March 7
The Hopkins Symphony Orchestra presents the Hubble-inspired Cosmic Dust, a piece it co-commissioned (see story, in the March/April issue of The Gazette), Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. Clipper Erickson is the guest pianist; Jed Gaylin conducts. $12, $10 seniors, non-JHU students, and JHU faculty/staff/alums, free for JHU students; http://jhu.edu/jhso. 8 p.m. Shriver Hall, Homewood.
March 3
Author and architect Charles Belfoure will read from and discuss his debut novel, The Paris Architect, which takes place during the German occupation of France and centers on a successful architect who accepts a commission to build a hiding place for a wealthy Jew. 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins.
March 10
April Ryan, chief White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, reads from her book The Presidency in Black and White, a look at race relations in America from her vantage point in the White House, her beat since 1997. 7 p.m. Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins.
March 28
The start of spring brings the first session of a five-part gardening class presented by Gertrude's chef John Shields and farm manager Jon Carroll. Hands-on gardening workshops, cooking demonstrations, a chef's tour of the Waverly farmers' market, and a fall harvest luncheon at Gertrude's are planned. $110, $90 museum members; details and registration at 410-516-0341. 9:30 a.m. Evergreen Museum & Library.
March 31
Novelist, short story writer, and essayist Aleksander Hemon, author of The Book of My Lives, The Question of Bruno, Nowhere Man, The Lazarus Project, and Love and Obstacles, speaks as part of the President's Reading Series: Literature of Social Import. Hemon grew up in Sarajevo but has lived in the United States since his country came under siege in 1992 while he was visiting the U.S. as a tourist. 6:30 p.m. 26 Mudd, Homewood.
April 12
A concert titled "Around the World With the Pipe Organ" with John Walker pairs works by composers from different countries: Bach (Germany) and Fela Sowande (Nigeria), Franck (France) and Georgi Muschel (Russia), Paul Halley (England) and Jan Pieterszoon Sweeliinck (Holland). $15, $10, $5; tickets at 410-234-4800. 4 p.m. Leith Symington Griswold Hall, Peabody.
April 13
David Plouffe, a political strategist best known for his work with Barack Obama's presidential campaigns (and now senior vp for policy and strategy at Uber), speaks in the Foreign Affairs Symposium. He is the author of The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory. 8 p.m. Shriver Hall, Homewood.
