Lincoln Center

Baltimore violinist Hilary Hahn will make her New York orchestral debut this week in four solo appearances with the New York Philharmonic.The 14-year-old musician, a student at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, has been performing with professional orchestras since she was 11. She performed earlier this year with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony. (She made her debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1991.)Under the direction of guest conductor Paavo Berglund, Hilary will perform Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in concerts scheduled Oct. 13-15 and Oct. 18 in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.

The James Beard Foundation announced the winners of the 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards on Monday night at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center , capping a weekend of gastronomic events in New York City . Spike Gjerde of Baltimore's Woodberry Kitchen attended the awards ceremony and was among the five finalists for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, one 10 regional categories in the JBF Awards. But Baltimore is still without a JBF Award winner in a chef category. The Mid-Atlantic winner announced on Monday was Johnny Monis of Koni in Washington.

Forty-three contestants from 20 nations are expected to participate in the Leonard Rose International Cello Competition and Festival Thursday through July 26 at the College Park campus as part of the 1997 University of Maryland Rossborough Festival.More than $50,000 in cash awards is being offered, including a first prize of $20,000, plus engagements. The winner will be presented in recital Nov. 16 at Lincoln Center, New York.The preliminary and semifinal rounds will be held in the Tawes Theatre on campus Thursday through July 23. The final round with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will be at 8 p.m. July 26.Other festival events include recitals at 8: 30 p.m. July 20 through July 25. For tickets and information, call 301-405-6538.

Late Monday night, I was standing in M&T Bank Stadium with my family, celebrating the Ravens' win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Less than 24 hours later, I found myself sitting in Lincoln Center for the second half of New York City Fashion Week. It's been quite the long, but fun, day! Operating on approximately four hours of sleep, I boarded the early train out of Baltimore's Penn Station and headed to New York with my coffee and itinerary in hand.  The train ride to New York City is easy, and I was joined by others headed for the Big Apple; laptops were brought out and early conference calls were taken.

If jazz is America's classical music, why aren't there more groups like the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra?Clearly, if one accepts the idea that jazz has more than its share of great composers, then the need for a jazz repertory company seems obvious. How can the work of a genius like Duke Ellington be treasured if his compositions and arrangements are no longer being played?But as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra made plain during its performance at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Tuesday, hearing another jazz band play Ellington is not the same thing as hearing the Ellington Band itself.

NEW YORK -The Peabody Symphony Orchestra strutted its stuff on upper Broadway Wednesday evening. The conservatory students seemed highly energized for their concert at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, perhaps reveling in the opportunity to perform practically in the shadow of the famed Juilliard School of Music. Although turnout for this self-presented concert was disappointingly small, the audience certainly got an earful of what Peabody is made of these days. The ensemble, led with considerable intensity by music director Hajime Teri Murai, rose above even the impressive level heard in Baltimore lately.

When word got around that the Candlelight Concert Society would be presenting a performance by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center featuring violinist Hilary Hahn, the recital in Columbia suddenly became one of the hottest tickets in town. Not only was the Howard Community College's Smith Theatre filled to capacity, but there were many more who wanted in and simply couldn't obtain tickets. It wasn't just that the Baltimore-born virtuoso was riding high in the wake of her recent Grammy nomination.

LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS / / May 2 / / Concert with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and Odadaa (percussionists and dancers from Ghana) with their leader and drummer Yacub Addy, 8 p.m. at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Concert Hall, 2700 F St. N.W., Washington. $40-$85. 800-444-1324 or kennedy-center .org.

A kitty named Natasha Finkel isn't a designer. And she isn't a model. But she sure was  photographed like one during New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Sept. 14. What a cat!

The James Beard Foundation announced the winners of the 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards on Monday night at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center , capping a weekend of gastronomic events in New York City . Spike Gjerde of Baltimore's Woodberry Kitchen attended the awards ceremony and was among the five finalists for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, one 10 regional categories in the JBF Awards. But Baltimore is still without a JBF Award winner in a chef category. The Mid-Atlantic winner announced on Monday was Johnny Monis of Koni in Washington.

WalterBaker (Friday in Lincoln Center) Walter Baker decided to showcase his collection in "The Box," which is where models actually do live mannequin-like modeling. This is a cool concept because you are able to get a close view of each garment. It also exposes any imperfections and weaknesses in the collection. Baker didn't have any. His pieces from this W118 collection were diverse. The colors were eye-popping. And the silhouettes were stunning. The models, wearing and earphones, stood alongside a stage in a V formation.

Christiane Amanpour was spotted Friday by our own Hilary Phelps at Bar Boulud, a restaurant near Lincoln Center frequented by New York Fashion Week attendees. The veteran journo was eating soup and sipping on what appeared to be a pink grapefruit cocktail, according to Phelps.   Ramona Singer was spotted Friday making her rounds at various shows. We first saw the "Real Housewives of New York" star at designer Walter Baker's show at "The Box" in Lincoln Center. Singer was dressed in a lovely form-fitting Moroccan blue dress, which is one of the top colors of the season.

A kitty named Natasha Finkel isn't a designer. And she isn't a model. But she sure was  photographed like one during New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Sept. 14. What a cat!

Adalee R. Hasson, a retired department store supervisor who earned a college degree when she was 70, died Jan. 1 of dementia at a nursing home in Cooperstown, N.Y. The longtime Parkville resident, who celebrated her birthday Christmas Eve, was 85. Adalee Ritz was born at home on Federal Street in Baltimore. She was raised in Overlea and graduated in 1942 from the Institute of Notre Dame. She was also a graduate of Strayer Business College. During the 1940s, she worked as an accounting clerk for the Social Security Administration, which was then in the Candler Building in downtown Baltimore.

Diana Ross gave it her fabled all last week at Manhattan's Jazz at Lincoln Center in a one-woman concert sponsored by Qatar Airlines, celebrating their inaugural flights to New York City. Colin Cowie covered the room in burgundy flowers, which matched Diana's gown. A glam coincidence? Perhaps. Ross changed midset into a lime-green number with more sequins and chiffon. She was in fine voice, earthy and electric with the joy of performing. The best sight? An audience of sophisticated New Yorkers throwing the aforementioned blooms at Ross' feet as she took her final bows.

Beverly Sills retired from singing 27 years ago, but the afterglow of her vocal art never really faded. All you had to do was just think of the soprano, and you could still hear the distinctive sound of her gleaming voice, still feel the embrace of her personality. Not many opera stars leave so indelible an impression. Sills, who died Monday at 78, was one of those rare forces of nature who sweep through the music world periodically, brightening up the place, pushing aside pretentiousness and affectation, reaching out to the initiated and uninitiated alike.

Christiane Amanpour was spotted Friday by our own Hilary Phelps at Bar Boulud, a restaurant near Lincoln Center frequented by New York Fashion Week attendees. The veteran journo was eating soup and sipping on what appeared to be a pink grapefruit cocktail, according to Phelps.   Ramona Singer was spotted Friday making her rounds at various shows. We first saw the "Real Housewives of New York" star at designer Walter Baker's show at "The Box" in Lincoln Center. Singer was dressed in a lovely form-fitting Moroccan blue dress, which is one of the top colors of the season.

Late Monday night, I was standing in M&T Bank Stadium with my family, celebrating the Ravens' win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Less than 24 hours later, I found myself sitting in Lincoln Center for the second half of New York City Fashion Week. It's been quite the long, but fun, day! Operating on approximately four hours of sleep, I boarded the early train out of Baltimore's Penn Station and headed to New York with my coffee and itinerary in hand.  The train ride to New York City is easy, and I was joined by others headed for the Big Apple; laptops were brought out and early conference calls were taken.

Longtime actress Anita Gillette lives in a New York City apartment and vows to stay there "until they price me out of this place." She also works quite a bit in Los Angeles -- you can catch her in The War at Home and CSI. Born Anita Luebben in Baltimore and raised in Baltimore County's Rossville -- where her brother Sonny lives in the family home -- she first caught the attention of local theatergoers at the Spotlighters and at the old Alamedian Light...