COLUMBIA, MD, March 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Howard Community College’s (HCC) Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center’s 20th Season continues this spring with programming designed to engage audiences of all ages and interests. Presenting a wide-ranging lineup of artistic experiences, the Horowitz Center continues to enrich Howard County’s vibrant arts and culture scene.
“Our 20th anniversary season continues this spring with a wide range of dynamic programming. May is an especially meaningful month as we celebrate the culmination of a year’s worth of creative education and collaboration,” said Janelle Broderick, director of the Horowitz Center. “From student gallery exhibitions to ensemble and solo concerts, it's inspiring to witness the artistry and commitment of our faculty and students come to life.”
Theatre
Theatre enthusiasts can enjoy a wide variety of productions presented by HCC’s Theatre program this spring, featuring the Tony and Grammy-award-winning musical, “Into the Woods.” This fan-favorite musical invites audiences to venture into the woods where fairy tales collide, secrets come to life, and wishes, wolves, witches, and wonder await. “Into the Woods” runs May 1–9, in the Smith Theatre.
Following in the tradition of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, HCC Theatre presents “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” outdoors, under the open sky, from June 25–27. Love, laughs, and mistaken identities take center stage in this delightful romantic comedy. As two best friends pursue love—and learn the limits of loyalty—this fast-paced tale features runaway lovers, clever disguises, and a very scene-stealing dog.
With the exception of the free, outdoor Shakespeare production, tickets to theatre performances range from $10 to $20 for general admission, with discounts for students, seniors, and the military. For more information, visit HowardCC.edu/StudentTheatre.
Concerts
The HCC Concert Series welcomes the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo and acclaimed Baltimore rapper and poet Wordsmith for a captivating noontime preview of their groundbreaking collaboration on Friday, March 27. This electrifying fusion of classical virtuosity and hip-hop storytelling promises to challenge expectations and ignite the imagination.
The series also features performances from students and faculty. On Sunday, April 12, at 4 p.m., HCC music faculty take the stage in “C is for Cantabile.” The word cantabile, which is Italian for “singable” or “in a singing style,” evokes lyrical expression and graceful phrasing — qualities at the heart of this concert’s music. This concert features faculty members Katy I-Hsuan Chiang, Cello; Kyle Coughlin, Clarinet; and Sangmi Yoon, Piano, performing beloved works by Chopin, Corticelli, and Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
From May 3–8, audiences are invited to enjoy a week of student concerts, recognizing the end of the academic semester. The concerts beautifully celebrate the talent and achievements of Howard Community College music students across many styles, including jazz, chamber music, choral performance and more!
Tickets for the remaining Guest Artist and Faculty Concerts in the HCC Concert Series range from $22 to $25 for general admission. Discounts are available for students, seniors, and the military. Tickets for Student Ensemble Concerts are $10. Student Spotlight Concerts are free, with a ticket required for admittance. Children ages 12 and under in the same family receive free admission with the purchase of general or senior tickets to the HCC Music Concert Series. More information can be found at HowardCC.edu/Concerts.
Visual Arts
HCC’s spring student exhibitions, the Invitational Student Exhibition and Foundations Portfolio Exhibition, will be on display in the Horowitz Center galleries from May 4 through May 18, with a reception scheduled for Thursday, May 7, at 5:30 p.m. These creative showcases highlight outstanding student work from the previous semester.
The Horowitz Center is excited to announce Belgian-born painter and multimedia artist Johan Lowie’s exhibition “Terrain of Memory,” running from early June through August 2 in The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery. The exhibition brings together a series of landscapes that explore the subtle intersection between place and recollection. Rather than documenting specific sites, these works investigate how memory reshapes terrain—softening edges, heightening light, and compressing time.
More information can be found at HowardCC.edu/Galleries. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.–9:30 p.m. daily. The galleries are closed when the college is closed.
Film
The Columbia Film Society at the Horowitz Center continues its series, offering cinema lovers viewings of films that are no longer available or never were available at commercial movie theatres. Featured films include drama “Inshallah a Boy,” comedy-drama “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” and drama “The Friend.” The series runs through Saturday, June 6, with subscriptions available at any time throughout the season. More information is available at HowardCC.edu/FilmSeries.
The HCC Film program invites film enthusiasts to join the Spring 2026 Film Discussions Series, focusing on the theme of “American Politics on Film.” This free discussion series revisits iconic films exploring how American politics has been portrayed on screen across eight decades. From idealism and corruption to Cold War paranoia, constitutional crisis, media manipulation, and modern campaign machinery, these films trace the evolving story of American democracy through some of the most influential political movies ever made. Offered virtually, the series is like a book club, but with films. For a schedule and full list of films, visit HowardCC.edu/FilmFestivals.
High School Student Artists
This spring, the Horowitz Center is proud to provide opportunities to spotlight high school student artists through two special programs. On Friday, March 27, The Music Institute at Howard Community College presents the second annual Young Musicians Piano Solo Competition Showcase. Join us for an evening of performances by talented Maryland high school students as they compete for a first-place prize of $500, and cast your vote for the audience favorite! Learn more about the competition at HowardCC.edu/PianoCompetition. Discover The Music Institute’s musical training for all ages at HowardCC.edu/TMI.
Later this spring, the Horowitz Center Galleries will display the finest works by 11th- and 12th-grade students from throughout Howard County during the Howard County Public School System Junior and Senior Exhibitions. Experience the exceptional work from this talented group of young artists from April 6–22. More information can be found at HowardCC.edu/Galleries.
Horowitz Center programming is made possible through generous support from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Howard County Arts Council, and donors to the Howard Community College Educational Foundation, Inc.
The Horowitz Center Box Office is open Wednesdays through Fridays, 12–4 p.m. and 90 minutes prior to performance times. Visit the box office in person or speak with an attendant by phone at 443-518-1500. Email at any time to BoxOffice@HowardCC.edu. Visit HowardCC.edu/BoxOffice for more information.
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| ABOUT THE HOROWITZ CENTER |
| Howard Community College’s Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center opened in the fall of 2006 and quickly became a cultural hub for Columbia and greater Howard County. As an educational and production venue, the center offers community members the opportunity to engage with the arts as patrons and as students. Featuring state-of-the-art instructional facilities for the college’s Liberal Studies Division, the center serves credit and noncredit students studying visual and performing arts. Home to three performance venues and two art galleries, the Horowitz Center annually welcomes more than 30,000 patrons to performances and exhibits at the student and professional levels. Through a combination of resident and partnership programming, the Horowitz Center serves as a gathering place where students and community members are invited to connect with each other. |
| ABOUT HCC |
| Since 1970, Howard Community College (HCC) has been a preferred college choice for students and families in Howard County, Maryland. A public community college, HCC offers associate degree and certificate programs, as well as workforce development training and continuing education classes, to nearly 22,000 credit and noncredit students each year. HCC received the 2019 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s only presidential-level honor for performance excellence in organizations. |
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Jarrett Carter Howard Community College 443-518-1800 prmarketing@howardcc.edu