Cultural Connections to the Land Down Under

Through the arts, people often find they have more in common with distant peoples than ever imagined. When seeking out the music, art, literature, theater, sport, architecture, history and beliefs of a distant land, people often discover as many similarities as differences.

The debut of Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes opens doors not only to encounters with indigenous Australian fauna and flora, but also to opportunities to learn about the rich and engaging culture of an ancient people, a far-away land and modern country.

In partnership with cultural institutions throughout the Maryland region, below is a list of Cultural Connections with the Land Down Under that are available to the public.

Theater
Fell’s Point Corner Theatre will perform After Dinner, a comedy by accomplished Australian playwright Andrew Bovell, in the spring of 2006. The local production will be directed by Sherrionne Brown.

This comedy about two men and three women spending a Friday night in an Australian pub has charmed audiences throughout the British Commonwealth, and now it’s coming to Baltimore.

The show is scheduled to run on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m., April 21 – May 7, 2006. For more information, visit www.fpct.org.

Music
The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra (BCO) was the first to announce a Cultural Connections initiative with the Animal Planet Australia exhibit. The BCO will wrap up its 2005 – 2006 season with the US premiere of Pipe Dreams, an acclaimed flute concerto by renowned Australian composer Carl Vine.

Selected by Music Director and Conductor Markand Thakar, Pipe Dreams will be the centerpiece of the orchestra’s May 24, 2006 program, and will feature Jeffrey Khaner, principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

This musical journey to Australia will be complemented by Elgar’s Serenade for Strings and Schubert’s Death and the Maiden. For more information, visit www.baltchamberorch.org.