All Events in Frederick

Julius Hemphill's landmark saxophone quartets will be performed by his colleague Marty Ehrlich and three of Maryland's finest saxophonists. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Steppin’ The Music of Julius Hemphill Long Tongues: A Saxophone Opera FEMA has also enlisted the considerable talents of three Maryland resident saxophonists to create Maryland Saxtet. Although Howard Burns has performed with a long list of jazz luminaries, beginning with Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, and NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz, he is best known in Frederick for his 30+ years as the Jazz Band Director at Frederick Community College. Currently a Professor of Jazz Arranging and Jazz Theory at Shenandoah University, Frederick resident Darryl Brenzel has led performances at Kennedy Center, Blues Alley and the East Coast Jazz Festival, and has performed with everyone from The Nelson Riddle Orchestra to The Beach Boys. Gregory Thompkins is a longtime stalwart of the Baltimore jazz scene, leading his own groups, directing the Baltimore Jazz Education Project, and teaching jazz history at the Renaissance Institute Notre Dame of Maryland University.

Join the FAC for an artist talk with muralist Rafael Blanco to explore the power of public art. Native of Alicante (Spain), Rafael Blanco is a visual public artist fascinated with identity, human expression, and diversity. Trained as a classical studio painter for more than 15 years, Blanco had his first encounter with public art in 2014. Since then, he broke away from the studio and transitioned to the creation of site-specific large-scale mural installations. Blanco has painted murals across the US from California to New York, and from Texas to Illinois. He has participated in numerous street art festivals and mural competitions, as well as produced commissioned work for cities like New York NY, Tampa FL, or Denver CO among many others. Blanco attended Florida Southern College (2000-02) and graduated with a BA in Studio Arts from Saint Mary's College of California (2002-04). After receiving his MFA in Painting & Drawing from the University of Nevada, Reno (2010-2013), he worked as a full-time university professor at Feather River College (2014-19) and Elmhurst University (2019-23), where he taught Drawing, Painting, Art History, etc. Lately, he has expanded his work to public speaking, where he has been advocating for the amazing potential of public art while engaging all types of audiences, including High School and University students, as well as a participating as a guest speaker at TEDx Elmhurst University. Blanco currently lives in San Antonio, TX with his family and continues creating large-scale murals around the world.(https://rafael-blanco.com/)