Guest Artists

Valerie Ghent Songwriting Workshop

Join hit songwriter Valerie Ghent in a two-day songwriting workshop that culminates in a showcase performance of your song in front of a live audience

• Take bold risks by escaping your songwriting comfort zone

• Challenge yourself to create unforgettable lyric-melody marriages

• Learn new tools to become more objective about your own work

• Get valuable feedback in a rigorous yet supportive environment

Workshop Dates: Saturday, November 18・1-5pm Sunday, November 19・1-5pm

Workshop Showcase: Sunday, November 19 ・6:30pm

Limited to 12 participants ・Fee= $400

Interested? Email liveartsmd@gmail.com

Marissa McGowan

Marissa McGowan most recently appeared on Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Revival of Kiss Me Kate at Studio 54, where she performed the role of Lilli Vanessi/Kate, appeared on the Tony Awards and on the original cast recording. Marissa had the honor to be chosen by Mr Marvin Hamlisch to star as Stella Purdy in the world premier of Marvin’s last musical THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (directed by the legendary Jerry Lewis), for which she won the “best leading actress” award in Nashville for her performance. Marissa has appeared on Broadway in the A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC Revival alongside Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury (Original Cast Recording), BONNIE AND CLYDE (Original Cast Recording) and LES MISERABLES (Revival and National Tour) where she performed both the roles of Eponine and Cosette. Other Favorite credits include Mother in RAGTIME at Music Theatre Wichita, ROBBER BRIDEGROOM at The Roundabout Theatre Company, CHESS at the Kennedy Center, Heather in the World Premiere of HUMAN ERROR at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Magnolia in SHOW BOAT at the Asolo Repertory Theatre, Guinevere in CAMELOT at the Goodspeed Opera House, & Adelaide in GUYS & DOLLS at the Weston Playhouse. Concert work includes Lincoln Center, Pittsburgh Symphony, Sun Valley Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Indianapolis Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, Phoenicia Festival of the Voice, New Albany Symphony, Annapolis Chorale, New Jersey Festival Orchestra. For more information please visit marissamcgowan.com.

Out of This World: Susan Gabriel Lights Up Annapolis

Songs & Satire by The SuzeMuze

If past is prologue by rave review, get ready for “a lift out of the flat world blues.” Tony and  Emmy awarded talent have acclaimed working with Susan Gabriel. Celebrated also as The  SuzeMuze, Gabriel makes her debut at Live Arts Studio Saturday, November 4 at 7:30pm.  The notably “ineffable” singer, writer, storyteller and TV talent takes the audience on a  “mesmerizing” song and satire storied musical adventure titled Out Of This World.  At a time  we could all use a boost, Gabriel offers up a playful, at times poignant, refreshing take on  life.  The solo driven performance opens with American songbook jazz favorites that give  way to industry recognized original songs by the “captivating” songstress.  The production  emerged from Los Angeles to New York encore performances, evoking a coast to coast  music arts concert series. All star surprise guests engage in the fold of Gabriel’s seamless  entertainment and inspired community enrichment. Though new to Annapolis, Gabriel is a  St. John’s College Graduate Institute alum and hosts a community TV awarded master class  student program.   

“King of Kings”

The silent film is back! 

On the Sunday following Easter, enjoy the rare opportunity to experience Cecil B. DeMille’s powerful (and slightly campy) masterpiece, King of Kings (1927), accompanied by Larry Molinaro’s improvised organ symphony as played on St. Anne’s magnificent and colorful Freiburger organ. 

“Inventions/Reinventions” Dan Tepfer, piano

Having earned an international reputation for being a pianist-composer of wide-ranging innovation, individuality, and drive, pianist Dan Tepfer returns to Live Arts to perform a program based on his new album, Inventions/Reinventions, where he plays and improvises upon Bach’s Two-Part Inventions, taking these timeless musical exercises in transcendent new directions.

“A remarkable musician” –The Washington Post 

Tepfer has the “ability to disappear into the music as he’s making it.” – Downbeat

Tepfer plays with a “wide-open sensibility as tuned into Bach and Björk as to Monk and Wayne Shorter.” –The New York Times

Con Brio! “Church and Stadt: No Separation”

In the spring of 1723, several carts carried the possessions of Johann Sebastian Bach and his family from his prior residence in Cothen to his new apartment in Leipzig. Earlier that year, Bach had been appointed Director of Music for the principal churches in the city of Leipzig, and it was the beginning of one of the most productive periods of his musical life. Over the next few years he composed two (now) famous cycles of chorale cantatas followed by a set of cantatas that featured organ obbligato, which showed off the composer’s virtuosity at the keyboard. At the same time, he was producing orchestral music for various entities within the city of Leipzig, culminating in his directorship of the Collegium Musicum that had been founded by his friend, Georg Telemann.

In this concert, Con Brio! will look at how Bach used the same ideas in both the music he wrote for the church and the music he wrote for the city. In particular, we will focus on the Sinfonias that he wrote for that third cycle of cantatas, which evolved into the harpsichord concertos of the mid 1730s. We will pair this with the famous second Orchestral Suite, written about from about the same time as the harpsichord concertos to show how Bach used the same musical ideas for both church and “Stadt” (city).

Ian Wardenski Quintet

Ian Wardenski is a theorist, composer, guitarist, and educator. As a composer and guitarist, Ian is celebrated for his harmonic aesthetic, which has been described as “warm and complex with colorizations that reflect the modern jazz idiom” – Nolan DeBuke, The Jazz Word. These harmonic characteristics, as well as Wardenski’s angular and additive approach to melody and rhythm, can be heard throughout his debut album Collective Thoughts, which was released in Spring 2019. Join us as the Ian Wardenski Quintet comes to The Studio on December 1 at 7:30pm!

The Live Arts Studio is located on the Bestgate Road side of Westfield Annapolis. Use the main entrance between Offenbacher’s and The Container Store, turn left at the main corridor, and we are located on the right hand side of the hallway next to Loft.

The Man and His Music: A Glimpse Into the Music of Marvin Hamlisch

Song writers tend to be among the most prolific composers. Often writing at an incredibly fast pace, they strive to contain the emotion and essence of the text they’re setting in a very short amount of time. To be able to mine this type of musical gold once or twice is impressive. To do it multiple times is incredible. To do it over and over is almost unheard of except by the greatest musicians. Marvin Hamlisch was one of those rare people who hit gold over and over and over. His vast catalogue of music features song after song that are examples of how a composer at the peak of his power can fuse a melody and harmony to words so they become one.

Join us in the Studio on September 7 at 7:00 PM when six performers who knew and worked with Marvin share these unforgettable songs and the strong connection that remains with them and their composer. I hope you’ll join us for this rare opportunity to meet, hear and talk with these artists, the music and the extraordinary man who wrote it.

Tickets are $25 per person and subscribers attend for free! Want to attend this event for free and receive other perks throughout the season, subscribe today at www.liveartsmd.org!

The Live Arts Studio is located on the Bestgate Road side of Westfield Annapolis. Use the main entrance between Offenbacher’s and The Container Store, turn left at the main corridor, and we are located on the right hand side of the hallway next to Loft.

Beau Soir Trio

Beau Soir Ensemble is a flute, viola and harp trio dedicated to performing standard and contemporary repertoire spanning a variety of genres.  Our goal is to make chamber music approachable, accessible and enjoyable for novice and sophisticated audiences alike.  We look forward to featuring the music of Debussy, Respighi and American composer Stephen Main, and others with Live Arts Maryland this season. Join us on Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30pm as Beau Soir comes to The Studio!

The Live Arts Studio is located on the Bestgate Road side of Westfield Annapolis. Use the main entrance between Offenbacher’s and The Container Store, turn left at the main corridor, and we are located on the right hand side of the hallway next to Loft.