CSM Kicks off a Spring Arts Season that Showcases Talented Faculty, Students and Renowned Artists

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) has kicked off the 2024 arts season offering several months of music, art, dance, theater, and literature events and activities to keep the community engaged and entertained throughout the spring.

“We are thrilled to continue a busy season of fine arts during the first year of the newly named Hank Willoughby Foundation Center for the Arts (the former Fine Arts Building),” said Dr. Stephen Johnson, associate dean of liberal arts and chair of visual and performing arts at CSM. “The spring season will feature the work of renowned artists, several CSM faculty, and of course there will be a semester’s worth of featured student work as well.”  

Artist and CSM Photography Coordinator George Bedell gives a gallery talk on his exhibition, on “By Mourning Tongues,” Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m. The exhibition, which is currently showing at the Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery, explores literary and historical references to rituals of memorialization. It runs through March 8 and is free to attend.

“Our physical frailty and our impermanence help make us what we are,” Bedell said.  “Over eons, humans have tried to make peace with our impermanence through ritual and remembrance and in the process, have created images and poems both sublime and enduring.”

And, later this month, the theatre season will kick off with a production of the family-friendly show “Beanstalk!” which follows the adventures of Jack, a young boy with his head in the clouds and his nose in a book of fairy tales. The show will run on weekends Feb. 23 – March 3 at the La Plata Campus, Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater; Hank Willoughby Foundation Center for the Arts with special daytime matinees on Feb. 23 and March 1 for field trip and homeschool groups. Tickets are $10.

Music

Two locally beloved concert series will continue this spring. The Ward Virts Concert Series will present Brian Ganz on the Prince Frederick campus’s world-class handcrafted Austrian Bösendorfer piano Feb. 10. Ganz, one of the leading pianists of his generation, has made it his mission to join vivid music making with warmth and intimacy onstage to produce a unique listening experience, in which great works come to life with authentic emotional power.

The Ward Virts Concert Series will continue on April 13 with Russell Wilson on piano. Wilson is a classical and jazz pianist who is currently the Principal Piano and the Celeste, Quincy & Anne Owen Cole Chair with the Richmond Symphony. The series concludes June 8 with soprano Annaliese Pappas, who recently made her international debut as Flora in Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw” with the Trentino Music Festival in Italy. All performances will take place at 3 p.m. at the Prince Frederick Campus, Building B, Multipurpose Room 104, and are free to attend.
               The Benny C. Morgan Concert Series will also present a free spring concert with South African cellist Jacques-Pierre Malan. Serving as an ambassador for South African classical musicians within the U.S., his innovative projects and uncompromising dedication to energizing and uplifting both audiences and musicians have landed him on stages across the world. The concert will take place March 9 at 3 p.m. at the Leonardtown Campus, Building A Auditorium.
              The Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater at the Hank Willoughby Foundation Center for the Arts on the La Plata campus will also have a full musical calendar this spring, to include:

• The Ritmo Caché Latin Ensemble, directed by Johnson, will celebrate the advent of spring with “¡Primavera!” March 25 at 7:30 p.m., which will be free to attend.
• CSM’s annual Jazzfest returns for its 19th year. The festival will include a performance by the Randy Runyon project April 5 at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Solid Brass Big Band Concert and the Charles County Public Schools All-County Jazz Band April 6, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.
• The free Student Honors Recital on May 1 at 2:30 p.m. will feature solo and chamber performances by CSM music students.
• The Ritmo Caché Latin Ensemble presents “¡QUE VIVA LA MÚSICA!” May 1 at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $5.
• The CSM Chorale and CSM Chamber Choir will hold a joint concert on May 2 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5.
• Southern Maryland Concert Band, a community-based concert band comprised of amateur and professional community musicians and CSM students, will hold a concert at La Plata May 4 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.

Literature

The Connections Literary Series continues April 1 at 7:30, bringing poet Sean Thomas Dougherty to the Prince Fredrick Campus, Building B, Room 103. Dougherty is the author or editor of 20 books including the Publishers Weekly Top 10 New Releases in Poetry, “Death Prefers the Minor Keys.” Later this spring, contributors to CSM’s Connections Literary Magazine will read and discuss their published works on May 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the La Plata Campus, Learning Resource Center (LR Building), Room 102. Both events are free to attend.

Visual Arts

In April, the Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery at the La Plata campus will present the Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition and Reception to showcase art in a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, photography, ceramics, and graphic design by CSM students. The exhibition runs April 1 – May 6 with a free reception April 16 at 2:30 p.m.

Theatre

For their second show of the season, CSM Theatre will present “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams from April 19-28 at the La Plata Campus, Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater; Hank Willoughby Foundation Center for the Arts. The show will be directed by CSM’s new Theater Coordinator, Dr. AnnMarie Saunders, and auditions will take place on Feb. 12 and 13 with callbacks Feb. 15. Tickets will be $10.

Dance

This spring the CSM Dance Ensemble closes out the semester by exploring themes at the intersection of obstacles and aspirations in its spring concert, “Here Comes the Sun: Warmth, Love, and Renewal.” The performance will take place May 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the La Plata Campus, Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater; Hank Willoughby Foundation Center for the Arts. Tickets are $5.

Be sure to bookmark CSM’s arts season schedule for updates to the season and more information as it becomes available. For more information or to purchase tickets, email boxoffice@csmd.edu or call 301-934-7828.