The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is back with a bang, bringing the best in theater, music, and visual arts to the tri-county area with its spring arts season. After three years, CSM’s first fully in-person season promises to bring back perennial favorite offerings while introducing new talent.
“There is an energy that you can only experience at in-person arts events, and we are hearing a lot of buzz about this season now that everyone is together again,” said CSM’s Visual and Performing Arts Chair and Associate Dean of Liberal Arts, Dr. Stephen Johnson. “We are seeing some new faces at our events and there is a lot of excitement among our performers.”
The spring arts season is filled with exciting events that will cater to everyone’s interests. Whether you are an old friend of the arts at CSM or attending your very first performance, there is something for everyone.
The Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater in the Fine Arts Center on the La Plata Campus will be hosting a children’s theatre production of “Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wood)” until April 8. This adaptation of Roald Dahl’s much-loved story follows the vain attempts of three farmers, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, one fat, one short, and one lean, to get rid of the fox who regularly steals food from their farms.
Indian Head will also be a hub for CSM arts performances this spring. The Velocity Center at Indian Head will host the Art of Innovation STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) Festival on April 22, featuring student visual art exhibits, a lecture, and musical performance by members of CSM’s Latin Ensemble, and a STEAM panel discussion.
The Benny C. Morgan Concert series will present Aleia Gonzalez Gulino on guitar with Alejandro Avila Alvarez on piano at the Leonardtown campus on April 15. Two weeks later, the Ward Virts Concert Series will bring Austin Fairley and his trombone to the Prince Frederick Campus on April 30. Later this spring, a percussionist will be part of the Ward Virts series for the first time as David Constantine performs at the Prince Frederick Campus on May 21.
CSM’s La Plata Campus will host a number of favorite annual events this year, including the CSM Jazz Festival on April 14-15, Connections Literary Magazine contributors reading and discussing their works on April 28, the Latin Ensemble Concert on April 29, the Chorale and Chamber Choir Concert on May 4, the Southern Maryland Concert Band performance on May 6, and the Barbershop Extravaganza on May 13.
CSM’s student accomplishments will also be celebrated this spring. The annual Student Honors Recital will be held at the La Plata Campus on April 28, featuring solo and chamber performances, contemporary popular music, and standard classical repertoire for specific instruments and voice. A Student Juried Art Exhibition will be on display at the Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery from April 15 to May 8.
“We’re looking forward to the STEAM Festival because it will give us a chance to demonstrate how the arts connect and interact with other disciplines,” said Johnson. “Creativity and innovation are vital in all of these fields, which complement each other in some really interesting and unexpected ways.”
The CSM Spring Art Season sponsors include the Nancy S. McMullin Estate, the Arts Council of Calvert County, Anne W. Brown, Mary Anna Phillips, and Carroll L. Alvey Jr. More information about the arts season can be found at https://www.csmd.edu/student-services/arts/schedule/index.html.