Arts Council of Calvert County Recognizes Colleges Contributions
The Arts Council of Calvert County recognized the College of Southern Maryland with the 2010 Mary D. Harrison Award for its commitment to the arts at its annual meeting June 30.
CSM was chosen for its many contributions in bringing new artistic endeavors to Calvert County, said Arts Council President Bill Chambers. All the years that Ive been a resident of the county, and with our new dean, Rich Fleming, the commitment to the arts and being a part of the community has never been more of a priority than it is today, Chambers said.
This is such an honor for us, said CSM Vice President and Dean of the Prince Frederick Campus Richard Fleming. I have always viewed our community college as being a part of the community, and to provide whatever services we can, whatever entertainment we can. Ive lived in rural communities where in some cases we were the arts magnet for the entire community, said Fleming.
Fleming listed the Twilight Performance and Ward Virts concert series, piano competition, theater productions and traveling cultural exhibits that are scheduled for the Prince Frederick Campus, adding that next spring CSM will break ground on a second building that will have a large multi-purpose room and will provide greater opportunities to bring the arts to Calvert County.
The Twilight Performance Series kicks off with Chautauqua, a yearly event presented in partnership with the Maryland Humanities Council and CSM. The July 8 event will include a music performance at 6:45 p.m. followed by a theatrical performance of Sacagawea, the American Indian woman who accompanied the Lewis and Clark expedition.
The Twilight Performance Series continues with weekly outdoor concerts on the Flagship Building lawn featuring bluegrass, jazz and Latin beat performancesall free of charge. This years series features the blues, bluegrass and jazz-influenced Fitzmaurice Band on July 15, swing-dance favorites Terence McArdle & Big Trouble on July 22 and the jazz trio of Alegria on July 29. All concerts begin at 6:45 p.m.
CSM hosts the Ward Virts Concert Series, beginning in October, which brings musicians and singers to the Prince Frederick Campus to perform on, or to be accompanied by, the world-class Boesendorfer grand piano, a donation from the Ward Virts Project named for a gifted local pianist who died in 1993. The series is sponsored by Edward and Patricia Mehosky, St. Clair and Mary Tweedie and Gerry Van De Velde and Rene Cunningham.
CSM is also host with co-sponsor ArtLinks to the Southern Maryland Regional Piano Competition providing a venue for serious high school pianists each April. Finalists of the SMRPC perform at events held at the Prince Frederick Campus throughout the year.
This year, CSMs theater department is bringing 10 shows of its Cause Theater beginning in October to the Prince Frederick Campus. The Cause Theater program produces challenging and timely theater pieces that address social and health issues.
A traveling cultural exhibit, Farm Life: A Century of Change for Farm Families and Their Neighbors, presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings artifacts, photographs and interactive screens of museum quality depicting farm life in Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin and farm life in Calvert County. The exhibit runs July 6 through Aug. 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. The exhibit will be open during the Twilight performances.
For a listing of upcoming events, visit www.csmd.edu/Arts or the calendar located at www.csmd.edu.
Chautauqua is a program of the Maryland Humanities Council presented in partnership with the College of Southern Maryland. The Maryland Humanities Council, Inc. is an independent non-profit organization which receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Maryland Division of Historical and Cultural Programs, corporations, foundations and individuals.