Classical Music

A great escape Check out classical music from across the pond. The works of three of England's greatest composers are featured in the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's MasterWorks III this weekend. See story . Got talent? Please, no heckling. The fifth annual Talent Show at Apollo Civic Theatre in Martinsburg, W.Va., is Saturday at 7 p.m. He's back! "Don't go out there! He's not here to play hockey!" Jason's back in "Friday the 13th. " Go, Abe, it's your birthday If Abraham Lincoln were alive today, it'd be his 200th birthday.

Chocolate festival Chocolate cookies, chocolate brownies, chocolate fountain, chocolate candy, chocolate cakes, chocolate milk and more chocolate. Also includes a silent auction, pie throwing, Valentine crafts for children, cookie contest and Willy Wonka movie. Today, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Trinity Lutheran Church, 16 N. Main St., Smithsburg. One-man show Michael Cooper's one-man show features handcrafted masks, original stories of courage and wonder, outlandish stilt dancing and a physical repertoire that ranges from the madcap to the sublime.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - When Laura MacKenzie performs traditional music, she's most at home in a small, intimate venue. The comfy atmosphere keeps in line with the theme of traditional music, which has its roots in Ireland and Scotland, and with musicians who shared their music in an informal way. MacKenzie will perform in such a venue when she takes part in the Upper Potomac Pipers Weekend in Shepherdstown. She'll share the stage with other bagpipers, including Bob Mitchell, Jerry O'Sullivan, Eliot Grasso and Dick Hensold, and with fiddler Elke Baker at 8 p.m. Saturday at Shepherd University's Reynolds Hall.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - It seemed only fitting that British guitarist Adrian Legg took the phone call for this interview from a Chicago hotel room. It was even more fitting that at the time of the call, he said he was in the middle of writing in his journal about last night's gig gone wrong. In fact, he compared the Chicago venue from the night before with some of the seedy Irish pubs he's played in. "Except there wasn't any blood at this one," Legg said, laughing. Hopefully, he will have better luck in West Virginia this weekend.

It was more than 20 years ago, that five chums decided to form a wind quintet, thinking they'd do a show here and there. But that didn't happen. The Appalachian Wind Quintet has been going strong ever since, doing more and more shows, said Barbara Spicher, the quintet's flutist. In keeping with tradition, the Appalachian Wind Quintet will perform at the Festival of Lights Saturday at Rest Haven Funeral Chapel & Cemetery in Hagerstown. "The Appalachian Wind Quintet has been coming here for years," Brown said.

In fairy tales, the heroines are always doing something nice for someone else. Little Red Riding Hood was visiting her sick grandma. Belle found the beauty in the Beast. And Wendy watched over her brothers and assisted Peter Pan in fighting pirates. When dancers at City Ballet School in Hagerstown dress as famous literary characters this weekend, they'll be doing something nice, too. The money raised from their Princess Tea Party will benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

"Words and Music" was held at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown on April 22 to celebrate National Jazz Month and National Poetry Month in April. At the event, jazz musician Joshua Bayer and local poet Hope Maxwell-Snyder shared their talents with community members and USMH students and staff. "The arts can inspire so much in people," said JoEllen Barnhart, USMH associate executive director. "Giving our students and community the chance to talk one-on-one with a published author and allowing them to escape for a little while into the world of jazz, is what bringing a cultural event to USMH is all about.

WAYNESBORO, PA. - The walls of the Oller House in Waynesboro told the tales Saturday of the past through the language of the fans that adorned the 1892 home for the Waynesboro Historical Society's fourth annual Spring Tea. The tea is a major fundraiser for the historical society, which works to preserve and tell Waynesboro's story. Guests enjoyed a traditional Victorian tea service, complete with finger sandwiches and scones. Helen Shelley, chairwoman of the event, said the tea came about as a way to both raise money and give society members and guests a "nice social event.

HAGERSTOWN - Hundreds of small faces stared up at the figure on The Maryland Theatre stage as he delivered his first line: "Dear Uncle. Something terrible has happened. A madman has moved into our house! His name -" The young man in early 19th-century garb paused "- is Ludwig van Beethoven. " Behind him, the Maryland Symphony Orchestra punctuated the declaration, launching into Beethoven's Fifth Symphony with a thunderous "Duh-duh-duh-DUM. " It was actor Andrew Redlawsk's first time playing the role of Christoph, a 12-year-old boy who befriends the eccentric composer in "Beethoven Lives Upstairs," but Redlawsk had no fear of forgetting his lines.

Music Director Elizabeth Schulze is looking forward to the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's collaboration with "one of its own" this weekend. Principal oboist Fatma Daglar will be featured in the MSO's performance of Richard Strauss' Oboe Concerto in D major, a work Schulze called a "tour de force concerto that calls for enormous stamina as well as intense technical control and musical focus. " Daglar, 35, acknowledged the concerto likely is considered the most difficult in the oboe repertoire.