The Academy Art Museum delivered one of the more imaginative moments at this year’s Easton Holiday Parade, presenting a float that blended craftsmanship, humor, and a distinctly local creative spirit. Central to the display was a beautifully restored 1932 GMC pickup truck, generously provided by David and Joan North, longtime friends of the museum and a key collaborator on last year’s Bugatti exhibition.

In the truck bed, artist and AAM instructor Stewart White designed and hand-painted a charming diorama—a miniature reimagining of the museum itself. The scene portrays elves industriously constructing artworks, a playful nod to both Santa’s workshop and the daily creative production in AAM’s studios. White’s vision was brought to life with the support of a wide team of AAM instructors, staff, and volunteers, who contributed many hours to the build and finishing touches.

During the parade, students, children, teachers, and staff dressed as elves walked alongside the float, distributing magic sculpt and painting tools to spectators. Their presence reinforced the theme: that remarkable things are being made right here in Easton by a vibrant community of artists and learners.

For those who missed the parade, the 1932 GMC and its festive diorama are currently parked in front of the Academy Art Museum, giving visitors a chance to see the installation up close—or to take a holiday selfie before heading inside. The museum’s major exhibition, Robert Rauschenberg at 100: New Connections, is now on view, free and open to the public.

The project, championed by AAM’s new Manager of Membership, Laura Ryan, stands as a thoughtful example of what collective creativity can produce—and how art can bring a community together in joyful, unexpected ways. Consider giving the gift of a museum membership this holiday season!

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For information about the Academy Art Museum, please go here.

The Academy Art Museum (AAM) is set to break ground on the Henny and James Freeman Annex and Hormel Research Center, a custom-built, state-of-the-art facility designed to preserve and expand access to the Museum’s permanent collection of over 1,700 works of art. The new complex, located at 106, 108, and 110 Talbot Lane, is made possible through the a generous donation by AAM Trustee Elizabeth Hormel.

At its heart, this project advances AAM’s commitment to responsible stewardship and public access. The new facility will feature climate-controlled vaults, conservation-grade storage, and a research center—providing a secure and sustainable environment for the museum’s expanding collection while creating opportunities for scholarship and community engagement.

“The Academy Art Museum is a place where creativity meets community,” said Diz Hormel. “ The new Freeman annex and Hormel Research Center will enable the museum to be more ambitious with its collection while preserving history and honoring the first known freed family to own property and settle in the Hill community of downtown Easton. This project both embraces our past and inspires our future.”

While the Freeman Annex and Hormel Research Center will not be a public gallery space, it represents a major expansion of the Museum’s educational and research mission. Scholars, students, and community members will be able to schedule appointments to study works from the collection up close, opening new avenues for engagement, scholarship, and learning.

“Much of our collection has never been on public display,” said Charlotte Potter Kasic, Director of the Academy Art Museum. “This new facility gives us the ability to conserve and share these important works responsibly, while also creating a space for research and deeper connection with our community.”

The site itself carries remarkable historic significance. Once owned by Henny and James Freeman, the property at 106 Talbot Lane was home to the earliest documented free Black landowning family in Easton, Maryland. To better understand and honor this history, the Museum commissioned The Ottery Group, a Maryland-based firm specializing in archaeology and historic preservation, to conduct multiple excavations

By the spring of 2023, The Ottery Group had unearthed more than 6,000 historical artifacts, including pottery, glass, wrought iron nails, butchered bones, children’s toys, and personal objects such as buttons, jewelry, and a hair comb. Many items, including handmade glass bottles and ceramics, date to the 18th and early 19th centuries—when the Freeman family lived on the site.

Working with GRT Architects (Brooklyn, NY) and local architect and preservationist John Hutchison, the Museum has developed a design that celebrates this layered history. The new structure will be set across from the existing two-story building, framing a central courtyard that will serve as the heart of the property. The courtyard will include a public display of artifacts discovered during excavation, linking Easton’s past and present in a shared narrative of art, history, and community.

“This project represents the perfect intersection of art, history, and education,” said Kasic. “It provides the flexibility and infrastructure we’ve long needed to steward our growing collection responsibly, while also creating opportunities for discovery, learning, and connection.”

Special thanks to the Talbot Lane Committee, including Museum staff and Board Members Donna Alpi, Diz Hormel, Nanny Trippe, Chris Walsh, Mary Ann Schindler, and Jill Meyerhoff, whose leadership and vision have helped bring this transformative project to life.

A Groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Thursday December 18th 2025 at 10 am at the Academy Art Museum. All media is welcome. 

About the Academy Art Museum

Founded in 1958, the Academy Art Museum is the Eastern Shore’s leading cultural institution, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It combines the dynamism of an ambitious contemporary art museum with the intimacy of a community space. With five working studios, a 24,000 sq. ft. facility, and innovative programs including a robust artist-in-residence initiative and major commissions for its soaring atrium, the Museum is a destination for artists, scholars, collectors, and families alike.

Oxford resident Daniel Weiss has just been appointed the new director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mr. Wise had recently retired from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York after a distinguished tenure.

Read the full story here.

The Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore Offers “Nine Baltimore Album Blocks From The Lovely Lane Museum – A Quilting Class”

Students will explore the story behind the blocks and learn various appliqué tips, tricks  and methods in this first series of 3 classes. One block will be created from each class. 

Instructor: Mary Zober 
Dates: January 17, February 7 and March 21, 2026 
Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm 
Cost: Members/$120.00 Non-Members/$180.00 

For more information on the class and for a supply list, please call Mary at 302/632-4244. To sign up for the class, please call Kathleen at FAC at 443/448-4611. 

As part of Chesapeake Music’s Interlude Series, The Catalyst Quartet will perform at The Ebenezer Theater at 2 p.m. on November 23. The Quartet, which has performed in venues all over the world, is famous for its amazing ensemble unity, as well as its unequaled class of execution.

The ensemble includes violinists Karla Donehew Perez and Abi Fayette; violist Paul Laraia; and cellist Karlos Rodriguez.

We had the opportunity to interview Paul Laraia about the program the Quartet will perform this November in Easton and asked him to explain the Quartet’s priorities and points of view about the music they perform.

What is the specific program for the November 23 concert in Easton? 

We’ll be presenting Cinematic Refuge, a program built around three visionary composers who each found creative sanctuary in film and storytelling. The program includes Philip Glass’ String Quartet No. 3 (“Mishima”), Bernard Herrmann’s Echoes, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s String Quartet No. 2. Each of us in the quartet felt drawn to these works because they show how composers known for cinema translated that same intensity and color into chamber music. It’s a chance for audiences to experience the intimacy of a string quartet with the sweep and imagination of the silver screen.

Why did you select those pieces? What is special about each one? 

Glass’ Mishima began as a film score and later became one of his most widely performed quartets, blending hypnotic repetition with bursts of lyricism that mirror the inner life of the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. His music challenges us as performers to create momentum through the tiniest of shifts, which is both demanding and exhilarating.

Bernard Herrmann, whose music defined suspense in films like Psycho and Vertigo, wrote Echoes as a chamber work that carries his unmistakable dramatic voice. We love how he uses color and silence to build a sense of cinematic tension.

Korngold, one of the great architects of Hollywood’s Golden Age, poured his lush harmonic language into his Third Quartet, written late in life. Playing this piece feels like inhabiting a grand opera house on a chamber scale — deeply emotional and full of humanity.

Together, these works remind us that film composers weren’t only writing for the screen but were also profound artists in their own right.

What advice do you have for attendees at the November 23rd concert? Are there special aspects of the performances attendees should listen for and focus on?

We’d encourage listeners to let themselves be swept into the atmospheres. In Glass, notice how tiny rhythmic changes shift the entire emotional landscape, almost like watching light move across water.

In Herrmann, you might feel as if you’ve entered a suspenseful film scene, with textures that build unease and sudden clarity.

And in Korngold, allow the soaring melodies to wash over you — some of us in the group find ourselves singing his themes for days after rehearsal! Whether you’re an experienced concertgoer or hearing this music for the first time, there’s an immediate emotional pull, but also layers of detail to discover on repeated listening.

When researching information about The Catalyst Quartet, I understand you have a passion for contemporary works. Please say more about that and how that passion influences the music that you play.

Contemporary music is vital for us because it keeps the quartet tradition alive and connected to today’s world. We’ve been fortunate to collaborate closely with composers like Jessie Montgomery, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Jorge Amado, a Cuban composer whose music reflects his roots while speaking to broader global traditions.

Rehearsing with living composers is always a two-way dialogue: we bring our knowledge of quartet tradition, and they push us into new ways of thinking about sound and storytelling. For example, Jorge Amado’s writing draws deeply from Cuban rhythms and sound worlds yet feels universal in its emotional reach. These collaborations remind us that the quartet is not a museum piece; it’s a living, evolving art form.

I understand that you were founded by The Sphinx Organization. Please explain how that came to be.

Yes, Catalyst Quartet was born out of the Sphinx Organization, which is dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Three of us are alumni of the Sphinx Competition, and in 2010 we came together with a shared vision of forming a quartet that reflects the world we live in.

I joined the group in 2013, just as we were embarking on our first major initiative, The Bach/Gould Project. That project taught us how to think expansively about programming and collaboration and has been central to our growth ever since.

When Jessie Montgomery left the quartet in 2020 to focus on her extraordinary composing career, violinist Abi Fayette joined us. Although not a Sphinx alum, Abi immediately resonated with our ethos and mission. She has built on those foundations with her artistry, curiosity, and commitment to excellence, strengthening our identity as a quartet that combines performance at the highest level with advocacy and innovation.

I also understand that you have a serious commitment to diversity and education. Please give us some examples of how you put that into action.

This commitment is at the very heart of who we are. Our Uncovered project is one of the clearest examples. It’s a multi-volume recording and performance series dedicated to works by historically overlooked composers of color, including Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, William Grant Still, and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson.

Sharing this music has been transformative, not only for audiences but for us personally, as it deepens our understanding of the tradition we belong to.

On the educational side, we’ve led multi-year residencies at Chamber Music Northwest and worked extensively in schools and community programs, mentoring the next generation of musicians. For us, advocacy and education aren’t separate from performance — they’re interwoven into our artistic mission.

You have played in so many venues. What are some of your favorites? Do you have some special concerts that stand out in your many years of performing?

We’ve been fortunate to perform in remarkable venues like Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we recently completed a multi-year residency. Each space brings something unique—the grandeur of a large concert hall, the intimacy of a chamber stage, or the beauty of playing among great works of art.

One standout memory was performing Uncovered programs for audiences hearing Florence Price’s quartets live for the first time — the sense of discovery and shared pride in that moment was unforgettable.

 Another was our collaboration with artists like Cécile McLorin Salvant and Aaron Diehl, which reminded us how powerful music becomes when genres and traditions meet.

Tell us more about your Grammy Award.

Winning a Grammy was both humbling and energizing. We were honored to be featured on Cécile McLorin Salvant’s album Dreams and Daggers, which won in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category. That experience showed us the richness of collaboration across genres, and how chamber musicians can bring their voice into new contexts.

More recently, our own recording Uncovered Vol. 3 was nominated for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance in the classical category. That nomination felt especially meaningful because it recognized the importance of bringing overlooked composers into the spotlight. These honors remind us that when we stay true to our mission, the larger artistic community is listening.

How do you differentiate your string quartet from other quartets?

Every quartet has its own identity, and ours is rooted in curiosity and inclusivity. We are committed to expanding the repertoire through overlooked voices, contemporary collaborations, and creative programming that reframes familiar works.

At the same time, we approach everything with the highest artistic standards — whether it’s Haydn, Glass, or Jorge Amado. What makes us unique is this balance. We honor the great traditions of the quartet while also insisting that it must reflect today’s world. Our audiences know that when they come to hear Catalyst, they’ll experience something both deeply rooted and refreshingly unexpected.

Chesapeake Music offers a limited number of free tickets for students, educators, and Talbot County First Responders, as well as a “buy-one-get-one” option for first-time patrons of Chesapeake Music. General admission tickets are $50. Visit ChesapeakeMusic.org for tickets and more information.

Based in Easton, Maryland, and celebrating its 40th Anniversary Year, Chesapeake Music is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that brings renowned musicians to delight, engage, and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire, and develop tomorrow’s. Learn more at ChesapeakeMusic.org.

Maria Grant was principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm. While on the Eastern Shore, she focuses on writing, reading, music, and nature.

A Festive Tradition Returns with Seasonal Favorites, Opera Highlights, and Guest Soloists Kresley Figueroa and Jonathan Patton

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is delighted to present its annual Holiday Joy concerts—three festive performances that have become a cherished December tradition across the Delmarva Peninsula. Led by Grammy Award–winning Music Director Michael Repper, the orchestra will perform on Thursday, December 4 at 7:30 PM at the Todd Performing Arts Center at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Saturday, December 6 at 7:30 PM at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, and Sunday, December 7 at 3:00 PM at the Ocean City Performing Arts Center.

Each year, Holiday Joy brings together the warmth of the season with the artistry of the MSO’s musicians. This year’s program promises an especially memorable experience featuring returning guest soloists Kresley Figueroa, soprano, as well as Jonathan Patton, baritone—two rising operatic voices whose performances have captivated audiences nationwide. Together with the orchestra, they will perform a blend of beloved holiday songs, classic carols, and celebrated opera arias.

Audiences will hear sparkling orchestral works including Festive Fanfare, Leroy Anderson’s Christmas Festival and Sleigh Ride, along with lush arrangements of White Christmas, Let It Snow, and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The program also features opera arias, duets, and the beloved “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” narrated by our gifted soloists.

With its combination of festive symphonic offerings and cherished holiday music, the 2025 Holiday Joy concerts are certain to raise your spirits and are the perfect way to usher in the holidays. Now in our 28th season, the Holiday Joy concerts continue to be one of the highlights of the MSO season.

Tickets and additional information are available at www.midatlanticsymphony.org or by calling 888-846-8600.

ABOUT THE MID-ATLANTIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is the only professional symphony orchestra serving southern Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore with a full season of programs. The MSO is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, the Talbot County Arts Council, the Worcester County Arts Council, the Sussex County (Delaware) Council, and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Inc.

A complete schedule of the 2025-2026 season’s Masterworks and Ensembles programs, including venues, times, and other details, is available at www.midatlanticsymphony.org.

This year, Bayside Quilters will hold its fourth annual Handmade Market on November 21, from 3 to 7 p.m., and November 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The guild’s talented quilters have been busy crafting quilts and other gift items, which will be for sale on the second floor of the Trappe Volunteer Fire Company at 4001 Powell Avenue in Trappe, Maryland, just in time for the holidays. These items include large and small quilts, wall hangings, table runners, rope bowls, toys, pillows, and bags, as well as a beautifully crafted raffle quilt.

The Handmade Market is an annual event that the Bayside Quilters of the Eastern Shore hold to raise funds for our outreach and educational efforts. Outreach efforts benefit many non-profits on the Eastern Shore, including the Caroline County Family Support Center, Greensboro Judy Center, Chapel District Elementary Schools, Talbot Interfaith Shelter, University of Maryland Clark Comprehensive Breast Center, Talbot Hospice and Palliative Care, and Veterans of Talbot Hospice. Bayside Quilters’ education efforts include currently teaching 4-H students in Talbot and Caroline counties to sew.

Bayside Quilters meet at 9:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the Trappe Volunteer Fire Company, 4001 Powell Ave., Trappe, MD. New members and visitors are welcome. For more information, visit Facebook @ Bayside Quilters of the Eastern Shore, or the website www.baysidequilters.com.

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce that its Music Director, Michael Repper, has been nominated for two GRAMMY Awards for his work with the National Philharmonic.

The album, a world-premiere recording celebrating the 150th anniversary of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, received nominations for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Instrumental Solo. Conducted by Michael Repper and featuring violinist Curtis Stewart with the musicians of the National Philharmonic, the recording highlights the depth, energy, and inclusivity that have come to define Repper’s artistry both on stage and in the studio.

“These nominations are a testament not only to Michael’s extraordinary musicianship but also to his commitment to bringing vital, underrepresented voices in classical music to the forefront,” said Jeffrey Parker, Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors. “We are incredibly proud to have him leading our orchestra.”

Repper, who won a GRAMMY Award in 2023 for his recording with the New York Youth Symphony, continues to garner international recognition for his innovative programming and passion for making orchestral music accessible to diverse audiences.

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, now in its 28th season, celebrates this achievement as part of its ongoing mission to present world-class music across the Delmarva Peninsula.

For more information about upcoming concerts, visit www.midatlanticsymphony.org

ABOUT THE MID-ATLANTIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is the only professional symphony orchestra serving southern Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore with a full season of programs. The MSO is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, the Talbot County Arts Council, the Worcester County Arts Council, the Sussex County (Delaware) Council, and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Inc.

A complete schedule of the 2025-2026 season’s Masterworks and Ensembles programs, including venues, times, and other details, is available at www.midatlanticsymphony.org.