Kraushaar

Manil Suri, a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will discuss his first book,The Death of Vishnu, which is about the social and cultural divisions in India, at a free public lecture at 7:30 tonight at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson. For more information, call 410-337-6333. Sun music critic Tim Smith is on vacation. His column does not appear today.

Baltimore Choral Arts Society did so well with its theatrical "Carmina Burana" at the Gordon Center this spring that music director Tom Hall has programmed a similar event next season.It will return to the Owings Mills venue March 23-24 to present Handel's powerful oratorio "Samson," staged by John Lehmeyer of the Peabody Conservatory of Music. The Kimberly Mackin Dance Company will again be featured.The rest of its season includes Haydn's "The Creation" at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (May 22)

'Christmas for Kids'For an afternoon of music, stories and Christmas cheer, attend the Baltimore Choral Arts Society's "Christmas for Kids" event Saturday at Kraushaar Auditorium. Listen to a concert of Christmas tunes from the Baltimore Choral Arts Society Full Chorus and conductor Tom Hall, join in sing-along songs for the nTC entire family, visit with Santa Claus and Ronnie the Reindeer and enjoy a holiday story with dancer Kimberly Mackin. Steve Aveson of ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" will serve as guest host.

Miriam Mahdiviani danced with New York City Ballet for most of her life, starting as a child in "The Nutcracker" and eventually spending 14 years with the company as a member of the corps. She stopped nine years ago: "I needed a break, I got married and I didn't want to raise a child" -- Callie, now 2 -- "while I was so busy at the theater."And she already had decided on a career shift into choreography. She began with a work for the students at the School of American Ballet and within a couple of years was awarded company commissions.

With the exception of Yo-Yo Ma and less than a handful of others, Baltimore concertgoers do not get to hear many visiting cellists. That makes tomorrow evening's concert by the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and music director Anne Harrigan all the more intriguing.The concert's guest soloist will be the young American cellist Wendy Warner, who will perform Saint-Saens' A Minor Concerto.Warner first made headlines in the music business in 1990 when the then 18-year-old cellist won first prize in Paris at the International Rostropovich Competition.

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society presents its own version of a "Three B's" concert at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium. The 1997-98 season begins with three choral works by Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten and Robert Sirota. Bernstein's "Chichester Palms," with its jazzy style and sly evocation of "West Side Story," is one of his most popular works. Britten's sprawling cantata "St. Nicolas" features a full chorus, orchestra, piano duet, boy choir, tenor soloist, as well as two occasions when the audience joins in the singing.

Arthur Honegger's "King David" is among the 20th century's musical masterpieces, and it is among the greatest choral works on an Old Testament theme since the death of Handel.This heroic oratorio will be performed this Sunday by the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. The concert will open with a panel discussion about musical settings of sacred scripture with Mark Loeb, senior rabbi at Beth El Congregation; Kenneth Melzer, WBJC-FM's opera consultant; and Baltimore Choral Arts Society music director Tom Hall.

In Shakespeare's day, all the roles were played by men. The Company of Women reverses that practice on Monday and Tuesdaywith an all-female production of the Bard's classic "King Lear" at Goucher College.Company co-founder Kristin Linklater, a theater professor at Boston's Emerson College who runs the company along with author and Harvard professor Carol Gilligan, will play Lear. 12-year-old girl will play the wise Fool. The production is directed by Maureen Shea, who is Emerson's theater director.

Lani Frazier says she got into comedy because "I got sick of welding."Uh, come again? Is that an obscure punch line?Just the truth, the comic relates. She hastens to explain that she earned a degree in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, for which she learned welding.But Ms. Frazier, a graduate of Towson Senior High School, soon tired of art. One night, she says, she ventured on stage at the Richmond Comedy Club to try a five-minute routine."I did it on my own personal dare," she says.

The Baltimore Museum of Industry will waive admission for city residents and visitors who live in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties on April 18 as a "thank-you" for financial support from their local governments.The celebration, planned from noon to 5 p.m., includes student exhibitions, refreshments and entertainment by the Heritage Vocal Ensemble, an a cappella men's chorus.The museum, which has interactive exhibitions suited for children, is located at 1415 Key Highway. Regular admission is $3.50 for adults and $2.50 for senior citizens and students.

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society's 2009-2010 season will sample various musical styles, from a classically proportioned Schubert Mass to the premiere of a gospel-influenced work by African-American composer Rosephanye Dunn Powell. Popular American songs will be showcased in the season-opener Nov. 1 at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium, when New York-based cabaret singer Eric Comstock joins the chorus and its music director, Tom Hall. Choral Arts commissioned the new work by Powell, a prolific choral composer who teaches at Alabama's Auburn University.

Towson SHA to hold meeting on interchange The State Highway Administration will hold a public information meeting on the Interstate 695-Charles Street interchange from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Harry C. Ruhl Armory, main drill hall, 1035 York Road, Towson. The project includes the replacement of the Charles Street bridge over I-695, interchange area improvements, and the rehabilitation of the I-695 bridge over the light rail line. SHA representatives will be available to answer questions.

Jones to read from novel Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward P. Jones will read from his latest book, All Aunt Hagar's Children, during a discussion and book signing at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road. The 8 p.m. event is free and open to the public, although reservations are required. Call 410- 337-6333.

Manil Suri, a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will discuss his first book,The Death of Vishnu, which is about the social and cultural divisions in India, at a free public lecture at 7:30 tonight at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson. For more information, call 410-337-6333. Sun music critic Tim Smith is on vacation. His column does not appear today.

Two people suffered minor injuries when a fuel tank exploded at a construction site in Hunt Valley yesterday morning, Baltimore County fire officials said. About 8:45 a.m., workers hit an underground tank near Cockeysville Road and Beaver Court in an industrial area. The tank, which contained a small amount of fuel, exploded, rupturing a concrete cap above it, said Fire Department spokeswoman Elise Armacost. One worker was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Baltimore can be very fertile territory for mid-sized ensembles. The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra will celebrate its 25th anniversary next season; Concert Artists of Baltimore just finished its 20th. Both will add performances next season, a good indication of success. The two orchestras also have in common a knack for creative programming. Consider the BCO's final events this season. This week, music director Markand Thakar will conduct Alberto Ginastera's Harp Concerto (with Nancy Allen, principal harpist of the New York Philharmonic)

Comedian Josh Blue, most recent winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing, performs at 8 tomorrow night at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium. Blue, who has cerebral palsy, often riffs on his situation in his act. The show benefits the nonprofit Active Survivors Network. The auditorium is at 1021 Dulaney Valley Road. Tickets are $30-$45 and available through missiontix.com.

A memorial service for civic leader Walter Sondheim Jr. will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium, on the campus at 1021 Dulaney Valley Road. Mr. Sondheim, who died Feb. 15 at the age of 98, was a former department store executive, president of Baltimore's school board during the system's 1954 desegregation and a key figure in downtown redevelopment efforts.

A memorial service for civic leader Walter Sondheim Jr. will be held at 2 p.m. March 17 in Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium, on the campus at 1021 Dulaney Valley Road. Mr. Sondheim, who died Feb. 15 at the age of 98, was a former department store executive, president of Baltimore's school board during the system's 1954 desegregation and a key figure in downtown redevelopment efforts.

`Their Eyes Are Watching You' Starting Monday, Goucher College will present Their Eyes Are Watching You, a mixed-media exhibit featuring unconventional works from three artists. Heather Boaz filmed people and asked them to tell her when they think a minute of taping had passed. She went back and added a clock to the footage, slowing down or speeding it up depending on the subject's perception of time. Rick Delaney's installation explores the environment of watching a home movie. Clyde Forth dressed up in costumes and performed short sketches in front of video surveillance cameras.