The Howard County Arts Council, in its 31st year of service to the public of Howard County, will present the 15th Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County on Saturday, March 24, 2012 at the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD. Ken & Jaki Ulman will serve as Honorary Chairs. Richard W. Story, Senior Vice President for Marketing, JPB Enterprises, Inc. will emcee the event.
The Celebration is a multi-faceted signature event, showcasing and promoting the arts and raising funds in support of the arts, artists and arts organizations in Howard County. Nine finalists will compete for a cash prize of $5,000 in the 2012 Rising Star Emerging Performing Artist Award Competition, a highlight of the gala event. In December, performing artists aged 18 to 35 years, currently or recently living, working, performing regularly, or receiving training in Howard County, auditioned before a panel of professionals in their discipline. Review criteria included artistic merit, demonstrated experience in the arts, and commitment to a career in the arts.
An audience of artists, arts patrons, business and political representatives and community members will select the winner by popular vote, and he or she will receive the award on stage that night!
The nine finalists performing at the Celebration are: Mark Allen (Musical Theatre), Antonio Beverly (Modern Dance), Joe Duffey (Irish Step Dance), Luke Grooms (Opera), Rasa Mahmoudian (Violin), Samantha McEwen (Musical Theatre), Tim McKay (Percussion), Alexandra Rodrick (Opera), and Eddie Sanders, III (Bassoon).
Mark Allen (Musical Theatre)
Mark Allen, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, has worked on stages across the world starting at the age of twelve, when he toured in the title role with the opera Samuel. Since then, his stage career has spanned two continents, numerous theme parks, and regional theaters. Mark attended the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana, where he majored in Vocal Performance and French. He recently performed as Papa Ge and Daniel in Red Branch Theatre Company’s production of Once On This Island. Some of his other credits include Mark in Rent, Gepetto in Pinocchio, and Mr. Lawrence in Little Women.
Antonio Beverly (Modern Dance)
Antonio Beverly is a second-year dance major at Howard Community College (HCC) and a graduate of Wilde Lake High School where he performed as Munkustrap in CATS, Father Mapple in Moby Dick! The Musical, and appeared in Pippin. He has recently performed with HCC’s Arts Collective Dance Company and worked with professional resident choreographers including Renée Brozic Barger. He has also performed at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia and Baltimore and with Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts’ Teen Professional Theatre.
Joe Duffey (Irish Step Dance)
Joe Duffey has danced with Columbia-based Teelin Irish Dance Company for nearly a decade, bringing a distinctive fusion of traditional and contemporary percussive footwork to numerous regional and local venues. He has performed at the White House, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and Wolf Trap Performing Arts Park, as well as local festivals, schools, and nursing homes. A full-time student at George Washington University and resident of Bethesda, he teaches Irish dance and performance classes weekly at the Teelin School of Irish Dance. He hopes to push Irish dance beyond its traditional form.
Luke Grooms (Opera)
Luke Grooms has sung with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Baltimore Opera and Opera Orchestra of New York, among others. He has performed over thirty opera roles and has also made a name for himself in the musical theatre world as Dwight/God in the New York premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera, a role which he recreated at Speakeasy Stage Company in the Boston premiere, earning him an Elliott Norton Award nomination for best musical performance. Luke has performed nationally in touring companies and as a cabaret artist. He is an instructor at the Drama Learning Center in Columbia.
