(9/14) Music, Gettysburg! welcomes the distinguished soprano Meredith Megles-Lawler back to the stage for a delightful feast of operatic and popular arias and songs in a concert Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 4pm.

Megles-Lawler will sing from the list of opera favorites by Dvorak, Bizet, Puccini, and Verdi and in a second part of the concert, songs of the American heritage including Jerome Kerns, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rogers, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and more.

The concert, free and open to the public, takes place at the chapel of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, 147 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg. Parking is available despite the roadwork underway on the Ridge, said seminary officials, but sidewalks are under construction and concert goers should be careful.

Megles-Lawler will be joined by baritone Wayne Hill and Arthur Neal, soprano Kathleen Dougherty, and accompanist Michael Matsinko.

A Gettysburg native, Meredith Megles-Lawler , received her undergraduate degree in vocal performance/opera from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, and master’s degree in opera from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. While studying, she sang in performances of Orfeo, Song of Majnun, The Mikado, The Magic Flute, Carmen, Hansel and Gretel, The Doctor Miracle, and Carousel.

Ms. Megles-Lawler has performed Where’s Charley at the Opera Theater at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and The Nightingale and Phantom Toll Booth for the Opera Theater of Northern Virginia. She also was the resident soprano at St. Paul’s in Alexandria, VA, for several years and was a frequent guest singer and soloist with all professional St. Ann’s church choir in Washington, D.C., St. Ann’s Sinfonia and Chorale, and the Opera Theater of Northern Virginia. Some performances with these groups include Verdi’s Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and Faure’s Requiem.

In late 2004, Ms. Megles-Lawler relocated to the Gettysburg area where she has been a guest soloist for Music, Gettysburg!. Performances with this group include Bach’s Magnificat and Bruckner’s Te Deum. Ms. Megles-Lawler was also recently a guest soloist with the local chorus, Bel Voce. In addition, she continues to sing with a troupe performing in "opera nights" and takes part in special performances and recitals at various locations in Pennsylvania as well as the Baltimore and Washington, DC metropolitan areas. Finally, she has appeared in two feature films, Random Hearts, and The Replacements, and a commercial for Hechts department stores.

This concert, originally scheduled for spring, was postponed due to the accidental injury of accompanist Matsinko. Music, Gettysburg! chair Mark Oldenburg said "we were delighted to be able to find a time in the fall schedule, especially with the need to accommodate busy musicians involved in this concert."

For more information about other upcoming concerts in the 2008-2009 Music, Gettysburg! schedule, please call 717-338-3000 ext 2197 or visit the web site at www.musicgettysburg.org .