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July 10, 2025

Chestertown Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown

6 Arts Notes

Kent Cultural Alliance Welcomes New Board Members

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The Kent Cultural Alliance is welcoming four new board members for the 2023 Fiscal Year, according to director, John Schratwieser.  “We are so excited to welcome Sue Matthews, Zita Seals, Stephanie Spencer and Laurie Walters to the KCA Board.  Hailing from Galena, Millington, Kennedyville, and Rock Hall respectively, these four women bring not only extraordinary experience to the table, but they also help the KCA expand our own reach to areas of Kent County that have been underrepresented, and underserved until now.”

Washington College brought Sue Matthews (nee Dunning) to Chestertown in the early 1970’s. Years after graduation and having fallen in love with the community, she with her husband, Bryan, and (now adult) 3 boys, have called Kent County home for nearly 30 years. Her highly successful career as a jazz vocalist has garnered her national and international acclaim from her many recordings to performances in concert halls, music festivals and top jazz clubs, taking her from Canada to Argentina, Ireland to Hungary.  She is a favorite ‘local’ performer with years of sold-out shows at The Mainstay in Rock Hall, co-producer of the highly successful Women Helping Women fundraiser, which enjoyed 15 years of sold-out performances at the Garfield Center for The Arts, has appeared many times in Chestertown’s Jazz Festival and has enjoyed performing in many local venues for the National Music Festival with Brazilian guitarist Camilo Carrara.

Zita Seals is a Millington (Kent County) resident that was elected to the Millington Town Council in the Spring of 2022.  She was born and raised in Barclay (Queen Anne’s County) and attended college at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and later at the University of Maryland where she received her B.S. degree in Criminal Justice and Minor in Homeland Security.  She has worked for the Maryland State Division of Corrections for the past 18 years and also manages her own catering business, Zappetizers, LLC.  Zita is also a newly appointed member of the Kent County Local Management Board and volunteers as a member, youth mentor, and advocate for the elderly with several community organizations in Queen Anne’s and Kent Counties.  Some of them include New Walk Community Church, St. Daniels United Methodist Church, the QAC Wellness Coalition, and Minary’s Dream Alliance.  When she has spare time, Zita spends it with family, singing with various groups/bands (Friends In Faith, A Breath of Fresh Air,  MiKenZi, and Sylvia Frazier and the Anointed Vessels), riding her motorcycle, and Creative Writing.Zita also enjoys cooking, indulging in Maryland crabs, listening to all types of music, traveling, and watching stand-up comedy. She is an easy-going free spirited person that believes what God has for her….is for her!

For over two decades, Stephanie Spencer has been a visual arts teacher at Kent County High School.  During this time, she has been able to combine her life-long love for creating with her passion for young people.  In her tenure, she has developed a highly successful Advanced Placement Art & Design program which has produced many professional artists in varying fields.  She has also organized the funding, creation and installation of two mosaic murals for the high school.  In addition to her classroom responsibilities, she has been the Fine Arts Department Chair for nearly 15 years, is co-advisor for the KCHS chapter of the National Art Honor Society, and assists with the production of the school’s winter musical.  Outside of school, she taught five summers at the Upper Chesapeake Summer Center for the Arts, as well as various art camps through RiverArts of Chestertown. Stephanie is a life-long resident of Kent County where she lives with her husband, Bill and three children in Kennedyville.

Laurie Walters grew up on the Western Shore but followed her roots back to the Eastern Shore when she and her husband retired to Rock Hall.  Having been “weekenders” since 2009 they made the move to full time residents in 2016.  Prior to retirement, Laurie was an educator with the Carroll County Public Schools. She and her husband raised two sons, both of whom also now live on the Eastern Shore with their families. Laurie is active in several nonprofit organizations and is the current president of Main Street Rock Hall.

“We are thrilled to bring these talented voices to the KCA Board table” says Jason Claire, President “with all that this new fiscal year holds for KCA, including the opening of our new building and new visiting artist residency program, Sue, Zita, Stephanie, and Laurie are welcomed additions to our dedicated Board, and we look forward to their help expanding our programming and funding further across our beautiful County.”

The Kent Cultural Alliance serves the residents of Kent County supporting and creating inclusive artistic and cultural experiences designed to connect communities through shared conversations.It is the vision of the Kent Cultural Alliance that all residents of Kent County engage in important civic and social conversation using creative experiences as a conduit for connection.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

High and Wides Concert: Friday Aug. 12 in Fountain Park

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The Washington Post said “These guys are apostles of hillbilly boogie,” while Baltimore Magazine noted that “From fiery barn burners to heartbroken ballads, this talented string quartet is celebrating the region’s rich bluegrass history, carrying the torch for the Old-Line legends who came before.”

Now they are coming back to Chestertown.

The High and Wides will perform in Fountain Park in downtown Chestertown on Friday, August 12, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. The concert is free and open to the public.  Bring a chair or just come sit on the grass.

The High & Wides were formed in 2015, and have roots both in Baltimore and the rural Delmarva peninsula. They draw on a shared background playing straight ahead bluegrass, but weave in influences from new wave to old time to make music that evokes the era before country, bluegrass, rockabilly, western swing, and rock’n’roll broke off into separate and strictly defined genres. The band’s music imagines an alternate timeline – if instead of the electric-guitar and drums driven band format that took off in the 50s, the string band lineup had dominated across genres of popular music in the 20th century, what would be happening now?

The High and Wides

They have released two full-length albums of original music, 2018’s “Lifted” and 2019’s “Seven True Stories”. In March 2022 they released their first album of covers, “Blood”, which pays tribute to exemplars of the two-part “brother duet” singing style that first inspired the formation of the band.

Before they played in the High and Wides, Dyckman, Grower, and Guthridge, were all part of the popular band Chester River Runoff.

The High and Wides band members are Marc Dykeman (guitar, vocals), Sam Guthridge (banjo, mandolin, vocals), Nate Grower (fiddle), and Mike Buccino (bass).

The concert is sponsored by the town of Chestertown and the Kent County Cultural Alliance.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

KCA Presents Reading of New Musical Based on Escaped Slave Narrative

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The Kent Cultural Alliance (KCA), in Partnership with the Chesapeake Heartland Project at Washington College, presents the premiere of a new musical as a reading June 24, 25, and 26.

ISAAC: A MUSICAL JOURNEY was commissioned by the KCA for the Chesapeake Heartland Project.  It is composed and written by Marlon Saunders, a native of Kent County, Maryland. Marlon has worked with various artists, including Cynthia Erivo, Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Javier Colon, Billy Joel, Sting, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Shawn Colvin, Nine Inch Nails, Jane Siberry, Shania Twain, Martha Wash, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Marlon appears as the Calypso Singer in the popular Disney film, Enchanted. Marlon sings the Academy Award-nominated song, “That’s How You Know” with Amy Adams, who appears in the role of Giselle.

ISAAC is based on the published autobiography of Isaac Mason.  Isaac Mason was born into slavery in Kent County, Maryland in 1822.  He was enslaved by Mr. & Mrs. James Mansfield at what is now 101 Spring Avenue, Chestertown, MD (the future home of the Kent Cultural Alliance).  Mr. Mason ran toward freedom on December 26, 1846.  He ended up in Worcester, MA where he was a prominent businessman and church elder.  In 1893, he put his life story down on paper and published “Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave.”

This production will feature Paris Nesbit (Broadway: Book of Mormon) as ISAAC, Sue Matthews, as Enslaver Hannah Woodward, and Kelly Sloan as the Ancestral Goddess.  The reading will be supported by musicians Marlon Saunders (Composer), David Inniss and Eric Brown. The premiere is being directed by Biti Strauchn and produced by John Schratwieser.

This new work is part of a larger project and partnership between the Kent Cultural Alliance and Chesapeake Heartland: An African American Humanities Project at Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.  This is the third collaboration between the KCA, Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, and Mr. Saunders. “Workin’ on a Building” (funded by the National Endowment for the Arts) premiered in Chestertown in 2006 and was Mr. Saunders’musical exploration of seven generations of his family from slavery to modern times in Kent County MD.  Also, in association with the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street programat Sumner Hall, and the Starr Center, Mr. Saunders created “Choppin’ on the Shop” about life in a Kent County Barber Shop for the “The Way We Work” exhibit in 2017.

The KCA invites the Kent County community, residents and visitors alike, to one of three performances at the Gibson Performing Arts Center’sDecker Theater on the campus of Washington College, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD on Friday June 24 at 7:30 pm, Saturday June 25 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, June 26 at 2:30 pm.  Tickets are free but reservations are required.  Please limit your reservations to no more than four (4) tickets or call the KCA directly if you need a large block of seats.

Tickets can be reserved at www.kentculture.org, or by calling the KCA at 410-778-3700

The Kent Cultural Alliance: The Kent Cultural Alliance serves the residents of Kent County supporting and creating inclusive artistic and cultural experiences designed to connect communities through shared conversations.  It is the vision of the Kent Cultural Alliance that all residents of Kent County engage in important civic and social conversation using artistic and cultural experiences as a conduit for connection.

Chesapeake Heartland: An African American Humanities Project is an innovative new collaboration between Washington College, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and a broad array of community partners in Kent County, MD. The project’s name derives from the Chesapeake region’s identity as the heartland of African American history and culture since the arrival of the first Africans at Jamestown in 1619. Kent County, where Washington College is located, is in many ways a microcosm of that history, with its own rich and diverse African American heritage dating back nearly four centuries. Through the Chesapeake Heartland Project, Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and its local partners—including public schools, religious communities, and other nonprofits— preserve, share, curate, and interpret a broad array of material that documents the many facets of Kent County’s African American history and culture.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Kent County Poetry Festival Welcomes Pádraig Ó Tuama and Maureen Corrigan

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The Kent Cultural Alliance, in partnership with the Rose O’Neill Literary House at Washington College, The Bookplate and Ortiz Studios present the 13th Annual Kent County Poetry Festival, April 8-10, 2022

The Main event of this year’s weekend-long festival is at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 at the Garfield Center for the Arts and will feature Poet and Theologian, Pádraig Ó Tuama in conversation with Literary Critic Maureen Corrigan.

Pádraig Ó Tuama by Trevor Brady

Pádraig presents Poetry Unbound with On Being Studios and in late 2019 was named Theologian in Residence for On Being, innovating in bringing art and theology into public and civic life.

When BBC journalist William Crawley introduced Pádraig on the stage to deliver a TEDx talk on Story, Crawley said, “He’s probably the best public speaker I know.”

Ó Tuama’s published work incorporates poetry (Readings from the Book of Exile [longlisted for the Polari Prize 2013]; Sorry for your Troubles), prose (In The Shelter) and theology (Daily Prayer, The Place Between). Poems featured or forthcoming in the following publications or platforms: Poetry Ireland Review,  Academy of American Poets, Raidio Teilifís Éireann’s Poem of the Week, Post Road, Cream City Review, Holden Village Voice, Proximity Magazine, On Being, Dumbo Feather, Gutter, America, and Seminary Ridge Review.

Maureen Corrigan

Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR’s Fresh Air, is The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is an associate editor of and contributor to Mystery and Suspense Writers (Scribner) and the winner of the 1999 Edgar Award for Criticism, presented by the Mystery Writers of America. In 2019, Corrigan was awarded the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing by the National Book Critics Circle.

The festival includes two student workshops on Friday, April 8 (closed to public) at Kent County High School and Washington College and three public events.  On Saturday, April 9 there will be a reading event with Local Celebrity Poets Beth Dulin, James Allen Hall, Meredith Davies Hadaway, Mary McCoy and Robert Earl Price, at the Garfield Center for the Arts from 1 – 2:30 p.m.  The main event is Saturday April 9 at 7 p.m at the Garfield.  The Public Read event is Sunday, April 10 from 2 – 5 p.m. at Ortiz Studios, Chestertown.  Anyone wishing to share a maximum of two poems, should register in advance.  Events are free but reservations are required.  Visit www.kentculture.org/poetryfest for info and to make reservations.

For 13 years, the Kent County Poetry Festival team has worked to provide opportunities for local poets as well as celebrate international poets.  In 2021 the Festival went virtual and featured 2013 Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco.  The committee that plans the festival includes Tom Martin of The Bookplate, Poets Meredith Davies Hadaway and Robert Earl Price, Rose O’Neill Literary House Director James Allen Hall, Artisan Craftsman Bob Ortiz, and Kent Cultural Alliance Director, John Schratwieser.

For reservations or information, visit www.kentculture.org or call 410-778-3700

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Kent Cultural Alliance Connects Local Artists with KCPS for Virtual Learning

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In response to multiple needs stemming from the current pandemic crisis, the Kent Cultural Alliance (KCA) has created a new and unique offering in partnership with the Kent County Public Schools (KCPS) with additional funding from the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust.

Robbi Behr

After meeting with the five KCPS visual arts teachers Aimee Boumiea, Teresa Jetton, Janet McCormick, Noel Morris and Stephanie Spenser, and with the blessing of KCPS Director of Teaching and Learning Gina Jachimowicz, the KCA put out a public “Call for Artists” in July 2020. The idea was to help our visual arts teachers by hiring a local artist to create a virtual art class on a topic related to current curriculum. Each grade level (Elementary, Middle, and High schools) came up with a defined need for the fall semester. KCA director, John Schratwieser, then sent out the public call via email, social media and local press with the intent of supporting a local artist and our public school teachers and students all at the same time.

Jason Patterson

Three outstanding artist have been selected by the teachers themselves from the applications submitted. The Kent Cultural Alliance thanks and congratulates artists Robbi Behr, Jason Patterson, and Vanna Ramirez for their winning applications. Each artist will receive a stipend of $800 for their 30 minute video art class. Each artist will be filmed by local Videogarpher Justinian Dispenza of Andover Media in Galena. The KCA is proud to be supporting local artist, as well as KCSP teachers and students in this difficult time.

Vanna Ramirez

While the finished product will not be available for public viewing, anyone with a student in the Kent County Public Schools who is taking an art class this year will certainly be hearing about this great partnership from your students.

Please follow the Kent Cultural Alliance on Facebook and Instagram. Visit our website to sign up for periodic emails and progress on the renovations of our new home at 101 Spring Avenue in Chestertown. (NOTE: Jason Patterson is a Board Member of the Kent Cultural Alliance. Winning artists were selected solely by KCPS Teacher. No KCA Board members or staff had a vote in this process.).

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Kent Cultural Alliance Elects New Chair, Adds Board Members

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The Kent Cultural Alliance (formerly the Kent County Arts Council) is delighted to announce the newly elected Chair of the Board is Jason Claire.  We also are pleased to welcome two new Kent County residents to our Board, Rani Gutting and Jason Patterson.

Jason Claire

Jason Claire has been on the board of KCA since July 2018. He is a designer and co-founder, owner of INTERIOR MATTER, Inc. Born in New York City, Jason received a Bachelors from Duke University and an MBA from Georgetown University. After many years in healthcare consulting, Jason co-founded a luxury retail gallery called VASTU. Jason and his husband Mark Dybul have traveled widely to more than 70 countries, but in 2006 they bought a weekend house in Tolchester and in 2017 they chose to become full time Kent County residents.

Rani Gutting

Rani Gutting an Eastern Shore native, having been born in Church Hill, MD. Rani previously worked as a Peer Support Counselor with the Maryland State Department of Health promoting wellness and recovery for individuals dealing with mental health and substance abuse. She is an active member of the Kent County Drug & Alcohol Council, and serves on the board of Community Mediation Upper Shore, the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice and The Black Union of Kent County. She is currently a graduate student at Salisbury University School of Social Work.

 

Jason Patterson

Jason Patterson was the Kent Cultural Aliance’s first “Artist in Residence” from September 2018 – May 2019. Jason is an artist whose work focuses on African American History and highlights the role the past has in cultivating our current political and social condition in the United States. Jason also focuses on woodworking and the fabrication and aesthetic reimagining of historical documents. He is an adjunct professor in Studio Art at Washington College and is currently a Fellow at the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. He lives in Chestertown with his partner Meghan Grosse, a Professor at Washington College.

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Chestertown Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Kent Cultural Alliance: Independent Artist Relief Fund

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We are pleased to announce a small fund for unrestricted grants in support of Independent Artists in Kent County Maryland.  Applications are due May 15.

Applicants must be full-time Kent County residents (for six months or longer) and their art form must provide their primary income.  (Grants are limited in number, and awards will be given based on demonstrated financial need. If additional support becomes available, a second round of applications will be opened.)

We are grateful for the additional support of The Hedgelawn Foundation and several local philanthropists who have helped make this fund possible.

In April, we provided our grantee organizations with a supplemental emergency grant equal to 10% of their FY 2020 general operating grant.  We are doing our best to support our arts & culture community so that they can continue to support you!

Find the application HERE

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Chestertown Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

COVID-19: A New Plan for Kent Cultural Alliance with John Schratwieser

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When John Schratwieser, the director of the Kent County Arts Council, made a decision with his board to rebrand the county’s primary arts funding organization a few months ago as the Kent Cultural Alliance, the word “Alliance” had a totally different meaning.

Just a few weeks ago, the Kent Cultural Alliance saw itself providing needed funds for these worthwhile projects but also play a critical role in helping the facilitation of Kent County art and culture organizations to work together to maximize participation for those offerings. Now that has all changed.

But that hasn’t stopped John and his colleagues in refining the organization’s goals in this new age of COVID-19 while also continuing to financially supporting local art organizations and programs during this horrific pandemic.

The Spy talked to John via Zoom on Thursday afternoon to get an update.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Kent Cultural Alliance please go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.