By Tim Smith
The Baltimore Sun,  May 22, 2007

Baltimore can be very fertile territory for mid-sized ensembles. The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra will celebrate its 25th anniversary next season; Concert Artists of Baltimore just finished its 20th. Both will add performances next season, a good indication of success.

The Concert Artists of Baltimore, a double-your-fun enterprise with chamber orchestra and chorus components, will expand from four to five programs at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts in Owings Mills.

Before getting to that, a word about the '06-'07 season finale Saturday. The entertaining program included a sensitive account of Copland's Appalachian Spring conducted by artistic director Edward Polochick -- the exquisite, endless diminuendo at the end was alone worth the price of admission.

Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals got a bright reading, with mostly polished work from pianists Nancy Roldan and Noel Lester and particularly colorful solos by cellist Gita Ladd and bassist Laura Ruas.

The chorus had a strong night, too, in spirituals, Stephen Foster favorites and Copland's Old American Songs (Brendan Curran's vivid baritone shone in "The Boatmen's Dance").

Next season, Polochick's diverse lineup includes Bach's B minor Mass, a pinnacle of Western music. Also slated: concertos by Beethoven and Brahms, John Rutter's Magnificat and the suite from Le bourgeois gentilhomme by Richard Strauss. There will be an all-operatic program and another in a continuing series of "musical biographies," this one devoted to the life and works of Handel.

The separate "Music at the Mansion" series at the Engineers Club in Baltimore will showcase pianist Ann Schein, violinist Earl Carlyss and soprano Esther Heideman.

For more information, call 410-625-3525