Maryland Hall

Problem: The 68-year-old building that is home to Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts and many of Annapolis' finest artists has drafty windows, water damage and an aged electrical system. Solution: A big party. Arts Alive 2, the hall's annual fund-raiser Saturday, will bring together patrons, artists, food, music and a tent full of art and goods for auction. Last year's sold-out gala, which ran for three days, raised $60,000, organizers said. This year's one-day event will include dinner by Outback Steakhouse, desserts by the Main Ingredient, dance performances by Kelly Isaac, music by Stef Scaggiari, Sue Matthews and Global Function, and an artsy yard sale.

You may think you can't go home again, but don't try to tell that to a group of Annapolis residents who want to return to their teen-age home away from the home -- their old high school.About a dozen have formed an alumni association for those who attended Annapolis High School when it was housed in a building on Greenfield Street that now is home to the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. The members, who attended the school between 1933 and 1978, hope to set up a room in the building for memorabilia of days gone by."

Musical and theatrical offerings ebb and flow over the course of a season, as do contributions from most performing arts organizations. But at flourishing centers of culture such as Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, aesthetic "down time" is unheard of. Take this weekend. For baby boomer rock `n' rollers who still crave joy with their beat, Maryland Hall is presenting the "Doo Wop Reunion Show" featuring Charlie Thomas' ever-popular group, the Drifters. This tuneful walk down memory lane at 7 p.m. Sunday comes from an enormously popular PBS show seen around the country.

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is celebrating. In a big way. The center is turning 25, and in honor of its quarter-century birthday, it's throwing a "Founders Day Open House" bash all weekend. Festive and entertaining events, from music and dance to theater and arts activities, take over Maryland Hall Saturday and Sunday. All events are open to visitors of all ages. Free festivities kick off Saturday at 10 a.m. with a walk through the outdoor labyrinth. Then at 11 a.m., the Bay Area Theatre Company leads a children's acting workshop.

By the time the 45-minute class was nearing its end, the babies were getting restless. Some were crawling with straight-line determination toward the row of pocketbooks and diaper bags along one wall, while others were beginning to whimper as their mothers jiggled them and whispered soothing words. Instructor Laurie Berman, who has been teaching music classes to babies for 10 years, was undisturbed by the gentle chaos as she led the mothers and their chubby-cheeked youngsters through the pages of a book, showing them illustrations that went with the soothing music coming from a CD player behind her. When the song was over, Berman stood up. "OK. Do we have our energy restored?"

Welcome to "The Pro-File," an occasional feature in which Anne Arundel Live will introduce you to a professional entertainer, artist, musician or dancer who is doing something noteworthy in the area. Today's pro is Annapolis tap dancer Kelly Isaac, who has taken his rhythm to Broadway.The ProKelly Isaac likes to let his feet talk for him.Sitting at his kitchen table, he turns his foot swiftly and fluidly, and with one motion, you hear three distinct beats.Do that again.Tap, tap, tap.It looks like all he's doing is running his foot across the linoleum floor, but you know what you heard.

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is always busy.Paint brushes flick at canvases, little girls in tights twirl in corners, potters crush clay on spinning wheels, a twanging guitar clashes with the click-click-click of heels in the hallways, and baking scones scent the entire basement.In a second life that began 20 years ago when the 68,000-square-foot edifice built as a high school was declared obsolete, Maryland Hall has become the heart of the capital's arts community.With an annual budget that has grown to $1.6 million, the creative arts center is the successful realization of a dream for the arts lovers who petitioned for it, and a place of wonder for thousands of students who have tried everything from painting to playing piano in its classrooms.

The Annapolis Chorale's 190 singers were joined by three major soloists and the 50-member Annapolis Chamber Orchestra to fill Maryland Hall's stage to capacity Saturday, and when the 50-member Youth Chorus entered later, it spilled down the side stairs into the audience. Their combined sound filled the hall with haunting melodies to form a momentous performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Music director J. Ernest Green had the formidable task of balancing sound levels between the large chorus and orchestra - much more difficult in a live performance than in recording, where balance is controlled in the booth.

Scott Speck, the 34-year-old maestro who was poised to enter his second season at the helm of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra, has resigned from the group effective Tuesday.The reason? He has been named assistant conductor of the Savannah Symphony in Georgia . The full-time professional orchestra plays a 40-week season under the direction of Philip Greenberg, its conductor for the past 11 years.As assistant conductor, Mr. Speck will conduct 60 programs a year, including chamber orchestra performances and children's concerts.

Artistic partnerships among the four resident companies at Maryland Hall have been few and far between. But the Christmastime efforts of the Ballet Theatre of Maryland and the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Chorale are demonstrating how such relationships can be mutually beneficial. The ballet and chamber orchestra groups have teamed up for the past three Decembers to perform The Nutcracker, and the camaraderie that has developed between the largest arts group at Maryland Hall and the state's largest professional classical dance company has begun to rub off in other ways.