Live Arts Maryland goes to the mall
Performance arts group opens Westfield Annapolis venue
Live Arts Maryland, the performing arts organization that includes The Annapolis Chorale and Chamber Chorus, and the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, has opened a new studio at the Westfield Annapolis mall.
Ernest Green, artistic director for Live Arts Maryland, said the new studio offers a way for the organization to create additional programming to go along with events at Maryland Hall and St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. The group will use the studio weekly, with rehearsals three to four days and performances every other weekend.
“There are some things we can do at St. Anne’s that are perfect there and same at Maryland Hall, but there are things that don’t fit at either place and that was the idea behind this new studio,” Green said. “We had people walking by our rehearsals at the mall, and they came by to listen then buy tickets and came back and that is such a different experience.”
Green said he believes Live Arts Maryland, which also presents a Bach+ Series and St. Anne’s Concert Series, is the most artistically diverse organization in the area. He wants to bring more music to the area. The studio can hold around 200 people.
“The arts are a way for us to come together after getting out of the pandemic,” Green said. “When people come out of the performance, they want to talk about how wonderful it was and [that] just uplifts the mood.”
Live Arts held performances on Aug. 27 and 28 with cabaret artist Jason Hentrich.
“Having performances in front of an audience is so new at times and incredibly emotional at times, for everyone involved,” Green said. “Us being able to come together was like mind blowing.”
Green had been thinking about opening a studio at the mall for years and reached out to Westfield Annapolis and they were very receptive, he said.
Steven Stavropoulos, general manager of Westfield Annapolis, said the mall is thrilled to welcome Live Arts Maryland as a new tenant.
“We look forward to supporting its mission and bringing our guests and local community closer to the performing arts,” Stavropoulos said in a statement. “Our strategy
is focused on making sure we have the best assets in the best markets with the best mix of tenants because we believe that will create opportunities for us to develop better, more engaging destinations.”
Stavropoulos said his company is working to make physical retail exciting again. By having a performing arts studio in the mall, Green said it will add a diverse revenue stream.