The haunting beauty and lively dance tunes of traditional Scottish music, led by the Bonnie Rideout Scottish Trio, will fill the theater at Owens Community College tomorrow.

Rideout, 43, who has delighted Toledo audiences in the past, will be joined by renowned piper Jerry O'Sullivan, and the large North Coast Pipe Band for an 8 p.m. show.

"It's very rhythmic and very lyrical and very ancient," she says of the music. "The combination of these three things really move people."

Several members of the Cleveland-based North Coast group, which includes bagpipes, drums, and Highland dancers, also perform with the City of Washington Pipe Band, with whom Rideout regularly plays. "So our repertoire overlaps," she says. "My fiddle style is really influenced by the pipes."

Special guest O'Sullivan will play the uilleann (pronounced illin) pipes. Played on the lap, the uilleann pipes include sharps and flats and can be played in several keys.

Rideout has not followed the trend of blending traditional Celtic tunes with other musical genres, ranging from rock to blues.

"We're not a crossover group. We're pretty much the real thing," says Rideout, in an interview from her home in Alexandria, Va. Her songs date to 18th and 19th-century Scotland, or are new tunes written in that style.

It's been a busy year for Rideout. Last month, she recorded two albums in Scotland, one with a singer and harpsichordist themed to the late 18th-century work of Scotland's beloved bard, Robert Burns; the other was recorded in Edinburgh with a pickup band including cello, guitar, bass, and percussion.

She's writing a Scottish-fiddle encyclopedia for the Mel Bay Publishing Co. She has booked 50 performances for next year and her 2006 calendar is filling up. Her Scottish Christmas tour has been a holiday favorite for years.

Rideout attended high school in Saline, Mich., and college at the University of Michigan. She balances work with rearing three children ages 17, 13, and 12, all of whom play music. She's married to Jesus Medrano, a computer programmer.

The Bonnie Rideout Scottish Trio performs at 8 p.m. tomorrow in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts at Owens Community College, 30335 Oregon Rd. Tickets are $22, $20 for seniors, and $11 for students and children. Information: 567-661-2787.

Contact Tahree Lane at:

tlane@theblade.com

or 419-724-6075.

First Published November 5, 2004, 12:51 p.m.