November 2-December 7: Loudoun Sketch Club Fall 2008 Art Show. Exhibit of plein air paintings capturing views from our rural Loudoun countryside done by members from May through October. For further information, contact the Loudoun Sketch Club at www.loudounsketchclub.com.

November 14-15 8pm November 16 3pm: An Evening Of Puccini. featuring his only comic opera, Gianni Schicchi. Waddell Hall, Northern VA Community College - Loudoun Campus, 1000 Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7), Sterling, VA 20165. General Admission Tickets $25. Loudoun Arts Council members: don't forget your $5.00 discount! For more information, please call (703) 771-0996 or e-mail admin@loudounlyricopera.com.

November 15, 22: Autumn Wonders. A showcase of Loudoun quilters, spinners and weavers. View and purchase the work of participating artists from local guilds, sign up for Mary Kenneson's Felting workshop (Parent & Child Class November 15, 1-3pm, and Adult Class November 22 1-3pm). See a quilting demonstration and enjoy some holiday refreshments. For more information, visit www.roundhillartscenter.org/events.

November 21, 7:30pm: Andrew McKnight Concert. Andrew's first and only northern Virginia show with Sean Kelly, unplugged and intimate. Seating is limited; please come early! Refreshments available. Tickets are $15.00 at the Round Hill Arts Center door and partial proceeds will go toward support of the Round Hill Arts Center. For further information, please visit www.roundhillartscenter.org or call 540.338.5050.

November 22, 2pm: Bill Lepp-Storyteller. A Family Series. Bil Lepp is a liar... and proud of it. He's won the West Virginia Liars Contest five times. The tall-tale contest draws large crowds, and the winner receives a Golden Shovel. You can imagine why. A storyteller for more than 15 years, Lepp tells tales on subjects ranging from his dachshund,"Buck-dog," to his fourth-grade teacher, who he swore was a superhero. Part of our SUBSCRIPTION SERIES at 15% off. Non-Subscriber Tickets: $10 Adults, $8 Students/ Seniors. Proceeds from non-subscriber ticket sales benefit the Loudoun Arts Council. Reserve your ticket at the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center Box Office by calling 540-338-7973.

November 23, 3pm: Fall Chamber Concert. The first of two concerts by the Loudoun Symphony Chamber Players in the beautiful new Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center. Program TBA. Tickets: Door/Advance: Adult $12/$10 Senior $10/$8. For more information please visit www.loudounsymphony.org.

November 23, 4pm: St. Petersburg String Quartet Performance. The Waterford Foundation presents one of the world's great string quartets. Founded in 1985 in Russia, the St. Petersburg String Quartet moved to the US in 1997. The Quartet continues to win prizes and top reviews for its recordings and concerts all over this country and around the globe. Here is a sample of what critics say: "Flawless ensemble . . . stylish supple, open-hearted performance" (New York Times ); "breathtaking assurance and laugh-out-loud wit" (Washington Post ); "rhapsodic volatility" (Los Angeles Times ); "Simply fabulous" (Houston Chronicle ). Represented by Lisa Sapinkopf Artists. Tickets are $25, under 12 free. Concerts are at the Lucketts Community Center, Leesburg, VA. Call the Waterford Foundation, 540-882-3018 or www.waterfordfoundation.org for more information.

December 5, 6pm-9pm: Leesburg First Friday. Save the date! Over 25 Specialty Shops, Art Galleries, Antique Shops and Restaurants are open until 9pm or later, many offering free refreshments and/or special sales. Please visit our website at www.leesburgfirstfriday.com.

December 5, 7, 13, 14: Master Singers of Virginia's Holiday Performance: "A Rose in Winter", including Benjamin Britten's A Boy Was Born. This is a chamber work of great depth and difficulty. Anyone familiar with Britten's A Ceremony of Carols is certain to love this work. The performance also includes works by Paulus, including Jesu Carols, accompanied by guest harp soloist Beth Mailand. Tickets purchased in advance are $15 for Adults and $12 for Students and Seniors ($2 more at the door). For more information and directions, please call 703-655-7809 or visit www.msva.org. Concerts will take place at the following venues, with a pre-concert lecture taking place 45 minutes before each performance:
December 5, 8:00 pm, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, McLean, VA
December 7, 7:00 pm, Our Savior's Way Lutheran Church, Ashburn ,VA
December 13, 8:00 pm, St. James Episcopal Church, Leesburg, VA
December 14, 7:00 pm, Franklin Park Center for the Performing and Visual Arts, Purcellville, VA.

December 6, 11am-5pm: Holiday Open House. Get your shopping done in one day and support your local artists, too! Featuring handmade gifts of fused glass, painted silks, felting, hand-creafted jewelry, knitwear, and so much more. For more information, visit www.roundhillartscenter.org.

December 6-7: John Rutter's "Gloria," the centerpiece of The Loudoun Chorale's winter concert, will be accompanied, as originally scored, by brass, organ and percussion. (directed by William Propst). The program also includes "Hymn to the Virgin" by Benjamin Britten, "Still, Still, Still" by Mack Wilberg and other seasonal spirituals, folk songs and carols. Concert dates and locations: Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m., St. David's Episcopal Church, 43600 Russell Branch Parkway, Ashburn, 20147 Dec. 7, 4 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 605 West Market Street, Leesburg, 20176. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10 general admission. Senior tickets are $8 and youth tickets are $5. There is no charge for children 12 and under. For more information, call 703-722-4055 or visit www.loudounchorale.org.

December 13-14: Holiday Festival. Loudoun Symphony Presents: Courtney Ross, Soprano soloist, singing music of the season including a couple of "Sleigh Rides", wooden soldiers, ice skaters, a classic Chirstmas Pastorale, and our Christmas Singalong. There's Christmas in the Air and much more. Tickets door/advance Adult $18/$15 Senior $15/$12. For more information, please contact the Loudoun Symphony at www.loudounsymphony.org.

December 19-21: The Nutcracker. The Loudoun Ballet Company brings to life an annual holiday tradition in its 19th year with magical performances of the beloved classic "The Nutcracker". Set to Tchaikovsky's brilliant and timeless music and based on E.T.A Hoffmann's charming tale, "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" is an enchanting story about Clara - a young girl who helps an animated wooden nutcracker defeat an army of wicked mice, and discovers the fascinating world of the 'Land of Sweets'. Performances are: Friday, December 19th at 7:30pm, Saturday, December 20th at 1:00pm & 5:30pm, Sunday, December 21st, at 1:00pm & 5:30pm. Advance tickets are $20 for adult reserved seating, $15 for children 12/under and for seniors 60/above. Premium reserved seats are $25 (no discounts for premium seating). All seats at the door are $25 on performance weekends. For tickets, call the LBC Ticket Box Office at 703-771-8074. Please also visit www.loudounballet.org for more information.

February 21: Pirates and Princesses. Our family concert will create a fantasy world of swashbuckling pirates and beautiful princesses that children of all ages will enjoy. We team up with the Loudoun School of Ballet to help bring some of these characters to life. Children are invited to come in costume, a perfect way to liven up a winter afternoon. Presented at Loudoun County HS, Leesburg, VA at 4pm free-no tickets required by the Loudoun Symphony. Visit www.loudounsymphony.org for more details or call 703.771.8287.

February 21 and 28 and March 1, the Master Singers perform three of Poulenc's best works, Mass in G, Prayers of St. Francis of Assisi, and Petites Voix. The concert also includes folk songs from England by Holst, Finzi, and others. The Master Singers of Virginia is Northern Virginia's premiere a cappella choral ensemble.Tickets are on sale now for all December, Winter, and Spring concerts. Season tickets are $38 for adults and $30 for seniors or students; individual ticket prices are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors or students in advance ($2 more at the door). For more information, please call (703) 655-7809, or visit www.msva.org.

Loudoun Lyric Opera announces auditions for our Spring concert performance of Donizetti'sL'Elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love) with the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra. Performances will be held March 14 & 15, 2009 in Leesburg, VA. Rehearsals will begin in mid-late January on Weds. eves. and Sat. & Sun. late afternoons. Chorus rmusic rehearsals will be held on Monday evenings. Principal auditions will be held at the Clubhouse of Leisure World of Virginia, 19375 Magnolia Grove Square, Leesburg, VA 20176; on Tuesday, November 18, from 6-9 PM and Saturday, November 22, from 10 AM to 1 PM. Chorus auditions will be held Wednesday, November 19, from 6-9 PM. Applicants for principal roles must have prior experience performing solo operatic roles with full orchestra. Please bring one aria in Italian (preferably bel canto style) and a second aria of your choice. To schedule your audition, please email your request along with a resume or bio to admin@loudounlyricopera.com.

Call for Artists: Apply Now for 2009 Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour Applications are now available for artists wishing to participate in the fourth annual Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour, scheduled for June 20-21, 2009. Artists selected to participate in this juried event will be able to sell their work directly from their studios to the public while encouraging patrons to learn more about the vibrant arts community in Loudoun County. Established professional and emerging artists who produce their artwork in western Loudoun County, Virginia (including Leesburg and west of the Route 15 corridor) and whose studio meets certain criteria are eligible for consideration as Studio Artists. Artists who live and produce their work in Eastern Loudoun County or who do not have a Western Loudoun studio suitable for visitors may also apply for consideration as Guest Artists at a designated available space on the Tour. Any two or three-dimensional work will be considered, including painting, drawing, fiber art, wood, ceramics, photography, sculpture, and jewelry. Interested artists should request an application by calling (703) 777-5498 or (540) 338-7973, by downloading it from the website at http://wlast.org/ApplicationForm2009.pdf or by applying online at http://wlast.org/onlineentry.htm. Postmarked deadline for submission is Saturday, January 31, 2009; applicants will be notified mid-February, 2009.

The goal of the tour is to highlight the remarkable artistic resources that exist in the Loudoun community. The Studio Tour typically brings hundreds of visitors from across the metropolitan area into the studios of local artists. Visitors enjoy the opportunity to visit the creative environments where many well-known Loudoun artists work, while driving through Loudoun's beautiful rural scenery between studios. The Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour is a joint project of Franklin Park Arts Center, Friends of Franklin Park Arts Center, Loudoun Academy of the Arts Foundation and Round Hill Arts Center.

Open Studio at Loudoun Academy of the Arts sessions Monday evenings and Friday afternoons for artists who want to draw from a live model. Bring materials. 6:30-9PM Mondays; 1-4PM Fridays. Loudoun Academy of the Arts; 222 South King Street. $55-All 7-dates per session (full session), $45-Any 5-dates per session, $30 Any 3-dates per session, $12 Drop-in fee. Visit www.loudounacademy.org for more details.

Fine Arts Classes at the Loudoun Academy of the Arts, for adults in drawing, oil painting, watercolor, acrylics, pastels, sculpture, glass, ceramics and photography. A variety of children's classes includes drawing basics, draw/paint/sculpt, multimedia, clay, hip-art and more! Visit www.loudouncademy.org for a full schedule of classes and workshops, or call 703-777-8043.