The artist members of Main Street Gallery are excited to feature the work of renowned local photographer, Mary Konchar, for July and August.  The show, entitled “Summer Show with Mary Konchar” will highlight a mix of Ms. Konchar’s stunning wildlife, landscape and still life photographs.

“Summer Show with Mary Konchar” is the first exhibit that Main Street Gallery will show in two venues. Visitors will have the opportunity to see Ms. Konchar’s photographs at our recently reopened gallery on 518 Poplar Street in Cambridge where they will be featured alongside the paintings, ceramics, jewelry, prints, photographs and textiles of member artists. Visitors will also be able to see the exhibit on the gallery’s new website, mainstgallery.net. The website offers viewers the ability to purchase works that can be delivered locally, picked up curbside at the gallery or shipped directly to the buyer. It also has a gift shop featuring works under $50.

Mary Konchar came to photography over twenty years ago after buying a camera on the day her grandson was born. She says she has never looked back. The Easton resident claims a lifelong interest in nature, so it was no surprise that her first photographs were of insects, flowers, birds, mammals and landscapes. Over the years, she says, her interests and work have expanded to include portraiture, architecture and events. Ms. Konchar does all of her own work from capture to print and most of her photographs are taken near her home on the Eastern Shore.  She has also gone far afield to places like Yellowstone, Acadia, and Great Smoky National Parks and wildlife refuges that include Umbagog, Prime Hook and Canaan Valley to name just a few. In 2009-10 she was honored with a three month photography residency at Canaan Valley.

Other honors she has received are Best in Show at the Easton Waterfowl Festival in 2009 and 2013. She was also a Highly Honored winner in the mammal division of Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice international competition.

“Summer Show with Mary Konchar” will open July 3 and run through August 30. Currently, Main Street Gallery is open by appointment (410-330-4659) and on Saturdays from 11am-7pm. Please check their website (mainstgallery.net) or their Facebook page or call the gallery (410-330-4659) for updates on additional open hours as the Covid-19 situation improves.  The gallery is taking all sanitary precautions to ensure the safety of its visitors and is complying with the governor’s order to wear masks and require all visitors to do the same.

Main Street Gallery is the only artist owned and operated Artist Cooperative in Cambridge and is currently looking at the work of prospective members. For membership information call them or visit their website. You can also like them on Facebook.

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Do you find joy in seeing life through an artist’s eyes? And happiness in losing yourself in a beautiful original painting? The new gallery and thrifty boutique, A Happy Place, is open and celebrating June with an exhibit of new plein air and studio landscapes by nationally recognized oil painter Diane DuBois Mullaly.

“Dance with Me” by Diane DuBois Mullaly

“As a plein air painter, I seek to create a sense of place; capturing the light, energy and soul of my surroundings. Using my palette knife, I describe what I see with layers of paint – sometimes loading it on in bold strokes, sometimes sgraffitoing (drawing or scratching into the wet paint), sometimes almost sculpting the paint to tell my story. I want my work to be joyful and sophisticated, and to speak of the beauty found all around us, painted with thoughtful abandon.”

A Plein Air Easton Alumni Artist, Diane has been juried into the competition eight times. She was dubbed a painter of “small vibrant palette knife paintings” in a 2018 feature article in Plein Air Magazine.In her studio, she enjoys exploring still life and figurative subjects, always finding new ways to paint them with her palette knife. Though regularly juried into national exhibits and events, Mullaly’s true love and her biggest collector base is right here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

As an instructor at the Academy Art Museum, Diane pays forward what she has learned over many years as a student in classes and workshops with living master painters. “No one was born knowing how to paint. Learning to create art is an endless, rewarding quest. It keeps us in the moment, gives us a purpose, and teaches us new ways to see ordinary objects.”

Also a Maryland Master Naturalist, one of Mullaly’s goals is to join art and science. Her “Nature Sketchers”is a monthly mentored First Sunday nature walk along the trails at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, Maryland, with stops for sketching in graphite, ink, or watercolor. Each walk focuses on what’s in bloom, budding, or of interest along the paths. Watch for a self-guided version of this walk, until larger groups can congregate again.

A Happy Place owner Beth Hickman invites the public to stop by in June and enjoy Diane’s recent works. Says Hickman, “Our shop is spacious with plenty of room for proper social distancing, and we clean all our touchpoints frequently. I am pleased to have Diane’s work in my grouping of local artists. Her beautiful textures and palette knife strokes mesmerize me. I can get lost in her paintings and am endlessly inspired. They make me happy!”.

A Happy Place is located at 12 N Washington St, Easton, Maryland. (410) 200-3867. Open Wednesday – Saturday. Email ahappyplace@goeaston.net or find the shop on Facebook.

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Books by John Barth

On June 6, 2020 Dorchester Center for the Arts will be reopening the downstairs galleries and from noon-6:00 p.m. with a new exhibition curated by John Lewis entitled Art from the Southbank: works inspired by John Barth’s vision of the Eastern Shore. Acclaimed author and Cambridge native John Barth celebrated his 90^th birthday on May 27.

“Barth, who grew up on Aurora Street in Cambridge and went on to win the National Book Award, was fond of stating that “the real Eastern Shore began on the south bank of the Choptank River,” and, from his first novel (The Floating Opera) onwards, his books have been infused with a love and appreciation for the region” states Lewis. With this in mind, area artists were asked to produce work inspired by Barth’s writing and “the real eastern shore” at the heart of it. From photography to drawing, and various other mediums this show interprets the Eastern Shore through the lens of John Barth.  Art from the South Bank draws from Barth’s impressive body of work and reflects on the power of place, this place: Cambridge, Dorchester, the Shore.

Barth was previously feted at DCA in 2005 by the Friends of the Dorchester County Library, and now, for 2020, DCA is proud to salute this native son as part of the 50^th Anniversary Celebration. Exhibition runs June 6 – 27. Gallery hours June 6 from noon-6:00 p.m.; starting June 11, hours will be Thursday-Saturday, noon-6:00 p.m. Join the “virtual” Second Saturday Reception on June 13, 5:30-6:15 p.m., as DCA live streams on Facebook with a tour of the exhibition, talk by curator John Lewis, and of course – a toast to DCA’s next 50 years!

Dorchester Center for the Arts is dedicated to enriching Maryland’s Eastern Shore community through high quality, engaging programming in the visual, literary, musical, and performing arts. As the designated County Arts Council for Dorchester, DCA is committed to increasing access to the arts for all members of our community by supporting extensive outreach and educational opportunities in the arts. Visit online at www.dorchesterarts.org and on social media for the latest updates. Programs at DCA are supported by the Maryland State Arts Council.

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Connect with fellow musicians and friends in a variety of classes this summer offered by Allegro Academy.  Allegro’s Summer Sessions, a virtual music school for all ages, introduces a new alternative to making music under pandemic-related restrictions.

The first of these sessions, Singing 101, beginning on June 10 for adults who will explore vocal production, wish to more intentionally use their voice, or brush-up on technique.  Also offered in June will be a similar class, Finding Your Voice, a beginning vocal class for ages 12 and up.  Participants will study proper breathing, pronunciation, voice types, basic note reading, and interpreting a song for performance.  No experience is necessary to join in the singing.

Other sessions offered this summer include a music exploration camp for children, a music theory camp for teens, a second session of Singing 101 for adults, and a collaborative song project for youth.  Classes meet 4-6 times and cost as little as $50 per session.  A detailed list of classes and enrollment information can be found at www.allegroacademyeaston.com.

Allegro Academy is funded in part by the Mid-Shore Community Foundation and the Maryland State and Talbot County Arts Councils.  The mission of Allegro Academy is to offer exceptional music education and performance experiences to the greater Talbot County Area and to make these offerings affordable to all.  To learn more, please visit www.allegroacademyeaston.com or call 410-6038361.

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Easton Choral Arts Society’s Third Annual High School Choral Competition took place in the Talbot County Auditorium at Easton High School on February 29. Since the results of the Competition took a backseat to pandemic news around the world, the organization recently announced the winners of that Choral Competition.

Taking First Place, with a prize of $2500, was the Tower Hill School’s Vocal Ensemble out of Wilmington, DE.

Taking First Place, with a prize of $2500, was the Tower Hill School’s Vocal Ensemble out of Wilmington, DE. This highly accomplished group, directed by Zerrin Martin, performed “La, la, la, je ne l’ose dire” (French Folk Song, “La, la, la, Do not dare I say it”) arranged by the  Renaissance composer Pierre Certon, followed by “Four Slovak Folk Songs” by 20th Century composer Bela Bartok. Tower Hill’s final selection was Undine S. Moore’s arrangement of the traditional spiritual “Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord”.

Second Place, with a prize of $1500, was awarded to Severn School’s Treble Choir from Anne Arundel County.

Second Place, with a prize of $1500, was awarded to Severn School’s Treble Choir from Anne Arundel County, directed by Rob Redei, The all-female ensemble opened with J. Leavitt’s arrangement of the Renaissance composer Pierre Passereau’s “Il est bel et bon,” (“He is handsome and fine”). This was followed by a J. Hairston arrangement of the 20^th-century composer Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “Linden Lea”. The Treble Choir ended their impressive performance with the composition “Bloody Men” by the contemporary composer Matthew Harris.

The judges awarded Third Place of $1,000 to another of Mr. Redei’s groups, the Severn School Vocal Ensemble.

The judges awarded Third Place of $1,000 to another of Mr. Redei’s groups, the Severn School Vocal Ensemble. “Abendlied” (Evening Song), composed in the mid-nineteenth century by Josef Rheinberger was their opening selection. “Deep River”, arranged by Moses Hogan in the 20th century followed, and they closed their performance with the contemporary “Acrostic Song” by composer David Del Tredici, considered a pioneer of the Neo-Romantic movement.

Other vocal ensembles that qualified for the competition and performed on February 29 were: Bowie High School’s Chamber Choir under the direction of Angelica Brooks (Prince George’s County); Old Mill High School’s Vocal Ensemble under the direction of Angela Adams (Anne Arundel County); Oxon Hill High School’s Concert Choir under the direction of Rafealito Ross (Prince George’s County); Notre Dame Prep’s Chamber Choir under the direction of Stacey Bilenki (Towson, MD); Liberty High School’s Madrigals under the direction of Michael Rainbow (Carroll County) and Queen Anne’s County High School Concert Choir under the direction of Kimberly Kalicky. You are invited to enjoy the recorded performances on the Easton Choral Arts web-site: http://www.eastonchoralarts.org/high-school-choral

Judging this year’s competition were: Dr. William M. Folger of Salisbury University, Dr. Richard J. Giarusso of the Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. James Wilson of Wesley College, Dover.

Easton Choral Arts recognizes the valued contributions of the following donors: Bob and Cris Doughty (competition underwriters for the third time), Nicolas and Marcia Fidis, Donna Barker, Richard and Barbara Doughty, Deborah Newnam Kudner, Phil and Sarah Sayre, the Watson-Stone Family Foundation, John and Trish Malin, Carol Harrison, Lee Thomas, Lynne Gradisar, Ruth Heltne, Martha Horner, Connie Lindeman, Shirley and Stanley Martin, Ellen Rajacich, Helen and Ed Theiler, Becky Zinser, Ken and Elizabeth Bush, David and Ronya Driscoll, James and Sheila Scott, Edmond and Melody Stabler. Grant contributions from the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, the Talbot County Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council also contributed to this event’s funding. ECAS is most appreciative of these generous supporters.

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