Spy Review: Four Fraught “Heroes” by Steve Parks
Heroes of the Fourth Turning, the title of this drama about a head-on collision of conservative Catholicism with partisan polemics, refers to a theory that wild swings between left-wing and right-wing politics can be predicted on a multigenerational scale. While not a Catholic, I am a Baby Boomer of a left-leaning, if not radical, era […]
Spy Review: MSO Finalists Play for Top Honors By Steve Parks
Three young finalists in the fifth annual Elizabeth Loker International Chamber Competition performed as featured soloists with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra for top prize in a matinee concert Sunday at Chesapeake College’s Todd Performing Arts Center. Violinist Sophia Werner, winner of the 2024 concerto competition at Juilliard School in Manhattan, where she’s also a Kovner […]
Spy Art Review: Ernie Satchell’s ‘Expressions in Clay’
By Steve Parks After 39 years of teaching at his alma mater, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore – then known as Maryland State College – Ernie Satchell retired from its faculty in 2010. But even now in his 80s, Satchell shows no intention of retiring from shaping life figures and creating pottery that is […]
Spy Art Review: 100 Years/100 Feet of Rauschenberg at the Academy by Steve Parks
Born a century ago in Texas, Robert Rauschenberg lived and worked most of his life in New York City and Captiva Island, Florida, where he died at 82 in 2008. He would have turned 100 on Oct. 22, 2025, which accounts for the Rauschenberg centenary commemorations at art institutions all over the globe. Certainly not […]
Spy Review: A Choral Rose for Christmas by Steve Parks
Easton Choral Arts Society played its annual Christmastime songfest, “A Winter Rose,” before a full house in its new concert venue, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, on Friday night, Dec. 5, ahead of a matinee encore performance on Saturday. Moving from its longtime home at Christ Church in the Arts District of downtown Easton, St. […]
Spy Review: MSO’s Opera-Flavored ‘Holiday Joy’ by Steve Parks
The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra’s Grammy-winning music director, Michael Repper, nominated for two more Grammys to be awarded in 2026, led the first of three “Holiday Joy” concerts Thursday evening, starring guest soloists from the opera circuit, soprano Kresley Figueroa and baritone Jonathan Patton. Following an opening medley of seasonal favorites, including Rachael Yokers’ flute-solo mating […]
Spy Review: Cinematic Classical Gas, by Steve Parks
From chamber music to movie scores, many high-brow composers could do it all. Chesapeake Music’s Sunday matinee “Interlude” performance – its final 2025 concert – featured five whose works, richly presented by the Catalyst Quartet, originally played in venues ranging from concert and opera halls to movie and TV screens. The program opened with John […]
Spy Review: MSO Salutes 3 of the All-Time Greats by Steve Parks
It’s not unusual that a guest conductor will bring a different vibe in his choice of a classical repertoire to present to a one-time-only audience. But it is a bold step to promote the concert as “Echoes of Greatness.” For much of his three seasons as music director of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Michael Repper […]
Spy Review: Dracula’s Brides Seek Vengeance by Steve Parks
“Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy,” like many in Kate Hamill’s extensive body of work, is adapted from a classic novel – in this case Bram Stoker’s blood-thirsty saga. But, as the most-produced American playwright in the 2024-25 season, her portfolio is dominated by other familiar titles, ranging from Pride and Prejudice and Little Women to […]
Spy Review: A Rousing Chesapeake Season Opener by Steve Parks
The season debut of Chesapeake Music’s popular Interlude concert series marked the return of the New York City-based Renaissance String Quartet – friends for a decade or more who honed their skills at the Juilliard School and the prestigious Perlman Music Program. The foursome – violinists Randall Goosby and Jeremiah Blacklow, violist Jameel Martin, and […]