On Saturday, May 17 The Mainstay in Rock Hall is thrilled to welcome Creole jazz banjo legend Don Vappie. Vappie is descended from a long line of jazz musicians from the river parishes of New Orleans. He plays with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (one of the most illustrious bands ever to appear at The Mainstay) and Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, fan favorites of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. His music credits include performances at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis and recordings with Bette Midler, Terrence Blanchard, Diana Krall, Peggy Lee, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Eric Clapton, and many others. His film credits include American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, Zora Neal Hurston: Jump At The , and the television series Treme.

Vappie also teaches jazz guitar at Loyola University in New Orleans and is an expert on the history of Creole music.

In addition, he has received awards for his contributions to the preservation of New Orleans Creole Culture through music and film. He has produced 7 of his own albums, co-produced and starred in a PBS documentary, performed as a featured artist with orchestras on movie and television soundtracks, and at concerts and festivals around the world. It is said that Vappie’s highly regarded unique and original tenor banjo style is equal only to his love of his Creole heritage and tradition.

Tred Avon Players (TAP) and the Oxford Community Center (OCC) are excited to invite youth to participate in Shakespeare Midsummer Stage, an immersive four-day Shakespeare workshop for students entering grades 5–12. This exciting new program runs July 28–31, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day at the Oxford Community Center, culminating in a free showcase performance for family and friends on Thursday, July 31 at 6:30 p.m.

As part of their shared mission to educate and inspire, TAP and OCC are launching this unique summer experience to offer students a fun, engaging, and educational opportunity to explore the timeless works of William Shakespeare.

Participants will work with veteran actor, director, and school teacher David Cherry to develop their skills in acting, voice, movement, and scene study—building confidence, creativity, and stage presence in a supportive and collaborative environment.

“This is not just about learning Shakespeare,” said Cherry, who leads the program. “It’s about connecting with the language, the characters, and with each other. Students will gain tools that apply both onstage and off—and they’ll have a blast doing it.”

“We’re thrilled to bring this kind of meaningful arts education to young people in our community,” said Liza Ledford, Executive Director of Oxford Community Center, and Melissa Barcomb-Doyle, President of Tred Avon Players, in a joint statement. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to providing opportunities that spark creativity, nurture talent, and build community through the arts.”

The workshop fee is $200 per student and includes a Shakespeare Midsummer Stage t-shirt. Space is limited. Registration closes May 31, 2025 or until full. To learn more and register, visit https://www.tredavonplayers.org/youth-workshop-2

About Tred Avon Players

Founded in 1982, Tred Avon Players is a nonprofit community theater dedicated to enriching, educating, and entertaining audiences with high-quality productions. For more than four decades, TAP has thrived thanks to the dedication of local performers, stagehands, audience members, and donors. To learn how you can get involved or purchase tickets for upcoming shows, visit www.tredavonplayers.org and follow TAP on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Reflection and Celebration is the theme of this year’s Chamber Music Festival – six concerts performed by world-class musicians at the Ebenezer Theater in historic Easton, Maryland. Back for this celebration and as a reflection of the Festival’s past four decades are musicians long-associated with the Festival – Catherine Cho, current Artistic Director, Robert McDonald, Peggy Pearson, Daniel and Todd Phillips, Tara Helen O’Connor, Carmit Zori, and especially two of its founding members, J. Lawrie Bloom and Artistic Director, Marcy Rosen. These players will perform some of their and the audience’s favorite repertoire, combining forces in partnerships well-established over the years. As always, the Festival will also showcase a distinguished guest string quartet as well as superb younger musicians who are well on their way to becoming outstanding performers on the world’s stages. And, as always, there will be entertaining surprises along the way.

Week Two of the Festival will feature the iconic Juilliard String Quartet – Areta Zhulla, Ronald Copes, Molly Carr, and Astrid Schween. They will perform Bedřich Smetana’s highly autobiographical and moving String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor “From My Life” (June 12). They will also perform Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, complete with its original last movement, the Grosse Fuge.  Preceding the Beethoven, they play Jörg Widmann’s String Quartet No. 8 “Study on Beethoven III,” where the second movement is a set of variations based on the fourth movement of the Beethoven string quartet (both on June 13).

Newcomers to the Festival are 28-year-old violist Zhanbo Zheng and 28-year-old pianists Albert Cano Smit and Wynona Wang. All three are major first-prize winners in their fields and acclaimed soloists with major orchestras worldwide. All three will join forces with the Festival’s veteran musicians in varied repertoire, including works by Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Dvořák, and Fauré. Of special note, Smit will partner with Chesapeake Music favorite, cellist Sterling Elliott, playing American composer Amy Beach’s sublime Dreaming for Violoncello & Piano (June 6), and Wang will join flutist Tara Helen O’Connor for Mel Bonis’ beautiful and spirited Sonata in C-sharp Minor for Flute and Piano (June 14). Smit will also perform solo, playing two charming works by Cécile Chaminade: Étude de concert, “Automne” and Pièce humoristique, “Autrefois” (June 7).

The Festival will offer a generous mix of standard repertoire favorites and lesser-known gems. Favorites include Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A Major (June 8) and his Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, (June 13); Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 5 in A Major (June 7); Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major (June 6); Dvořák’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major (June 7); Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor (June 8), and his String Quintet No. 1 in A Major (June 12). Among the exciting lesser-known works are Luigi Boccherini’s Quintet in D Minor in an arrangement by oboist Peggy Pearson (June 6); Robert Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen (“Fairy Tales”): Four Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (June 6); Louise Farrenc’s Trio in E Minor for Flute, Cello and Piano (June 12); Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (“Transfigured Night”) (June 14), and Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor (June 14).

For more information on Chesapeake Music’s 40^th Chamber Music Festival and to purchase tickets, visit ChesapeakeMusic.org.

 

Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival Schedule

June 6–14, 2025

June 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Opening Extravaganza!

June 7 – 7:30 p.m.
Hope and Drama

June 8 – 5:00 p.m.
Masters at Work

June 12 – 7:30 p.m.
From My Life

June 13 – 7:30 p.m.
Quartets Old and New

June 14 – 7:30 p.m.
Festival Finale

2 Free and Open Rehearsals: June 4 and June 11 at 10:00 a.m.

---

Based in Easton, Maryland, and celebrating its 40th Anniversary Year, Chesapeake Music is a 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.

The Oxford Community Center is proud to present world-renowned jazz vocalist Allan Harris on Friday, May 2, for a one-night-only performance honoring the legendary Nat King Cole. Part of the acclaimed Jazz Series On Stage at OCC, the concert invites audiences to experience the rich, velvety tones of Cole’s songbook through the singular voice of one of today’s most celebrated interpreters.

Described by The New York Times as a “velvet-voiced baritone with an earthy edge,” Allan Harris has captivated audiences around the globe with his masterful storytelling, elegant phrasing, and genre-defying performances. His tribute to Nat King Cole is more than a concert—it’s a deeply personal homage to an artist who helped define American music and break racial barriers along the way.

“He was for everybody,” said Harris. “He sang for the world, and he delivered the exact songs that the composers wrote. When you heard a Nat King Cole song, you heard every word, every syllable, and it made sense. It was just wonderful.”

Backed by a stellar jazz trio, Harris will perform some of Cole’s most beloved songs, from the buoyant charm of “Rambling Rose” to the silken romance of “Unforgettable,” delivered with the diction, warmth, and storytelling that make Harris a standout on any stage.

“We’re honored to bring Allan Harris to our stage,” said Liza Ledford, Executive Director of the Oxford Community Center. “His connection to this music is palpable, and it will be a night of beauty, nostalgia, and extraordinary talent in an intimate setting.”

---

Event Details:
Allan Harris: The Music of Nat King Cole
Friday, May 2, 2025 | 7:30 PM
Oxford Community Center | 200 Oxford Rd, Oxford, MD
Tickets and more information: oxfordcc.org

This event is expected to sell out. Advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended.

 Maryland Public Television will premiere its one-of-a-kind, “shot from the air” documentary, Maryland by Air, on Thursday, May 1, at 8 p.m. on MPT-HD and online at mpt.org/livestream. A preview is available to view at https://bit.ly/4jclshS.

Captured from a helicopter, drones, and the cockpit of a 1940s-era biplane, this breathtaking film’s aerial footage

highlights the natural wonders of the Free State, from its picturesque western hills and bustling metropolitan areas to its scenic shorelines and pastoral farmlands. The one-hour film includes an inspiring original musical score and is narrated by former Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame infielder Cal Ripken, Jr.

The four seasons are represented along with striking visits to landmarks such as the Antietam National Battlefield, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Fort McHenry, and the Maryland State House. Viewers take in a birds’-eye view of historic communities in Annapolis, Baltimore, Cumberland, Southern Maryland, and the Eastern Shore, plus stunning footage of Ocean City, Deep Creek Lake, and the wild ponies of Assateague Island.

Following its May 1 premiere, Maryland by Air will have encore broadcasts on MPT-HD on May 3 at 3:30 p.m. and May 4 at 6:30 p.m.  MPT members with access to MPT Passport will also be able to stream the full program anytime following the May broadcast premiere.

By special arrangement, a 45-minute version of the film will be presented at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore as an IMAX “resident film” over the next decade.

Maryland by Air complements earlier award-winning MPT aerial productions Chesapeake Bay By Air and Potomac by Air: Our Nation’s River.  The film is produced by John Paulson Productions with MPT’s Steven Schupak, executive vice president and station manager, and Eric Neumann, managing director of On-Air Fundraising & Development Productions, as executive producers.

The film is made possible in part by the MPT Foundation New Initiatives Fund established by Irene and Edward H. Kaplan, University of Maryland Global Campus, the Eric Stewart Group, and Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman.