The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (MSO) recently piloted a new community education initiative, MSO 101: Demystifying the Symphony. This free, four-session course was designed to welcome newcomers into the world of orchestral music. Open to the public, the sessions were held on Wednesday afternoons in January at the Ocean Pines Library. 

Created for those curious about symphonic music but unsure where to begin, MSO 101 was designed to help participants feel confident and excited about attending live symphony performances. The course explored not only the music itself, but also the concert experience—what to expect, how to listen, and how to feel comfortable walking into a concert hall for the first time.

“The goal was to show people that classical music is no different from any other type of music—it’s meant to be enjoyed,” said Dane Krich, MSO’s General Manager. “There’s sometimes a perception that symphony concerts are only for an elite audience. At MSO that couldn’t be further from the truth. We want people to feel welcome, curious, and confident walking into a concert hall, whether it’s their first time or their fiftieth.”

The weekly sessions guided participants through the fundamentals of orchestral music and concert-going. Early sessions introduced the orchestra, its instruments, and the role of the conductor, along with an overview of what a symphony is and how it developed. Participants learned how concerts are structured, how to read a program, when to clap, and what to expect in terms of etiquette and atmosphere. Later sessions focused on listening skills and musical language, helping attendees understand common musical forms and how composers use sound to tell stories. The final session also introduced major composers, and offered practical guidance on choosing a concert and planning a symphony concert experience.

When developing the curriculum, MSO turned to one of its own leaders to launch the program. “As we were shaping MSO 101, there was no one better than Dr. Rebecca Pille to teach the first course.” Krich added, “Her ability to connect with people, explain complex ideas clearly, and share her genuine love of music made her the perfect choice. This was always envisioned as the first of many MSO 101s, and Rebecca set a wonderful foundation.”

To ensure that learning extended beyond the classroom, participants in MSO 101 received tickets to MSO concerts, allowing them to put their new knowledge into practice and experience a live performance firsthand. The goal was for education and curiosity to culminate in an actual MSO concert, reinforcing that the symphony is accessible, welcoming, and engaging.

Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with practical ideas for refining future offerings. The pilot course was a collaboration between MSO and the Friends of the Ocean Pines Library, whose support helped make the program free and accessible to the community.

This course reflects MSO’s ongoing commitment to education, audience development, and community engagement. By breaking down perceived barriers and inviting new listeners into the symphonic experience, the orchestra continues to expand how people connect with live classical music on the Eastern Shore.

For more information about upcoming programs and concerts, visit www.midatlanticsymphony.org

ABOUT THE MID-ATLANTIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra is the only professional symphony orchestra serving southern Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore with a full season of programs. The MSO is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, the Talbot County Arts Council, the Worcester County Arts Council, the Sussex County (Delaware) Council, and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Inc.

A complete schedule of the 2025-2026 season’s Masterworks and Ensembles programs, including venues, times, and other details, is available at www.midatlanticsymphony.org.

The Queen Anne’s County Judy Centers, in collaboration with the Queen Anne’s Early Childhood Advisory Council (QAECAC) and Amanda Ensor of It Takes A Village, LLC, are proud to announce a new professional learning opportunity for local childcare providers.

This initiative continues the “Dream Forward” mission—supporting educators as they align their teaching practices with the Revised Maryland Early Learning Standards. Through QAECAC-funded professional development, providers are gaining the knowledge and tools they need to nurture every child’s success from the very start.

The first of three upcoming training sessions was held on November 10, 2025 from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Queen Anne’s County Board of Education. The focus was on language and literacy instruction, empowering educators to enhance communication, vocabulary, and early reading skills in young learners.

QAECAC is thrilled to offer this free professional development opportunity to the dedicated childcare providers.  By investing in our childcare providers, QAECAC is investing in the future of Queen Anne’s County—one dream at a time.

Together, the Judy Centers, QAECAC, and community partners are building a stronger foundation for children across Queen Anne’s County—helping them grow, learn, and thrive.

Tred Avon Players continues its 2025 season with Hot ‘n’ Cole: A Cole Porter Celebration! Words and music by Cole Porter. Directed by Marcia Gilliam, the show will be presented in eight performances, October 23–November 2, at the Oxford Community Center. Tickets are available online at www.tredavonplayers.org or by calling the TAP ticket line at (410) 226-0061.

The spotlight is on the timelessness of Cole Porter classics, presented with fresh arrangements and a contemporary twist. More than forty songs, from iconic standards like “Anything Goes” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” to lesser-known gems, are woven into an evening that feels as much like a musical as a revue. Wry, romantic, irreverent, and touching, each number captures Porter’s signature blend of wit, elegance, and playfulness while remaining as timeless today as when it was first written.

“Cole Porter’s music has a sparkle that never fades,” said director Marcia Gilliam. “What excites me most about Hot ‘n’ Cole is how it both honors the sophistication of the original songs and gives them a fresh twist that today’s audiences will love. It is funny, touching, and a sheer delight from beginning to end.”

The talented vocal cast features both new and returning TAP performers: Erin Bradley, Emma Carmean, Jane Copple, Katie Cox, Bill Gross, Debbie Harmon, Ed Langrell, Erinne Lewis, Leigh Marquess, Matt Rein, Lisa Roth, Destiny Strawberry, Kiara Vos, and Herb Ziegler.

Music Director and pianist Michael Casey joins them on stage, along with dancers choreographed by Erinne Lewis and a band led by director and arranger Ray Remesch (piano/guitar) and featuring Ron Demby (clarinet/flute/sax), Amy Smith (string bass), Maura Thompson (French horn), and Cody Thompson (percussion).

Hot ‘n’ Cole: A Cole Porter Celebration! runs for eight performances, Thursdays through Sundays, from October 23–November 2 at the Oxford Community Center, 200 Oxford Rd, Oxford, Md. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students. They are available online atwww.tredavonplayers.org or by calling the TAP ticket line at (410) 226-0061.

The Zebra Gallery will host an opening reception for “Boardwalk Fare: Polymer Clay Paintings” by Joseph Barbaccia from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, October 3, with music by DJ Hector.

Barbaccia, an artist based in Georgetown, DE, works in two- and three-dimensional media. Color and form have inspired Barbaccia since his earliest memories.

Over his five-decade career, he has exhibited in more than 35 group shows and 10 solo exhibitions at venues including the Greater Reston Art Center, Delaware Contemporary, Rehoboth Art League, and Washington’s Corcoran Gallery.

“What’s remarkable about Joseph’s art is how he elevates everyday objects into something sculptural, colorful, and full of life,” said gallery owner Susan Schauer John. 

In 2018, Barbaccia moved to Georgetown, where his workspace was smaller than the large studio of his previous decades. He soon realized he must work with different materials and methods to accommodate the change. Polymer clay, with its transparency and full color spectrum, allowed him to create in both two and three dimensions and sent his art in a new direction.

“Approximately 90% of the artists creating with polymer clay create jewelry,” Barbaccia said. “I thought the time was right to expand its visual range.”

His polymer clay works reimagine everyday objects with thousands of hand-placed clay strands, creating playful, vividly textured compositions that merge painting, sculpture, and illustration. His art has appeared in many publications. In addition, Barbaccia has illustrated three children’s books, with a fourth underway.

The opening reception is free and open to the public.

The Zebra Gallery address is 5 N. Harrison Street, Easton, MD (across the street from the Historic Tidewater Inn). For further information, visit https://www.thezebragallery.com. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, or by appointment.

Queen Anne’s County Public Schools, in partnership with Leveling the Playing Field (LPF), Queen Anne’s County Parks & Recreation, Kent Island High School (KIHS), and the KIHS Honor Society, is proud to announce the placement of a new sports equipment donation bin at KIHS. This marks the first LPF donation bin on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

The public is encouraged to donate new and gently used sports equipment, which will be redistributed to local schools, community programs, and youth sports organizations. The goal is to expand access to affordable recreation and reduce barriers caused by the rising costs of youth athletics.

Across the country, the privatization of youth sports has created a “pay to play” model that limits opportunities for many families. LPF collects and redistributes sports and playground equipment to programs in need. By reducing the financial burden of purchasing gear, youth programs can reallocate their funds toward transportation, healthy snacks, staff training, and expanded programming, helping more kids participate and thrive.

LPF accepts most sports equipment, including items for soccer, baseball, football, basketball, and lacrosse, along with general physical education and recess items. For a full list, visit the LPF website: https://www.levelingtheplayingfield.org/

The new bin is located at KIHS. If you enter from Old Love Point Road, the bin will be located on your left-hand side next to the first baseball field. A map of the exact location can be found here: https://www.qac.org/DocumentCenter/View/24157/Level-the-Playing-Field-Donation-Bin-Map

Queen Anne’s County Public Schools strongly encourages local sports leagues, coaches, and families to join in supporting this initiative and help expand opportunities for young athletes across our region.

Shore Legal Access (SLA) recognizes the contributions of its three Sandy Brown Public Interest Interns – Giana Cauble,  Alexander Vlangas, and Lilibeth Baltazar – as they end their summer internships at the nonprofit legal aid organization. Cauble and Vlangas have worked from SLA’s Salisbury office, and Baltazar has been based in Easton.

The Sandy Brown Public Interest Internship, created in honor of former long-time SLA Executive Director Sandy Brown, offers a stipend to undergraduate and law students as they gain invaluable experience in the field of public interest law at a respected nonprofit organization. The Internship’s goal is to expand the pool of diverse, qualified, and committed candidates for career positions in public interest work on the Eastern Shore.

Over the summer, Baltazar, Cauble, and Vlangas supported attorneys in rent court, helped with legal research, and participated in community outreach events, each of which gave them unique insights into public interest law. All three noted how meaningful it was to interact with clients and to see the legal process up close. They were greatly valued by the attorneys and case managers they worked with for the help they provided and the contributions they made to their clients’ well-being. 

“Our Sandy Brown Public Interest Interns get the unique experience of working with people who need civil legal assistance the most but who have the hardest time accessing it due to the cost of a private attorney,” said SLA Executive Director Meredith Girard, Esq. “Alex, Giana, and Lilibeth were an important part of SLA’s team, working alongside our attorneys and case managers to support our clients and find innovative ways to make legal services accessible to all. We greatly value their contributions and hope that their time at SLA will serve them well in their future careers.”  

Vlangas, a law student at University of Baltimore School of Law, was the first legal intern to work at SLA’s Lower Shore office. He said of his experience that “it’s an opportunity that most students are not able to get,” and noted how impressed he was at how quickly SLA’s attorneys are able to communicate with clients at rent court and to make arrangements that, in many cases, keep them from being evicted. “I would highly recommend this internship,” he said.

Cauble, of Berlin, received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Salisbury University in 2024 and is returning for the fall semester of 2025 to complete a bachelor’s in philosophy. Her experience shows that even people who don’t intend to become an attorney can substantially contribute to public interest law.

“What has surprised me the most about this internship,” Cauble said, “is that my areas of focus are actually philosophy and psychology, so even though I don’t have a legal background and I’m not pursuing a law degree or law school, there have still been a lot of opportunities for me to showcase my strengths.”

Baltazar attends Towson University, where she is majoring in sociology and anthropology, with a concentration in criminal justice. A graduate of North Caroline High School in Caroline County, where she earned the Maryland Seal of Biliteracy, Baltazar experienced how important legal assistance is for people on the Eastern Shore: “This internship has reconnected me with my community and opened doors I never imagined. Working pro bono has given me a glimpse into people’s realities and viewpoints.”

Shore Legal Access connects individuals and families with volunteer attorneys to ensure justice is for all. Focus areas include criminal record expungement, economic stability, family law, housing, and life and estate planning. For more information or to support Shore Legal Access, call 410-690-8128 or visit shorelegal.org.

Queen Anne’s County is asking residents to share their feedback on public transportation services by completing a short survey. The survey will help the County better understand travel patterns, identify community needs, and explore potential improvements to our local transit.

Responses are anonymous, and the survey should take only a few minutes to complete. Residents are encouraged to submit their feedback by September 15, 2025.

Your input will help us improve our County Ride services for all residents, from daily commuters to older adults and individuals with disabilities, by sharing your experience, you can help shape the future of public transportation in our community.

Take the survey here: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8430857/Queen-Anne-s-TDP-Survey

For more information about County Ride services, visit: www.qac.org/181/County-Ride or call the Queen Anne’s County Department of Community Services at (410) 758-2357.

Church Hill Theatre is delighted to present Adam Weiner, the founder and frontman of Low Cut Connie, in a solo concert on Thursday, September 18.  The band is famous for high-energy performances that feature Weiner’s piano skills, original songs and remarkable onstage persona.

The six-person Low Cut Connie band is both a crowd and critics’ favorite. The Los Angeles Weekly called it “unmatched in all of rock right now” and Sir Elton John publicly called it one of his favorites when he performed at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.  Low Cut Connie was even on Barak Obama’s playlist. Rolling Stone characterized the music as “what indie rock might sound like where it invented in Alabama in the late Fifties.”

Weiner was a solo pianist before forming the band, touring North America and Europe and playing in bars, warehouses, pubs—wherever he found a piano and eager audiences. He will bring both that spontaneous verve and some of his later songs to the CHT performance. Weiner is appearing at Church Hill Theatre at the request of Shelagh Grasso (one of CHT’s veteran directors), who was his high school teacher and mentor in South Jersey.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear an international star in a small and intimate performance space. Don’t miss it!

Adam Weiner will perform on Thursday, September 18, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $40. The theater is located at 103 Walnut Avenue in Church Hill Maryland. Tickets are available on the CHT website: churchhilltheatre.org.

The Cancer Center at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) will offer prostate screenings at no cost to eligible participants on Thursday, September 25, from 4 to 6 p.m. The screenings, which will be conducted as part of a clinical research trial, are open to males over age 45 who have never had a prostate cancer screening and to males ages 55 to 69 who are due for an annual prostate cancer screening. UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer over the course of his lifetime, according to 2023 data, and in 2025, more than 313,000 new cases of prostate cancer are projected to be diagnosed in the United States. (To learn more about prostate cancer rates and risk factors, visit https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/about/),

“Prostate screening is an important tool that men in their 40s and beyond should undergo to help maintain their best health,” said Margaret Ferski-Caraballo, MS, BSN, Clinical Trials Nurse at the Cancer Center at UM SRH. “Anyone unsure of whether or not he should be screened is encouraged to ask his health care provider. We look forward to having a strong turnout for this free screening offered during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.”

The Cancer Center at UM SRH is located at 509 Idlewild Avenue in Easton. RSVP for the Prostate Screening event (no later than September 13, 2025) or ask questions, by calling 410-820-6800, ext. 5907. 

To view a patient story video about diagnosis, treatment and survival from prostate cancer, visit: https://www.umms.org/shore/health-services/cancer/services/radiation-oncology