LIBRARIES ARE usually places for quiet study, but since Howard County Central Library started its Third Thursday Concert series, its meeting room has become a venue for musicians. Last week, four groups of teen performers played for an appreciative audience.
Since March, the library has sponsored live performances on the third Thursday of each month. The young musicians who played at last week's Teen Open Mike Concert auditioned for spots in October.
"We have a large teen community. We're very glad to promote them because they are part of the population that comes to the library," said library volunteer coordinator Elaine Lawrence.
For some, it was the first time playing for an audience; others were seasoned performers.
Mary Gottschalk, a 14-year-old student at Atholton High School, and Dylan Sauers, 15, of Wilde Lake High, have been playing Christian folk-rock music together since September. They said they appreciated the library giving teens an opportunity to have fun and express their talents.
The band Watergun Koolade debuted their punk rock at the library. Members Brennan Caballero, 16; Anthony Polise, 17; Derek Burroughs, 17; Matt Sauers, 17; and Adam Gulliford, 18, all attend River Hill High.
Owen Brown resident Lynn Reggia, 18, is home-schooled. With help that she received in a grant from the Horizon Youth Action Council, Reggia started Omnis Musica, a group of young classical musicians who play monthly at local nursing homes.
"I realized that there are so many people who don't get to go to concerts for lack of money or lack of transportation, so I figured, why don't we bring our music to them," Reggia said.
Omnis Musica has nearly 30 members who take turns performing. On Thursday, Reggia was joined by Oakland Mills High School students Viktoria Elkis, 16, and Lauranne Lanz, 17, and Howard High School students Catherine Leung, 16, and Jenny Leung, 14.
Reggia said she was grateful for the opportunity to play at the library.
"I think it's great," she said. "In this day and age, a lot of the teen-age sentiment toward libraries is 'Oh geeks go there.' So to have punk bands come and play at the library, it's like, 'Hey, we can go there and still be cool.'"
Perhaps the most entertaining performance of the evening was turned in by Kid Tiger, a group that describes its style as electronic folk-pop. Members Josh Reinking, 17, and Patrick Henry, 18, are students at Glenelg High, and Jason Wise, 19, and Rachel Bonhus, 21, attend Howard Community College.
Josh's parents, Gail and Chris Reinking, came to support the band, smiling and nodding their heads in time to the music.
"We're gaga over them," Gail Reinking said. "It's fun to watch them have so much fun."
Linda Wise, whose son plays guitar and keyboard, said she is amazed by the time and effort the band puts into its music. The group recorded its first compact disc, Future Umbrella, last summer.
The Third Thursday series will continues in January with an open-mike night for adults. Auditions for that evening's performances will be next month.
Information: 410-313-7881 or 410-313-7863.
Interfaith service
The 35th Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service, sponsored by the Interfaith Task Force of the Columbia Cooperative Ministry, will be at 7:30 tonight at Wilde Lake Interfaith Center on Twin Rivers Road.
Nonperishable food will be collected for people in need, and monetary donations for the Foreign-born Information and Referral Network will be accepted.
Information: George Martin, 410-730-7862.
Holiday tree sale
Atholton High School's Boosters will sell fresh-cut Douglas fir, blue spruce and Fraser fir trees at its tree sale, beginning Dec. 7. Proceeds will benefit the school's athletic programs.
The sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 22, at the school, 6520 Freetown Road, Columbia.