The Essex Chamber Music Players will present a recital of works by three composers, performed by pianist David Pihl, at 2:30 p.m. next Sunday in the Technology Center at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill.
The program includes works by Robert Schumann, Frederic Chopin, and William Thomas McKinley.
The recital runs 1 1/2 hours, so audience members have plenty of time before the 6:18 p.m. Super Bowl kickoff.
Pihl, along with Michael Finegold, is a founding member of the Essex Chamber Music Players. The duo has performed throughout the Northeast and recorded McKinley's "Secrets of the Heart" for flute and piano on MMC Recordings.
Pihl also performs solo and has appeared in concert and at festivals in Germany, the Czech Republic, and at many colleges in the United States. He has a master's degree in piano performance from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell College of Music.
Tickets are $10; $5 for students; free for Northern Essex students with a college ID. Call 978-556-3413 or visit essexchambermusic.org.
SHIPS ON SHORE: "Camp Pirate," an original family musical written by Stacey Fix, is presented at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport beginning Saturday.
The musical comedy is about a summer camp run by pirates on their ship. When the campers arrive, the captain is missing and the campers need to be trained to rescue him. There are musical numbers by glittering mermaids, wacky witch doctors, dancing tiki birds, and wisecracking fish. The cast features more than 40 children and adults.
Fix, founder and director of Theater Workshop, has more than 10 years of experience directing theater in New York City and children's theater in summer stock locations.
She is also founder and director of Workshop in the Woods at Camp Denison in Georgetown and was curriculum writer and director of Letter Box Theater, a summer program at The Governor's Academy in Byfield. She also has written and directed shows for an after-school program at Newbury Elementary School.
Her past productions at the Firehouse include "Henry and Ramona" and "Good Fortune."
Performances are Saturdays, 3 and 7 p.m.; and Sundays, 3 p.m., through Feb. 10. Tickets are $12; $8 for students. Call 978-462-7336 or visit firehouse.org. For a schedule of school shows, call Evelyn Kovach at 978-499-9931.
AUTHOR'S CORNER: Rod Kessler, a professor of English at Salem State College, reads from his novel in progress, "Edelman, Unsung," at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the college's Ellison Campus Center. Kessler, who has been at Salem State since the mid-1980s, has taught courses in fiction, nonfiction, and memoir.
He also has served as coordinator of the college's writing program; director of the honors program; and editor of The Sextant, a publication of faculty research. His collection of short stories, "Off in Zimbabwe," won the prize for fiction from the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.
IN LOCAL GALLERIES: Zumi's Expresso & Ice Cream in Ipswich marks its fifth anniversary with a show of new paintings by Julia Purinton, opening tomorrow and running through February. The large-scale paintings celebrate the beauty and transience of the natural world, and reflect the artist's interest in mood and memory. Since its opening, Zumi's has offered exhibition space in the café to local artists.
"Nara to Nantucket," an exhibit of photographs by Steve Fulghum, opens at the Marblehead Arts Association from 2 to 4 p.m. next Sunday.
The photos include a lighthouse in Maine, black trees from Point Lobos, and several shots of Nantucket as the tourist season ended. All are accompanied by text to set the scene or tell a tale. The show runs through Feb. 24.
The art associations of Marblehead and Salem present a collaborative exhibit, "Art by Association," at the Marblehead Arts Association, opening with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. next Sunday and running through Feb. 24. The exhibit includes fine art, photography, sculpture, and crafts.
The Marblehead Arts Association is 85 years old, and has 500 members and its own exhibit space.
The Salem group was established in August, has some 100 members, and uses many locations to promote artists, musicians, performers, and writers.
Items can be sent to wdkilleen@gmail.com. Photos can be sent, as jpeg attachments, to globenorth@globe.com.
