Maryland Hall

Mission: To provide a broad range of creative experiences through quality arts education and culturally diverse programs in the visual and performing arts. Maryland Hall is home to three art galleries - the Cardinal Gallery, the AIR (Artists in Residence) Gallery, and exhibition space in the foyer. The focus is to exhibit artworks from the Mid-Atlantic region, with an emphasis on artists from the immediate area. The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis, the Annapolis Opera and the Annapolis Chorale also are residents of Maryland Hall.

Phillips paintings Portrait and still-life oil paintings by Pamela Phillips will be on exhibit from Wednesday, May 16, through June 10 at Main Street Gallery, 216A Main St. in Annapolis. A reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 19. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays. Closed Tuesdays. Information: 410-216-7166 or mainstreetfineart.com. 'Bright New Day' An exhibition featuring the works of photographer Melissa Kangas is on display through May 26 at Wimsey Cove Framing & Art, 3141 Solomon's Island Road in Edgewater.

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, located on Constitution Avenue and Greenfield Street in Annapolis, will finish its 10th year of operation and begin its second decade with a full calendar of events.Singer and songwriter Red Grammer, formerly with the folk group "The Limelighters," performs a family concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, at Maryland Hall.The concert will be sponsored by the Be Beep A Toy Shop, and ticket proceeds go to benefit the Hall's children's performing arts series.General admission tickets are $5 and are available at the Be Beep A Toy Shops in Severna Park and downtown Annapolis, as well as Maryland Hall.

Sunday, April 15 Concert Austrian flutist Daniela Koch, accompanied by pianist Christian Reif, performs music by Mozart, Schubert and Pirchner at 3 p.m. at St. John's College's Great Hall, 60 College Ave. in Annapolis. Admission is free. Information: stjohnscollege.edu. Theater performance The Colonial Players' production of "The Spitfire Grill" runs through Saturday, April 21, at 108 East St. in Annapolis. Tickets are $15 and $20. For tickets, showtimes and more information, call 410-268-7373 or go to thecolonialplayers.org.

Yes, there was a "Gala Concert" at Maryland Hall Sunday evening that included performances by the remarkably gifted young singers and dancers from Bobbi Smith's Talent Machine Company, the Annapolis Opera, the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis and the Annapolis Chorale.But the true meaning of Sunday's third annual "All for the Hall" fund-raising celebration was on display earlier in the evening as hundreds strolled through the venerable structure to sample the creative arts on a less formal, more personal basis.

If you ever wanted to learn how to paint, now's your chance.John Ebersberger, artist-in-residence at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, will conduct an impressionist landscape-painting workshop this weekend. During the workshop, you can study lights and shadows in nature and how to reproduce them on canvas.The classes are free, but call Maryland Hall at 410-269-1087 to register.Hard Travelers concertThe Hard Travelers, one of the longest-running opening acts in show business, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts on Chase Street in Annapolis.

JUST ANNOUNCED: The Ellis Marsalis and Marcus Roberts evening of solo and duo piano originally advertised for March 15 will take place Feb. 15 at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St., Annapolis. Call (410) 263-5019.THE CAPITAL CENTRE, Landover: Dire Straits, Feb. 24. Call (410) 481-SEAT.MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL, 1212 Cathedral St.: The Big Band Salute to Benny Goodman on Feb. 12; Mel Torme appears with Maureen McGovern on Feb. 25. Roberta Flack, Feb. 29. Call (410) 783-8000.

I went to a grade school in New York state that took special pains not to channel girls' interests strictly into traditionally girl-type activities.Sports weren't offered, they were required, and the competition for a place on the girls' soccer and lacrosse teams was just as hot as for the boys' teams. (An 8-year-old California boy, a new soccer addict, recently said when I mentioned having played it myself at his age: "But you're a GIIRRRL!")If he saw me using a saw or chiseling out the slot for a shutter hinge, he might say the same, and I'd give smug thanks to that school, which required that girls as well as boys take shop.

MARYLAND HALL for the Creative Arts, the former Annapolis High School, is a perfect example of putting an outmoded building to good use.When the high school moved to a new location on Riva Road, its old home could have been left to rot. Vision, energy and persuasiveness prevailed, however, and a rich community resource was created, taking full advantage of the spaces in the building.The hall is a work in progress, physically and conceptually, and the latest adaptations, a climate-control system and state-of-the-art sound system, will be showcased May 17 when the Naval Academy Band opens a new Summer Performing Arts Series with a free concert.

Devotees of arts who have enjoyed performances in the spacious but often climate-impaired Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts are invited to make a nostalgic cultural rendezvous at the third annual "All for the Hall" fund-raiser.The building, at Greenfield and Constitution streets, was home to Annapolis High School until 1978. Now it houses many artisans and provides performance space for the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis, the Annapolis Chorale, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Annapolis Opera and the Talent Machine Company.

Veterans Day Anne Arundel Community College holds its annual Veterans' Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the amphitheater outside the Cade Center for Fine Arts, 101 College Parkway in Arnold. A highlight of the program is the reading of names of students, faculty, staff and their family members who are serving or have served in the military. In case of inclement weather, activities will move inside to the Cade Center, room 224. After the ceremony, a reception will be held in the atrium of the Center for Applied Learning and Technology.

Honoring the elite of Maryland athletes with a coveted place in their own Hall of Fame has become an ongoing ceremony dedicated to excellence. To the credit of the charter team that began this annual odyssey 37 years ago, the concept hasn't changed.Its membership is held exclusively for those born in Maryland, such as Babe Ruth and Al Kaline, or those who immigrated to this country and became naturalized citizens, as witness Johnny "Kid" Williams. What the Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame has held onto with strong conviction is the rules are applied the same way now as in 1956.