Dorchester Center for the Arts is pleased to welcome members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on Aug. 25, 2 p.m., for a concert in the George B. Todd Performance Hall at DCA. Our thanks to community friend Carol Bogash, former BSO Vice President of Education and Community Engagement, for organizing this special opportunity.

Admission is free, donations welcome.
Featured performers include Dariusz Skoraczewski, principal cello; Colin Sorgi, viola; Brian Prechtl, Ford Musician Awardee in percussion and a composer, and Daniel Pesca, piano. Dr. Pesca is a member of the music faculty at UMBC.

Also joining the performance is Judith Krummeck, host on WBJC, Baltimore Public Radio, who will serve as narrator in the final piece of the program, an original composition by Brian Prechtl. Additional works in the program include J.S. Bach, Robert Schumann, and Efrem Zimbalist (arr. William Primrose).

August in the Galleries
Opening on Aug. 2: Works of Alison Chase Radcliffe. The Second Saturday Artist’s Reception will be held on Aug. 10, 5-7:30 p.m. with live music and light refreshments.

Alison’s drawings and paintings are well described as psychological portraiture, reflecting and revealing unseen qualities of her subject. Many of Alison’s strongest pieces originate from sheer invention or are first rendered from observation and then finished by means of imagination and memory. In this way Alison is meaningfully depicting and humorously celebrating the beauty, dignity and hardships of human life.

Alison began to create her own music and art at the age of 4, performing with her mother’s string bands and assisting her father with his photography. This was the beginning of her lifelong devotion to art and music.

For Alison, the ultimate human experience is making art, specifically the act of combining aesthetic expression with practiced technical execution. She unifies these art forms as a succinct expression of the human condition.

As a musician, Alison works in blues, spirituals, jazz, and soul, singing and playing piano boldly in a nostalgic style reminiscent of a bygone era. She shows and teaches art and music locally and internationally, performs both as a solo act and collaboratively, and has a band called The Blood & Sunflower in Brattleboro, Vt. Alison will be performing during the Second Saturday reception on Aug. 10.

August in the Classrooms
August arrives with creative classroom opportunities for both youth and adults. Art camp continues through Aug. 16, with classes including Ceramic Sculptures, Ceramic Coil Pots, Youth Musical Theatre, Origami, Up-cycled Recycled, and Poetry Slammers. Visit DCA online for complete camp schedule.

For adults, Paint Pour Workshops with Pattie Logan will be held on Aug. 21 and 28, 6-8 p.m. Sign up for one, or both, and learn the techniques for yielding unique results with this fun paint form.

Call DCA for details and registration: 410-228-7782.
For more information on programs and events at DCA, stop by 321 High St., call 410-228-7782 or visit online at www.dorchesterarts.org. Find us on Facebook! Programs at DCA are supported by the Maryland State Arts Council.

Editor’s note: Spectrum is the weekly column of the Dorchester Arts Center. It is written by Barbara J. Seese, executive director.