McDaniel College Announces Their Arts Events For December

McDaniel College is offering a diverse calendar of music, theatre and art events throughout December. Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 410-857-2599.

MUSIC
Information: 410-857-2599 or http://www.mcdaniel.edu/3490.htm

The Westminster Symphony Orchestra
7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 in the Scott Center at Carroll Community College
Tickets: $5 per person. Information: 410-386-8000
The Westminster Symphony Orchestra consists of students from McDaniel College as well as Carroll Community College, and community musicians.

Jazz Night
8 p.m. Dec. 3 in Decker Center Forum
Under the direction of Bo Eckard, senior lecturer, more than 30 students will perform in McDaniel College Department of Music's traditional end-of-semester celebration of all things jazz - from classic big band swing, bebop, Latin, Funk, Jazz-rock and Tin Pan Alley. Student composer Keith Adams will premiere his compositions "Lon Cheney Jr." and "The Giggles," and Paul Onheiser will premiere his composition "The Phantasy." The program includes performances from three classes and members of the Music Department's voice studio. Ensembles include the 18-piece Thursday Jazz Ensemble, the 19-piece Monday Jazz Ensemble, and the five-piece Jazz Combo, with vocalists Beau Reeves and Brooke Hain.

College Band Concert
7 p.m. Dec. 4 in WMC Alumni Hall
The College Band Concert features 50 musicians, including more than 30 McDaniel students in addition to faculty members and community musicians under the direction of Linda Kirkpatrick, senior lecturer in Music, in a presentation of holiday music and standard band repertoire. The performance will include several student conductors: Keith Adams, SabrIna Clarke, and Brittney Stanton.

Gospel Choir Concert
7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 in Baker Memorial Chapel
The Gospel Choir Concert features more than 50 students under the direction of Eric Byrd, lecturer in Music. Soloists will include Laura Michael on "Yes to Your Will;" Kennan Wilson on "God Is My Everything;" Amy Glock on "Steal Away;" and Lia Snow on "Unrestrained."

Voices of Praise
4 p.m. Dec. 6 in Decker Center Forum
A new touring group of select members of the Gospel Choir under the direction of Music lecturer Eric Byrd, Voices of Praise makes its debut this semester as part of the Music Department concert line-up. Members include Tyler Buisch, Liana Fly, Rachele Fortier, Paris Fossa, Amy Glock, Fernando Gomes, Maria Mackall, Josh Poland, Lia Snow, Carl Taylor, Niya Wills, and Kennan Wilson. The program is scheduled to include: "Friend of God" (Israel Houghton), "I'll Trust You" (Richard Smallwood), "I Will Bless the Lord" (Byron Cage), and "The Best is Yet to Come" (Donald Lawrence).

This group tours regionally and internationally - having completed a concert tour of Bolivia in 2009. With about a dozen members, Voices of Praise features contemporary gospel music and a non-student band providing "authentic" musicianship directly from the African-American church experience.

Student Clarinet and Saxophone Ensembles
7:30 p.m. Dec. 6th in Levine RecitAl Hall
Under the direction of David Duree, adjunct Music lecturer, and with guest conductor Rachel Zephir, adjunct Music lecturer, the performance will include ensembles that each consist of one McDaniel student and two McDaniel alumni. Community musicians will complete the rosters. The saxophone ensemble will present classical-, modern- and jazz-influenced compositions. The clarinet ensemble will feature music from Eastern Europe, including an adaptation of Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turk."

Children's Chorus of Carroll County
3 p.m. Dec. 13 in Baker Memorial Chapel
Founded in 1986, the Children's Chorus of Carroll County promotes vocal development and musicianship through choral experience for its members, who are chosen through an audition process. The chorus focuses on singing, sharing, learning, growing, and creating. The Children's Chorus aims to foster a life-long love and appreciation of arts and music.

THEATRE
Box office: 410-857-2448 or http://www.mcdaniel.edu/3594.htm

Young Robin Hood
7:30 p.m. Dec. 17-18; 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19 in WMC Alumni Hall
Tickets: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, students, and the McDaniel College community

Special ticket offer: Dec. 17 is "Pay What You Can" night. For that performance only, tickets may be purchased at the door for whatever patrons can afford to pay. These tickets will go on sale at 7 p.m. that day with a limit of four tickets per party - cash and exact change only. This offer cannot be applied to previous purchases. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the regular prices.

Young Robin Hood is based on the classic adventures of Robin Hood, and as such, is primarily for children, but hidden in the hi-jinks are topical comedy and wholesome innuendo that amuses adults as well. Written and directed by Theatre professor Ira Domser - and presented in the opulent style of the British Holiday Pantomime - Young Robin Hood has it all: music, comedy, magic, sword-fighting and madcap Vaudevillian frivolity. A hugely popular form of family entertainment, British "Panto" is a cultural phenomenon that combines the slapstick comedy of the Marx Brothers with the off-center humor of Benny Hill and Monty Python's Flying Circus. Pantos feature a fairy tale plot, opulent costumes, gorgeous scenery, a huge cast and lots of audience participation.

ART EXHIBIT
For gallery hours, call 410-857-2595 or http://www.mcdaniel.edu/5531.htm

ENTER: The Work of Linda Bills
Through Dec. 11, Esther Prangley Rice Gallery, Peterson Hall

Linda Bills, resident artist in the post-baccalaureate program at Maryland Institute College of Art, describes her work as the exploration of her experience of the natural world and the unfolding of her spiritual life.

"How amazing it is to me that the brilliant yellow orange of an oriole can become a presence felt in my body and that the repetition of a mantra transforms to a luminous field of energy," says the longtime Baltimore resident.

Since the late ‘90s her work has included sculpture, installation, drawings, prints and a collaborative performance with the Moving Company that is centered on a group of her sculptures. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, Delaware Art Museum and Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and grants from the Maryland State Arts Council.

McDaniel College, a private four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences, was founded in 1867 as Western Maryland College. Students pursue more than 60 programs of study, including dual majors and student-designed majors. The 1,700 undergraduates and 1,300 graduate students receive personal attention and take advantage of leadership opportunities in the close-knit community, where the average class size is 17 and professors are dedicated mentors. The 160-acre campus is located in Westminster, Md., 30 miles northwest of Baltimore and 56 miles north of Washington, D.C.