.

Among his numerous guest conducting engagements are orchestras as diverse as The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, The Hong Kong Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra, Netherland Symphony Orchestra, Mecklenburg Staatskapelle, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Sicily Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Nacional of Mexico, the North German Philharmonic and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In the realm of opera Robertson's appearances include New York City Opera, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, the companies of Montreal, Detroit, Philadelphia, Opera Theater of St Louis, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Duesseldorf, The Norwegian National Opera, the Jesi Festival in Italy, the Wexford Festival, Opera Ireland and the Fort Worth Opera Festival.

Robertson's performances with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Ukraine State Philharmonic and Glimmerglass Opera can be heard on the Chandos, Naxos, New World and Verdi/EMI labels. His recording of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett's opera, The Mines of Sulphur, was nominated for a Grammy award. His world premiere recording of David Carlson's Anna Karenina has recently been released on the Signum label and his interpretation of Puccini's La Boheme at the Puccini Festival in the composer's home town of Torre del Lago is available on DVD. In the USA Robertson's perfomances have been televised by PBS on both the 'Great Performances' and 'Live from Lincoln Center' series.

A graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, Maestro Robertson gained his early experience at the opera houses of Cologne and Zurich and at Scottish Opera, where he was Music Director of the touring company. Additional posts include serving as Music Director of the San Bernardino Symphony and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and as Artistic Director of Opera Omaha and Music Director of Florida Grand Opera in Miami, as well as his now legendary two decades at the helm of Glimmerglass Opera.

Celebrating 24 years this 2014, the Atlantic Classical Orchestra (ACO) has developed a reputation as a world-class performing arts organization dedicated to presenting performances of both orchestral and chamber music in the rapidly growing urban communities on Florida's eastern seaboard north of Miami. While its core repertory is based in the late 18th and early 19th century, the orchestra has developed an active commitment to the rediscovery of much unjustly neglected music from the Romantic era, written for an orchestra of classical proportions alongside championing the best and most accessible of contemporary music with a special emphasis on the younger generation of American composers.

The ACO is composed of members drawn not only from Florida's principal musical organizations, but also major orchestras throughout the USA. The orchestra's artistic vision, high caliber of playing and variety of works performed have resulted in such acclaim by the press as, "What a remarkable group the Atlantic Classical Orchestra has become....under Grammy- nominated Music Director, Stewart Robertson, it has become an ambitious and poised group that could claim an honored place in even the most culturally rich communities". -Palm Beach Post

For more information about the ACO, and events offered during the 2014 season, visit the orchestra's web site at www.atlanticclassicalorchestra.com/

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