Performances
Living in the Trees—Speaking to the Times An Ongoing Conversation in Music and Art at Adkins Arboretum
Driven Women is an aptly named group of oldtime musicians located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Their music comes from fiddle and banjo traditions of the Appalachian Mountains, largely from West Virginia and Kentucky. They seek to preserve and revive the sounds of old-time music, including high energy square dance tunes, soothing waltzes, and the melancholy of dark mountain hollows. The group is driven to enjoy, study, and practice the music of the old masters and play it for others to enjoy. Fiddler Sue Shumaker began playing old-time music in the Philadelphia area in 1983. Banjo player Diane Jones began making sojourns to North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia in 1980. Guitarist Annie Williams became interested in the old music traditions of her home state of West Virginia in 1973. As chance would have it, they finally met and began playing together in 2009.
Featuring a walk with Howard and Mary McCoy through their outdoor sculpture exhibit, Tree Tricks, and a performance by The Pam Ortiz Band. Friday, September 13, 6–8:30 p.m. Fee: $20 members, $25 non-members All summer, nature has been altering the sculptures that Howard and Mary McCoy have created in the Arboretum’s forest. Vines have crept up the trunks of the trees in “Cropped.” Paw paws have grown through the loops of vine in “Heard It Through the Grapevine.” The McCoys work in collaboration with nature—both their ideas and their materials come from the forest, and they embrace the inevitable changes that nature will bring. Join them for a walk through the forest to see how the sculptures have evolved.
Driven Women intermittently appear in the afternoon to practice at Adkins Arboretum. Call ahead if you would like to know when they will be playing in the gallery or outside as weather permits.
The Pam Ortiz Band will enhance the evening with thoughtprovoking songs that probe the bittersweet richness of life in our times. Contemporary songwriter Pam Ortiz has a clear voice and a rare gift for lyrics that touch deeply. Playing acoustic guitar as she sings, she is joined by her husband, Bob Ortiz, on percussion, Ford Schumann on guitar, and Nevin Dawson on viola and violin. Based in Chestertown, the band recently released a new album, Rattle Them Chains. This follows three albums showcasing Ortiz’s songs with Terra Nova, a group that played to packed coffeehouses in the Baltimore-Washington area throughout the ’90s and was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for Bill Clinton’s first inauguration. A light dinner of antipasti and dessert will be served, and a cash wine and beer bar will be available. Advance registrations are requested.
A Little Touch of Shakespeare Friday and Saturday, October 18 and 19, 6 p.m. Sunday, October 20, 3 p.m. $10 members, $15 non-members Join an afternoon or evening of love and laughs, inspiring language, and backstage intrigue when Shore Shakespeare brings A Little Touch of Shakespeare to the meadow. The Battle of the Sexes is joined anew with selected scenes from The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night, among others.
A Little Touch of Shakespeare is by the Bard himself, with additional material by Chris Rogers, and is an original production of Shore Shakespeare. Bring chairs, blankets, and a picnic to this meadow production. Meals from The Lily Pad Café will be available for $15 each and can be reserved when registering online or by calling 410.634.2847, ext. 0. Please order meals by Wednesday, October 16. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410.634.2847, ext. 0. Donations in support of Adkins Arboretum and Shore Shakespeare are gratefully accepted. For more information, visit shoreshakespeare.com or adkinsarboretum.org. AdKINSARBORETUM.ORG
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