February 10 — March 18, 2024

FOREWORD:

How is it conceivable that a collective of thoughtful individuals would acquire famously-challenging degrees in Architecture, learn the practical trade of Architect, and then choose working careers as producers of Art that we can find at the Massoni Gallery? Does knowing about their shared technical and aesthetic training lead us to observe a common approach among the artists?  Can this knowledge help us better-appreciate these fine works in the Massoni Gallery? Read on.

“Like the spider with its web, so every subject weaves relationships between

itself and particular properties of objects; the many strands are then woven together and finally form the basis of the subject’s very existence.”

-Jakob von Uexküll

When Carla Massoni approached me to consider these reasonable questions around the diverse artists she selected for Art+Architecture.2, I thought she was on to something well-worth exploring as I too am among this crowd. The better architects are the connective web between all aesthetic pursuits and the science behind mathematics, engineering, and logical problem solving. As architecture students, we mastered a structured process of observation, analysis, model building, and visual communication that began with a blank page and a line (a perfectly-drawn technical-pen line at that). Line weight, edges, corners, and visual relationships were the stuff of design critiques. Over time, that line grew more complex and loaded-with-meaning to embrace contradiction and to describe our uncommon view of the world.

Space, Structure, Shadow and Form matter. For me on the West Coast, foundational pedagogy was steeped in Cubist and Bauhaus constructivism so that we could only-then begin to deconstruct what we thought we knew. Other architecture programs focused on analysis of ideal typologies and formal models that were turned-and-flipped to synthesize into something new. Yes, we all learned AutoCAD and other software.  Yet, we were immersed in a hands-on design process that used endless layers of yellow tracing paper and emphasized a rigorous refinement through an exciting process of iterations and experimental transformation of a first idea.

Attention was paid to the balance of shade and shadow in all work (chiaroscuro in Italian, notan in Japanese). When you look at the artist works in this exhibition, you can see that depth of process-driven rigor and layering. These are not impressionistic or spontaneous works!

One can’t help but observe that Nature and our own human journey of imagination are the primary subjects of the artworks on view. After engaging with the artists to find out why, I went back to the architectural theory books we studied decades ago to seek answers. I found a direct symmetry that emphasizes observation of our natural world. There’s a vibrant dialectic that emerges between illusive manmade notions of constructed order and the deeper wisdom of the cosmos and subatomic particles as Einstein and Nietzsche well-understood. In these creative works, you will see the individual’s pursuit of an existential awareness (pursued via artworks) over concrete pragmatism (a building). In short, the artworks are thrilling products of a life journey and process-driven exploration of all things. As Jon Mort exclaimed, “Architect-Artists chose the harder, more studied way”.

Jon Mort often constructs models of his conceptual work before realizing the final image with pencil on paper. His masterful delineation and ultra-

precise rendering of ideal worlds and paradoxical assemblages is ankle-shaking. Mort is fascinated by the human desire to interpret Nature by constructing ideal worlds based on pure geometries (think Humanism of the Italian Renaissance). His work strives to achieve the ideal-yet-impossible total visual balance of light and color (scientific photonics called albedo).  Good Bones evokes the familiar circle-in-square model of human “perfection”. Yet, Nature’s perfect structures of skull, hummingbird, egg, and nest represent true perfection. Albedo is manifested with the balance between the white bone and red field. This work is not so much ironic as honest and raw in its optimism, and also defiance, of our assumptions of the built environment around us.

Elizabeth Casqueiro layers polychromatic acrylic and ink forms at all scales to evoke the naturalistic, storied, and drafted elements that go into constructing a sense of place. These impactful places (“gateways”) are celebrated via carefully-rendered elements that give a time-traveling, dynamic brilliance to each work. Visual balance is adeptly achieved in the harmony of volumes and forms at various dimensions and perspectives. Traces of Absence is sensuous in the natural elements of rose-tinted hibiscus flowers (inspired by her mother’s garden) and memory-rich amethyst aerial-view forms. It is deeply meaningful with references of perhaps Casqueiro’s hometown in Portugal, an international airport gateway of life transitions, or a flow of fragments that evoke larger associations. We feel as part of this flow. The composition is carefully anchored into a one-point perspective that evokes the camera obscura with a single vanishing point into infinity. Or, is it?

Eve Stockton is inspired by the natural world both observed and imagined. Her imagery draws from the latest science

of the cosmos and our primordial origins. Stockton’s large-scale woodcut prints are the result of intensive hand-carving followed by print-making with Susan Goldman at Lily Press, Rockville, MD. To date, Stockton has over fifty 36″x36″, carved wood blocks which she uses to build her imagery in endless color combinations. Her past architectural background has given Stockton a visual sense of geometry and balance in her nature-based prints. The consistent three-foot-square module in her system allows for engaging groupings or ensembles.

Three Inlet prints each evoke a wooded cove caught between sky and the water. Notice how the individual prints have cloud forms that tessellate into the neighboring print in a pleasing and dynamic rhythm. The Inlet triptych of moss, cranberry, and robins egg blue presents colors that both sooth and challenge.

Ken Schiano (at the High Street Massoni Gallery in An Accumulation of Difficult Things)  uses powdered pigments and cold wax to build-up (and then scrape-away) in an action work that he associates with archeology of the cosmos. Symbolically, the pigments represent matter trapped in wax. This is the collected debris of creative making and also everything, really. Schiano’s artworks are the product of accumulation as-well-as arch reveal. Activated worlds of opaque and luminous polygons and orb-like “Cryptids” allow various interpretations while maintaining a sense of Schiano’s strength of concept. NP XVII is an iteration from a body of work that evolves from the previous work, Schiano’s “muse”. Powerful red charges toward the viewer, while the quiet hint of gentle lavender recedes. Diagonal features of earthy green and ochre direct the eye and anchor the dynamism into a pleasing composition. The actual subjects of the work are the negative spaces that simultaneously create animated movement and depth. Compositions and color chords build on the previous artwork in an accumulation of life works that tell his story and ours too.

Mike Pugh is a ceramic artist who believes it is important to tell our story through intentional forms and honest text. His work is architectural and regional and often site-specific. Each work is a vessel that contains multitudes at a distance and at close observation. His interest in honest folk art and also Brutalist architecture (as in “brutally honest”) inspire ruddy, hand-hewn works of craft. I Live With Purpose. is a functional work as an ikebana vessel. It conveys as a constructed architectural model of a larger concept and narrative of some scale. It’s black like ink on a white page. It hovers and reveals itself in moments for those who touch it.

Jon Mort:  Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art at Franklin & Marshall College (Lancaster, PA), MArch (Masters of Architecture) at Rhode Island School of Design, RISD (Providence, RI)

Elizabeth Casqueiro:  MArch at Catholic University (Washington, DC), Bachelor of Arts in Design at Instituto de Arte e Design, IADE (Lisbon, Portugal), Art Studies at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art (London, United Kingdom), the Corcoran College of Art & Design (Washington, DC) and the Washington Studio School (Washington, DC); and also Masters of International Business Management at University of Westminster (London, United Kingdom)

Eve Stockton: MArch, Yale School of Architercture (New Haven, CT), Bachelor of Arts in

Architecture & Urban Planning with a minor in Fine Arts, Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)

Ken Schiano:  BArch (Bachelors of Architecture) at Cooper Union (New York, NY)

Mike Pugh:  BArch and Bachelor of Arts in History, minors in Italian and Interdisciplinary General Education at California Polytechnic University (Pomona, CA), graduate studies in STEM Education at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)

Massoni Art @ Cross Street Gallery February 10 — March 18, 2024

Mike Pugh’s work in Historic Preservation led to adventures in documenting America’s first rocket test stand, a teaching career in urban schools, founding community gardens, and he even worked at a grain elevator. Pugh’s reference-rich ceramics have won various awards and can be found worldwide.

203 High Street & 113 South Cross Street 410.778.7330 • 410-708-4512 • Chestertown, Maryland

For more about the exhibit and MassoniArt, go here.

 

             

THE MET: LIVE IN HD, CARMEN – New Production 

Saturday, January 27th                                                                                                                     

Doors: 12:30pm / Show: 1:00pm 

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md.

On January 27, acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell brings a vital new production of one of opera’s most enduringly powerful works, reinvigorating the classic story with a staging that moves the action to the modern day and finds at the heart of the drama issues that could not be more relevant today: gendered violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries.

Dazzling young mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the complex and volatile title role, alongside tenor Piotr Beczała as Carmen’s troubled lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the loyal Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet’s heart-pounding score.

DAPHNE ECKMAN BAND 

Saturday, January 27                                                                                                                        

Doors: 6:30pm / Show: 7:00pm   

Stoltz Listening Room, 40 E. Dover, Easton, Md.

Singer-songwriter Daphne Eckman describes herself as a “professional over feeler” and wants to make you cry. But in a good way!  You might have seen Eckman when she opened for Skribe’s previous Stoltz show.

Based in Annapolis, she’s been touring locally and around the East Coast with her five-piece band since 2022, bringing an indie rock flavor to her acoustic folk songs. She takes inspiration from Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Bridgers, Samia, Radiohead, and Big Thief and you can feel this in her emotionally honest delivery.  Her debut album “Where You Left Me” comes out in January 2023 with leading singles “Iris”, “Ghost”, and “Jackson Pollock”…Flex Music Blog, in an early sneak peek of that last song, praises it as “another warm and heady dose of vibrant textures … (showcasing) some beautifully embracing songwriting once again.”

DALLAS UGLY 

Friday February 2  Doors: 6:30pm / Show: 7:00pm                                                                                                       

Stoltz Listening Room, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md.

Recommended by Ken & Brad Kolodner!  Dallas Ugly are a trio of college friends turned bandmates based in Nashville (not Dallas!) Their “genre dissolving” sound takes the pallet of country music from pedal steel to fiddle and filter it through an array of influences from indie-rock to hip-hop and everything in between. This style infuses their debut album “Watch Me Learn” with beautifully entwined vocals, country-licks, and experimental musical diversions that have a 1970s pop-flourish Carole King would be proud of.

Music writer Kara Kundert sums up their sound best: “The music of Dallas Ugly shimmers with an iridescent nostalgia. Built on a foundation of mellow interchanges of electric guitar and pedal steel, the rhythm and flow evoke an old-school country version of lofi hip hop radio. But combined with soaring fiddle and heartfelt vocals, it becomes something wholly new – a sound as unique as it is dreamy.”

HIGH VOLTAGE AC/DC TRIBUTE 

Saturday, February 3rd                                                                                                                      

Doors: 6:30pm / Show: 7:00pm                                                                                                        

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md

Baltimore’s own High Voltage is the nation’s premier AC/DC tribute band – five veteran musicians putting it all on the line every time they take the stage, enabling audiences to enjoy as authentic an AC/DC live performance as possible. High Voltage is the most entertaining AC/DC live show you will see, next to the real thing. For over 10 years, they have delivered the pure energy, excitement, and concert experience that true AC/DC fans around the world have grown to expect.

This tribute band performs the very best AC/DC songs and the most recognizable hits, spanning the full range of epic hit songs from the Bon Scott-era through the days with Brian Johnson at the helm. High Voltage gives you the biggest hits: “You Shook Me All Night Long”, “Highway To Hell”, “Back In Black”, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, “Hells Bells”, to the other big fan favorites such as “Shoot To Thrill”, “Sin City”, “For Those About to Rock”, “Shot Down In Flames” and so many more!

Across the Harbor                                                                                                                  

Friday, February 9, 2024                                                                                                    

Doors: 6:30 p.m.; Show: 7 p.m. 

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD

Imagine an evening where thirteen of Baltimore’s best songwriters and traditional musicians join together on one stage to celebrate the abundance of roots music alive in Baltimore. Across The Harbor is a musical confluence that melds the music of The Honey Dewdrops, Caleb Stine, Letitia VanSant, and Charm City Junction with instrumentalists rooted in the Bluegrass, Irish, and Old Time traditions.  Across The Harbor features new collaborations and reimagined songs. This ephemeral moment celebrates both the jovial and lamenting sounds found in the rowhouses, sidewalk corners, concert stages, and local sessions within Baltimore. Across The Harbor will transport you through time and space while exploring themes of home and belonging.

Across The Harbor is: Caleb Stine – singer-songwriter, The Honey Dewdrops – singer-songwriters, Letitia VanSant – singer-songwriter, Charm City Junction – acoustic roots music quartet featuring:Brad Kolodner – banjo, Patrick McAvinue – fiddle, Alex Lacquement – upright bass, Sean McComiskey – button accordion, David McKindley-Ward – bouzouki, guitar, mandolin and vocals, Sam Guthridge – banjo (from The High & Wides), Laura Byrne – flutes and whistles, Meghan Mette – fiddle and concertina, EJ Shaull-Thompson – drum set

Aleksi Campagne  Saturday, February 10, 2024                                                                                                            

Doors: 6:30 p.m.; Show: 7 p.m.                                                                                                        

Stoltz Listening Room, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD

“His performances are impressive not just sonically but also visually as you watch him seamlessly navigate different instruments and languages.” Garnette Report Aleksi Campagne is a bilingual contemporary indie-folk fiddle-singer from Montreal. As the son of Canadian Folk icon Connie Kaldor and student of Jazz Violin Legend Didier Lockwood, Aleksi combines his powerful voice with rich songwriting, all while accompanying himself on the violin and seamlessly switching between English and French. By the age of twenty-five, with only a six-song EP, Aleksi has graced the lineups of some of the most competitive folk festivals across Canada for three consecutive years – including the Regina, Canmore, and Bear Creek Folk Festivals.

ROBERT CRAY BAND                                                                                                                   

Thursday, February 15 

Doors: 6:30pm / Show: 7:00pm                                                                                                     

Avalon Theatre 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md

Since 1974, The Robert Cray Band has been touring and recording their unique groove, born from a love of Soul, R&B, Gospel, Blues, and Rock n Roll. With over twenty acclaimed albums that have sold millions worldwide, the five-time Grammy winner has also been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned the Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance.  With Cray’s distinctive guitar style and impressive vocals, the band has also had many opportunities to perform with legends like Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, as well as The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, and Eric Clapton.

Black Dog Alley                                                                                                                                    

Friday, February 16, 2024   

Doors: 6:30 p.m.; Show: 7 p.m.                                                                                                      

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD

“Black Dog Alley has quietly turned into a ‘Go-To’ Band on The Eastern Shore. Always solid, great set list and a good bunch of guys who just keep getting better and better and never disappoint.” WhatsUpMag.com  Easton-based Black Dog Alley is on a mission to move, groove, and rock your very soul!  And with a track record of entertaining audiences across Delmarva and Pennsylvania with hundreds of live performances, they know just how to do it! Their style draws from influences as varied as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, ZZ Top, and Sublime, so their eclectic set list ranges from classic jam rock and rhythm and blues, to funk and reggae-tinged grooves.If you’re looking for a home-grown blend of classic and original material, Black Dog Alley will not disappoint!

Ampersand  – CD Release Party!                                                                                          

Friday, February 23, 2024 

Doors: 6:30 p.m.; Show: 7 p.m.                                                                                                        

Stoltz Listening Room, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD

Called the “Swiss army knife of folk music,” this quartet of multi-instrumentalists brings guitar, banjo, mandolin, cello, hammered dulcimer, and penny whistles to underscore their four-part harmonies and great joy in sharing early traditional music with a modern audience.  From Appalachian ballads to sea shanties to Irish dance tunes, this Easton-based group explores the history of early music and its connections to modern folk and blues.

Ampersand features Beth Lawton, her partner Dick Hogle, son Topher Lawton, and honorary family member Dave Moore. Favorite venues include Stratford Hall in Virginia, as well as various national park sites and historical societies. Join them as they celebrate their newest CD, “Love Will Find Out the Way,” showcasing the music of 1600-1830.  www.ampersandmusic.org

SPY NIGHTS: A WRITERS SERIES WORD GIRLS                                                                       

Wednesday, February 28                                                                                                            

Doors: 5:30pm / Talk: 6:00pm                                                                                                        

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md                                                                                   

Continuing the Spy Nights: A Writers Series is the collective brilliance of the “Word Girls”. Who are the “Word Girls”? Three gifted poets—Meredith Davies Hadaway, Erin Murphy, and Amanda Newell—with strong local ties to Chestertown, Gunston School, and Washington College. They’re all set to captivate audiences with original verses that span environmental, societal, and deeply personal themes.

Meredith Davies Hadaway is the author of three poetry collections, including “At The Narrows” (winner of the Delmarva Book Prize for Creative Writing). She has received fellowships and awards from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts and the Maryland State Arts Council. Hadaway was also recently the Sophie Kerr Poet-in-Residence for Spring 2023 at Washington College.

Erin Murphy is the Poet Laureate of Blair County, PA, and the author or editor of thirteen books, most recently “Taxonomies” (2022) and the forthcoming “Human Resources”. She is Professor of English at Penn State Altoona and Poetry Editor of “The Summerset Review”. She is an alumna of Washington College and UMass Amherst and an inductee in the Blair County Arts Hall of Fame.

Amanda Newell’s collection, “I Will Pass Even to Acheron”, won the 2021 Rattle Chapbook Prize, and her first full-length collection, “Postmortem Say”, is forthcoming in 2023. She is Associate Editor for Special Features and Social Media for the contemporary poetry journal “Plume”. Her poem, “A Woman from the Infant Mortality Review Board Calls” won the 2015 Patricia Dobler Poetry Prize.

The Reagan Years – Dance Shindig!                                                                                                   

Friday, March 1, 2024                                                                                                                     

Doors: 6:30 p.m.; Show: 7 p.m.                                                                                                     

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD

The Reagan Years recreates all the rad sounds of the 1980s! They’re a group of talented musicians with very diverse vocal abilities enabling them to replicate uncanny versions of the Pop, Rock, New Wave and Heavy Metal hits that defined the MTV Era. The Reagan Years covers all the decade’s mega-artists: Bon Jovi , Madonna, Devo, Joan Jett, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, Billy Idol, Journey, Modern English, Guns ‘N Roses, A-Ha, ZZ-Top, and so many more! You’ll want to sing along with every song! The band pioneered the 80’s tribute concept and, like any great idea, many have imitated them, but none have replicated the magic of The Reagan Years!  www.thereaganyears.com

ALAINA STACEY & MADELEINE KELSON                                                                                      

Thursday, March 7                                                                                                                  

Doors: 6:30pm / Show: 7:00pm                                                                                                        

Stoltz Listening Room, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md.                                            

Two up-and-coming Nashville talents performing together in the Stoltz makes for one great night of music!  The Chicago Sun-Times praises Alaina Stacey’s “lush voice, her captivating melodies and lyrics, and her wholly easeful stage presence.”  One year after founding the Nashville based Americana group, Maybe April, Alaina appeared onstage with her group at the Wilshire Theatre in Los Angeles, alongside Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson and The Goo Goo Doll’s Johnny Reznick as part of a GRAMMY-week performance called A Song Is Born. Her band has performed at Pilgrimage Music Festival, Merlefest, SXSW, CMA Fest, and other festivals, and won “Americana Group of the Year” two years in a row at the Arkansas Country Music Awards.  Madeleine Kelson is a Nashville-based Americana artist who pulls from a rich tradition of folk, country, and Americana, challenging its boundaries as a queer artist to represent the modern world. In 2022, Madeleine released her debut, self-produced album, “While I Was Away,” which gained praise from No Depression, has been featured multiple times in NPR, and was a finalist in the Kerrville New Folk competition. Her queer country anthem, “The Way I Do,” became a viral TikTok hit with over 1.6 Million views and her new EP, “Where The Spirit Meets The Muscle,” is set to come out in February 2024.

THE MET: LIVE IN HD LA FORZA DEL DESTINO                                                                           

 Saturday, March 9th                                                                                                                         

Doors: 11:30am / Show: 12:00pm                                                                                       

Avalon Theatre 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md.

On March 9, Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi’s grand tale of ill-fated love, deadly vendettas, and family strife, with stellar soprano Lise Davidsen as the noble Leonora, one of the repertory’s most tormented—and thrilling—heroines. Director Mariusz Treliński delivers the company’s first new Forza in nearly 30 years, setting the scene in a contemporary world and making extensive use of the Met’s turntable to represent the unstoppable advance of destiny that drives the opera’s chain of calamitous events.

The distinguished cast also features tenor Brian Jagde as Leonora’s forbidden beloved, Don Alvaro; baritone Igor Golovatenko as her vengeful brother, Don Carlo; mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk as the fortune teller Preziosilla; bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi as Fra Melitone; and bass Soloman Howard as both Leonora’s father and Padre Guardiano. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

Medium Debbie Wojciechowski                                                                                                    

Saturday, March 9, 2024                                                                                                        

Doors: 6:30 p.m.; Show: 7 p.m.                                                                                                        

Stoltz Listening Room, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD

Debbie Wojciechowski is a self-proclaimed “normal person” who possesses an extraordinary ability…the ability to communicate with your loved ones on the “other side.”

With a Master of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University and a 25-year federal law enforcement career, Debbie has also established herself as an acclaimed and certified Evidential Medium, someone who is able to communicate information from what is beyond this realm. Her federal law enforcement experience coupled with her mediumship gifts enable her to consult on cold cases and missing persons’ investigations. Since her professional career included extensive work in the areas of mental health and grief counseling, she can often draw on this background during the sensitive readings she gives in private counseling and during public events.

Debbie feels both humbled and privileged to channel messages for clients and takes this responsibility very seriously.

JONATHAN RICHMAN                                                                                                                   

Tuesday, March 12                                                                                                                

Doors: 7:30pm / Show: 8:00pm                                                                                                      

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md

“Richman is one of America’s most unique and dynamic songwriters…” – Nashville Scene Called the Godfather of Punk, Jonathan Richman and his former band The Modern Lovers have influenced everyone from the Sex Pistols and Iggy Pop to the Violent Femmes and They Might Be Giants.

After his pop profile was boosted later by appearing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and in the film “There’s Something about Mary,” Richman is still going strong in the new century and remains as dedicated as ever to crafting new music, like his latest album, “Want to Visit My Inner House?” (2021).

According to Jonathan, his new music is always his main focus: “Please do not expect old songs. Many singers my age do a retrospective; this show is not like that. It’s mostly stuff made up in the last 3 and 4 years…One last thing, my idea of a good show has nothing to do with applause. It’s about if all the songs I sang that night were ones that I felt.”

Prepare to share a unique experience with Jonathan Richman when he takes the intimate Avalon stage!

An Evening with Tom Rush (accompanied by Matt Nakoa)                                                          

Friday, March 15, 2024                                                                                                                   

Doors: 7:30 p.m.; Show: 8 p.m.                                                                                                      

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD

Tom Rush is a gifted musician and performer, whose shows offer a musical celebration…a journey into the tradition and spectrum of what music has been, can be, and will become. His distinctive guitar style, wry humor, and warm, expressive voice have made him both a legend and a lure to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the rib-aching laughter of terrific story-telling, the sweet melancholy of ballads and the passion of gritty blues.

Rush’s impact on the American music scene has been profound. He helped shape the folk revival in the ’60s and the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s, his music having left its stamp on generations of artists. James Taylor told Rolling Stone, “Tom was not only one of my early heroes, but also one of my main influences.” Country music star Garth Brooks has credited Rush with being one of his top five musical influences.  https://www.tomrush.com/

The Last Revel                                                                                                                                    

Friday, March 22, 2024                                                                                                                    

Doors: 7:30 p.m.; Show: 8 p.m.                                                                                                        

Stoltz Listening Room, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD

The Last Revel is an acclaimed three-piece folk group from Minneapolis, Minnesota.       Utilizing their multi-instrumental abilities, members Lee Henke, Ryan Acker, and Vincenzio Donatelle, bring a full spectrum of modern Americana to life with lush arrangements of three-part vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, and 5-string banjo to consistently support impassioned performances of their honest and heartfelt songwriting.

Drawing influence from their salt of the earth Midwest ethos the band’s songs so naturally blend the genres of Folk, Old Time String-Band and Indie Rock to create a sound that echoes the current heartbeat of America. Their latest release, Dovetail, highlights each members strength as songwriters and collaborators, and further solidifies their musical foundation.

THE MET: LIVE IN HD ROMÉO ET JULIETTE                                                                                   

Saturday, March 23                                                                                                                

Doors: 12:30pm / Show: 1:00pm                                                                                       A

valon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Md.

On March 23, two singers at the height of their powers—radiant soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor sensation Benjamin Bernheim—come together as the star-crossed lovers in Gounod’s sumptuous Shakespeare adaptation, with Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium to conduct one of the repertoire’s most romantic scores. Bartlett Sher’s towering staging also features baritone Will Liverman and tenor Frederick Ballentine as the archrivals Mercutio and Tybalt, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as the mischievous pageboy Stéphano, and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Frère Laurent.

This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

On Saturday, February 24, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m., in the Avalon Theater, author Carole Boston Weatherford and her son, illustrator Jeffrey Boston Weatherford, will discuss their latest work, KIN: Rooted in Hope, a book The Bulletin of the Center for Children called “gorgeously rendered,” and one Kirkus Reviews described as “a striking work that reshapes the narrative around enslavement.”

Spanning more than 250 years of the Weatherford family’s Talbot County history, the author and illustrator conjure up the triumphs and losses of their ancestors through Carole Boston Weatherford’s poetry and her son Jeffrey’s astonishing scratch board illustrations. In addition to the voices of their ancestors, we hear from Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, an archaeologist, plantation owners and overseers, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Wye House itself.

Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of 70+ books. At the 2024 American Library Association Youth Media Awards, KIN: Rooted in Hope was named a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book. Her other works have earned her a Newberry Honor, the Coretta Scott King Award, four Caldecott Honors, two NAACP Image Awards, and nine American Library Association Youth Media Awards, among many others. Her 2021 book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre was long-listed for the National Book Award. Weatherford’s poetry is simple, direct, and vivid. In Kin she resurrects forgotten lives.

An award-winning illustrator in his own right, Jeffrey Boston Weatherford was a Romare Bearden Scholar at Howard University, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree. A performance poet as well as an artist, Weatherford has exhibited or performed in West Africa and the Middle East, in addition to the U.S. His black and white scratch board art is striking, powerful, and exquisite. The book’s cover image will haunt the reader long after the book itself has been set aside.

The Weatherfords’ Avalon presentation is sponsored by the Talbot County Free Library, The Country School, The Avalon Foundation, and a group of community partners: Academy Art Museum, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Dorchester County Tourism, Easton Economic Development Corporation, Frederick Douglass Honor Society, Maryland Public Television, Monica Davis, ShoreRivers, Talbot Arts, Talbot County Economic Development and Tourism, Talbot County Public Schools, Talbot Historical Society, and WHCP FM 91.7 Music Discovery & NPR for the Mid-Shore, and Dock Street Foundation. The program is free and open to all. Reservations are not required. Books will be available for sale and signing. For more information, contact the library at 410-822-1626, go to www.tcfl.org, or the Avalon Theater.

On Friday, February 23, at 11:30 a.m., the Dorchester County Historical Society will be hosting a conversation with the Weatherfords on the power of genealogical research in leading them back to their roots. For more information about the program, contact the Historical Society at 410-228-7953 or go to dorchesterhistory.com.

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony announces two upcoming performances by the MSO String Quintet, which consist of principal string players from the orchestra. The concerts will take place on Saturday, February 10, at 3 PM at Epworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth Beach, DE, and on Sunday, February 11, at 4 PM at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD.

Audiences are invited to experience selections from the chamber music repertoire chamber as the Ensemble Series String Quintet showcases the works of Ludwig van Beethoven and Antonín Dvořák. The program will feature Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 18, No. 4 in C Minor, a masterpiece that reflects Beethoven’s genius and innovation. Additionally, the quintet will perform Dvořák’s String Quintet, Op. 77 in G Major, a composition that showcases Dvořák’s melodic richness and emotional depth.

Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 18, No. 4 in C Minor, stands as a testament to the composer’s early mastery of the string quartet form. Completed in 1800, this emotive and dynamic composition reflects Beethoven’s distinctive style, blending classical structures with his innovative spirit. The quartet, comprised of four movements, unfolds with dramatic intensity, showcasing Beethoven’s ability to convey profound emotions through his music. From the evocative opening movement to the spirited scherzo and the poignant adagio, this work is a compelling exploration of Beethoven’s artistic prowess and a timeless contribution to the string quartet repertoire.

Antonín Dvořák’s String Quintet, Op. 77 in G Major, completed in 1875, demonstrates Dvořák’s melodic brilliance and folk-inspired charm. With its buoyant and vivacious character, the quintet weaves a captivating tapestry of musical expression. Dvořák skillfully incorporates Slavic folk elements, infusing the work with distinctive rhythms and heartfelt melodies. The interplay among the strings in the various movements, from the lively scherzo to the soulful adagio, showcases Dvořák’s ability to create a rich, harmonious dialogue. Opus 77 is a testament to Dvořák’s masterful craftsmanship and enduring contribution to the world of chamber music.

“We are thrilled to present this exceptional performance by our talented Ensemble Series String Quintet. The selected pieces from Beethoven and Dvořák promise an evening filled with beautiful melodies and masterful compositions,” said Jeffrey Parker, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony.

 WHEN and WHERE

This concert will be performed at two venues on two days on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Saturday, February 10, 3 PM – Epworth United Methodist Church, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Sunday, February 11, 4 PM – Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD

TICKETS

Individual tickets for this concert are $35 per person at each venue and are available at midatlanticsymphony.org.

PODCASTS

Previews for each program in the season and for special MSO events are available on the MSO Web site at midatlanticsymphony.org/podcast. Podcasts are posted on the site 7 to 10 days before a concert or event.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about the 2023-2024 season, or to order tickets, please visit www.midatlanticsymphony.org. Tickets may be ordered by telephone at 888-846-8600.

Allegro Academy, located at 114 North Washington Street, Easton, invites you to escape into a magical and intimate world this February: Where the Light Begins: A Winter Concert Experience.

The immersive concert fundraising event featuring the Allegra! Women’s Chorus will take place on February 24 and 25. It features Snow Angel, an evocative five-movement vocal work by Canadian composer Sarah Quartel that explores themes of love, rebirth, and beauty through the eyes of children and the heavenly protectors that watch over them.

Stepping through Allegro’s Washington Street entrance into a transportive setting, you will wander with a complimentary glass of champagne through studios prepared with hors d’oeuvres to the main performance space. A cash bar will remain open for the duration of all performances.

Snow Angel, performed by the premier 18-voice Allegra! ensemble—joined by piano, cello, djembe, and storytellers—will carry you into an ethereal and mystical story of winter, light, and new life. The program will also include music by composers Elaine Hagenburg and Susan LaBarr, including the title piece, Where the Light Begins.

Guests are asked to purchase tickets for set performance times. Doors open at 5:15 pm on February 24 with performances at 6 pm, 7 pm, and 8 pm.  On February 25, doors will open at 3:15 pm with performances at 4 pm and 5 pm. Tickets and information can be found at www.allegroacademyeaston.com.