The Harmonies of the Poetry of Love March 30

Pianist-composer Riccardo Piacentini of Duo Alterno and his wife singer Tiziana Scandaletti.

SMCM Professor’s Composition To Be Performed by Italian Group March 30

ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. (March 10, 2010)—Italian group Duo Alterno will perform songs inspired by the muses of love and composed by St. Mary’s College of Maryland music professor David Froom at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, 2010, at the college’s Auerbach Auditorium of St. Mary’s Hall. The concert, part of the Guest Artist and Faculty Series, is free and open to the public.

Duo Alterno, made up of soprano Tiziana Scandaletti and her husband pianist-composer Riccardo Piacentini, had asked Froom to write a piece with them in mind. He turned to Boston poet Sue Standing for the words. The result, “Three Love Songs,” brings us through three aspects of love. “The first song,” said Froom, “is about the early stages of a relationship. The second song expresses some anxiety and wonder about whether the relationship will continue. And the third song is about looking back at a mature, ongoing, lifelong love. I tried to find ways of getting the music to evoke and embrace the poetry.”

“Three Love Songs” has been performed by Duo Alterno already in Turin, Italy, and in Milan. On this trip to the United States, the two musicians will perform it in Washington D.C. (at the Levine School) and in Baltimore (at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County). The composition has also been performed by other singers, last April at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and this past fall in Ohio at the Bowling Green Music Festival.

Duo Alterno, said one Italian newspaper, “gives voice and piano to the Italian 20th century.” Froom’s music has been performed extensively throughout the United States by major orchestras, ensembles, and soloists, including, among many others, the Louisville, Seattle, Utah, and Chesapeake symphony orchestras, the United States Marine and Navy bands, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Ensemble Belliniano Plays at SMCM March 10

Known for offering listeners new sound sensations by playing classical music transcribed by modern composers, the Ensemble Belliniano will present classical pieces from Italian composers of opera at a concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at the Auerbach Auditorium of St. Mary’s Hall at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The concert, part of the college’s Guest Artist & Faculty Recital Series, is free and open to the public.

 

The Ensemble, chamber group of the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, includes musicians Angelo Valastro on bassoon, and Maria Grazia Scarlata and Corrado Ratto performing piano duos, and will play works from Italian composers Rossini, Verdi, Martucci, and of course Bellini. The use of two pianos or piano four-hand is intended to present songs in the classical tradition with a new sound.

 

According to a critic in the British Sunday Times: “According to a critic in the British Sunday Times: “ According to a critic in the British Sunday Times: “"The Ensemble Belliniano" according to a critic in the British Sunday Times, " According to a critic in the British Sunday Times: “has a clear, bright tone with a wide palette of colors.The performance of all the players, without exception, is perfectly pitched both when called upon to give solo contributions and when playing with the other instruments. The performance of all the players, without exception, is perfectly pitched both when called upon to give contributions and when playing with the other instruments.”

Spring Plays about to Blossom in Charles County

Student actors in Charles County’s six public high schools are preparing for spring plays, which begin this month.

First in the spring play season are productions at North Point, Westlake and Maurice J. McDonough high schools.

North Point will present “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” 7 p.m., March 11-13, and a 1 p.m. matinee show will be held March 13. Tickets are $8 for adults, and $5 for students and senior citizens. Call 301-753-1759 for more information.

Westlake is presenting their spring production of “The Wizard of Oz,” on March 18-20. Performance time for all three dates is 7 p.m., and a 2 p.m. matinee show will also be featured March 20. Tickets are $8 for adults, $7 for students, and $6 for thespians and senior citizens. Call 301-753-1758 to purchase tickets or for more information.

McDonough students will present Stephen Schwartz’s “Children of Eden,” on April 9-10, 7 p.m., and April 11 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $8 for students and $7 for ITS members. Discounted tickets can be purchased online at www.mcdonoughdrama.com. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the start of each show. Call 301-934-2944 for more information.

Students at Stone will present their spring play, “Honk” by Andrew Drewe, the weekend of April 8-10. Performance time for all three dates is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults, and $5 for students and senior citizens. Tickets will be sold at the door 30 minutes prior to the start of each show. Call 301-645-2601 for more information.

Later in the spring play season are the productions from Henry E. Lackey and La Plata high schools.

Lackey will present “Curtains” on April 16-17, 7:30 p.m., and April 18, 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $8 for adults, and $7 for students, senior citizens and military members. Children under the age of five will be admitted free of charge.

La Plata High School will present Disney’s “Aladdin” on April 29-30, and May 1. Performance time for April 29-30 and May 1 is 7:30 p.m. A 1:30 p.m. matinee show will be featured on May 1. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. School system staff can attend free of charge. Tickets can be purchased in advance by contacting Jennifer Joyner at jjoyner@ccboe.com. Call 301-934-1100 for more information.

For additional information or directions to each school, visit the school system Web site at http://www.ccboe.com/.

Welcome to Cabaret's Kit Kat Club! SMCM Play Runs March 4-11

"Willkommen. Bienvenue. Welcome!” Just three words, yet everyone immediately knows what Broadway tune you’re singing. The opening number of Cabaret is a signature tune made famous on stage and in the movie adaptation by actor Joel Grey. Teasing, playful, campy, it invites us into the seedy 1930s Berlin nightclub, the Kit Kat Klub, where our evening’s entertainment - both innocent and ribald, saucy and fun - largely takes place. You are invited to the Kit Kat Klub for a limited run of Cabaret, Thursday, March 4, through Thursday, March 11, in the renovated Bruce Davis Theater at St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM). Performances are 8 p.m. March 4-6 and 9-11 and 2 p.m. March 7. Ticket prices are $5 or $7. To make reservations, call the Theater Box Office at 240-895-4243 or e-mail boxoffice(at)smcm.edu.

An ensemble of 20 theater and music students from St. Mary’s are putting on the play that reunites guest artist Bill Gillett, musical director Jeffrey Silberschlag, and choreographer Merideth Taylor—a re-teaming from the hugely successful Hair produced four years ago. “It’s a joy to return to St. Mary’s to direct another musical,” Gillett says. “Coming to St. Mary’s always feel like coming home.” Gillett, a 1995 theater graduate from SMCM, now heads the theater program at Carroll Community College.

Since audiences of a certain generation are probably most familiar with the 1972 Joel Grey-Liza Minnelli movie version of the stage play, they’ll recognize that Cabaret has a dark underside as well. The musical is based on the dramatic stage play I am a Camera by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood. The scene is 1931 in a Berlin, Germany, still reeling from World War I and with the Nazis rising to power.

The Berlin that Isherwood lived in and wrote about included poverty, drugs and alcohol, criminals, sleazebags, fighting in the streets, venereal disease, prostitution of both sexes, and the temporary escape from the harshness of life by visiting ‘naughty’ nightclubs like the Kit Kat Klub, whose decadence encapsulates it all.

At Cabaret’s heart, however, beats a love story, charged with a life-embracing zeal. The ship might be sinking in a Germany coursing towards Hitler’s Third Reich, but in Berlin, at the Kit Kat Klub, the party is still going strong! As Sally Bowles sings at the end of the show, "What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play! Life is a cabaret!" Wishful thinking, perhaps?

Black Box Theatre Announces Events for March through May

The Black Box Theatre in the Indian Head Center for the Arts serves as a "venue for hire" for artists seeking a small, intimate setting for plays, musicals, recitals, exhibits, literary readings, etc. The result of this relationship is a win-win: artists have a venue in which to perform or exhibit their work, and the community is presented with a number of arts events to attend throughout the year at the Black Box Theatre.

Over the first weekend of March 2010, the Newtowne Players will bring their production of Over the River and Through the Woods to the Black Box Theatre. It is being met with rave reviews in St. Mary's County and will be sure to entertain the masses in Charles County as well. Details will be forthcoming.

Then on Fridays, March 12, 19, and 26 at 8 pm and Saturdays, March 13, 20, and 27 at 3 pm, the Hard Bargain Players (who perform during the warmer months in the outdoor amphitheater of Hard Bargain Farm in Accokeek) will work in collaboration with the Black Box Theatre to present indoor performances of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning Drama, "'night, Mother" by Marsha Norman.

On Sunday, March 28, back by popular demand, Bunky the Clown returns to the Black Box Theatre. So plan to bring the family for this highly entertaining performance, the time of which will be announced shortly. Tickets for this performance will be $8 for all ages, with a special $5 ticket price for military personnel.

On May 15th at 8 pm, the Black Box Theatre will proudly present Grace Griffith and Lynn Hollyfield in concert. Details for this performance will also be forthcoming.

So mark your calendars, visit http://www.indianheadblackbox.org/ and/or sign up to receive the Black Box Theatre's e-news to be kept aware of what arts events are coming to the Black Box Theatre in the Indian Head Center for the Arts. If you are an artist, be aware that the Black Box Theatre calendar is filling up fast. If your group or organization is looking for a performance venue, be sure to contact 301-743-3040 as soon as possible to book the venue.

"Anne & Emmett" at the Black Box March 12/13

Anne Frank ... one of over 1 million children who died in the Holocaust.  Emmett Till ... a 14 year old, African American boy from Chicago, murdered in Mississippi.

Imagine a conversation between both of these youth.  Janet Langhart Cohen imagined just that and created this one act play, "Anne & Emmett." 

It has been performed in

* Washington, DC
* Martha's Vineyard, MA
* Baltimore, MD
* Atlanta, GA

to name a few places, and now it comes to the Black Box Theatre in Indian Head, Charles County. 

Friday, March 12, 2010: 8 pm
Saturday, March 13, 2010: 2 pm and 7 pm

Ticket price: $15.00 Ticket Sales at the DOOR ONLY and Seating is limited!

Box Office will open one hour prior to performance time.

Learn more about this play as well as Anne Frank and Emmett Till at: anneandemmett.com.

March is Youth Art Month

LEONARDTOWN, Md. - In celebration of Youth Art Month, an exhibit of outstanding artwork from students in St. Mary's County Public Schools is being shown and receptions are being held at different locations during the month of March.

Monday, March 8: SOUTHERN MARYLAND HIGHER EDUCATION CENTER AND GEORGE CRAGGS HOPKINS, JR. ARTS ENDOWMENT VISUAL ARTS SCHOLARSHIP, 44219 Airport Road, California (Reception: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.) (Three $5,000 scholarship awards will be presented at the reception.) Students' artwork will be on display all month, Monday - Friday - 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Based on center's class schedule, please call for other hours - 301-737-2500.)

Monday, March 22: DR. JAMES A. FORREST CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER, 24005 Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown - GFWC WOMEN'S CLUB OF ST. MARY'S COUNTY EXHIBIT - Refreshments will be available and awards will be presented, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

All members of the community are invited to participate in this celebration of the excellence of our fine arts instructional program.