Kirkwood Public Library recently received grant funding from the Missouri Arts Council to support its Music in the Library series, which runs through April 2016. Performances are held on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. The next concert is on February 21 and features the Songs of Africa ensemble.  Then on March 20, they will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Wee Heavies. The series concludes with St. Louis Bella Corda on April 17. All performances are free, open to the public, and held at the Library, 140 E. Jefferson Avenue in Downtown Kirkwood

Art in the Library at KPL will feature Lee Streett and Kate Warner in February and March in the Library's Gallery on the main level. The joint exhibit features art by the artists that reflects their love of nature and painting en plein air.  An after-hours reception will be held on Sunday, February 7, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

"Modern Organic: Works on Paper" by Saunders Schultz is freatured at the SOHA Studio, 4915 Macklind Avenue, 63109, now through February 13.  Gallery hours:

~ Thursdays and Fridays, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

~ Saturdays, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

~ By appointment

SOHA Studio + Gallery is proud to open the year by hosting the first public solo exhibition of work by sculptor Saunders Schultz. Schultz's architectural and public sculpture adorns prominent buildings across St. Louis and around the world. He taught at Washington University with Max Beckmann.  At age 88, he is also committed to a daily drawing practice. SOHA will present 45 of these works in watercolor, pen and ink, and mixed media. All are available for purchase.  For more information, contact Kate Dunne, gallery director, at 314-780-5151 or kat@sohastudioandgallery.com.

FREE FAMILY DAY, February 21, 2:00 to
4:00 p.m. Laumeier Free Family Days take place in the Kranzberg Education Lab and provide families with a chance to bond while encouraging observation, imagination, curiosity, and creativity. Laumeier Sculpture Park is located at 12580 Rott Road. For more information, please visit their Website at www.laumeier.org.

St. Louis Community College at Meramec Theatre is proud to present Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco, translated by Derek Prouse, directed by Michelle Rebollo, and with set design by Darren Thompson.

As relevant today as it was at its premiere nearly 50 years ago, Ionesco's absurdist play is a savage commentary on the human condition and the themes of conformity, culture, mass movements, philosophy, and morality.  A small town is besieged by one roaring citizen who becomes a rhinoceros and proceeds to trample on the social order. Others soon follow in transformation until the trampling becomes overwhelming and terrifying. One sane man, Berenger, remains unable to change his form and identity. 

~ Wednesday, February 10, through Saturday, February 13, 7:30 p.m. 

~ Sunday, February 14, 2:00 p.m.

Limited seating.  All tickets are free and general admission. Seating is first-come, first served. There are no "overflow" seats available. The House is open to the public a half hour before showtime. For more information, or to request accommodations, contact Tricia Duffin, at 314-984-7562. 

STLCC-MERAMEC THEATRE AUDITIONS:  Auditions for Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman will be held on Tuesday, February 16, and on Wednesday, February 17, both at 7:00 pm., at the STLCC-Meramec Theatre. Audition will consist of cold readings from the script. Scripts are on reserve in the Meramec Library. Cast: 2 Men, 1 Woman. Performance dates: April 13, 14, 15, and 16 at 7:30 p.m., and April 17 at 2:00 p.m. Directed by Keith Oliver, with set design by Rick Willmore. [For Mature Audiences] For additional information, call Tricia at 314-984-7562.

The AIM Community Band will celebrate its 40th anniversary Annual Concert this year. The conductor will be Jim Wehrman, who is a former French Horn player with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. The concert is free and will be held on Sunday, March 6, at 3:00 p.m., at Kirkwood High School's Keating Performance Center, 801 W. Essex Avenue.  Donations are appreciated, and any proceeds will go to the Kirkwood School District's Instrumental Music Program. 

The guest artists will be Christine Guthrie, soprano soloist and section leader for the First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood Chancel Choir, with piano accompaniment by Bill Stein, Minister of Music at the Church. 

The AIM Community Band was organized in 1976 under the auspices of AIM (Association for Instrumental Music for the Kirkwood School District). The Band's purpose is to provide opportunities for musicians to participate in an organized band, support KSD instrumental music students, and perform outreach to the community. Originally, members of the band were parents of Kirkwood student band members and district music staff, but membership has expanded to the St. Louis community at large. Presently, there are 70 members on the band's roster. A number of KHS Band alumni have played with the AIM band over the years, and three original members have played in every concert. 

~ Festival of Bands. Tuesday, February 16, 7:30 p.m., Varsity Gym.

~ Festival of Strings. Wednesday, February 17, 7:30 p.m., Varsity Gym

~ Wind Ensemble, Brass Choir, Woodwind Choir, Symphonic and Concert Bands Concert. Thursday, February 18, 7:00 p.m., Keating Theatre.

If you're writing a story that includes a lawyer, don't miss the February 6 workshop, featuring William B. Smith III of Dubail Judge St. Louis business law attorneys.

Saturday, February 6, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer Road. FREE to St. Louis Writers' Guild members. $5 for nonmembers. Mr. Smith will discuss "a day in the life" of a trial attorney, and you will have the chance to ask questions. Mr. Smith's practice includes corporate law, real estate law, personal injury, civil litigation, and employment law.  Mr. Smith was admitted to the Bar in 1966 in Missouri, the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Eighth Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Military Appeals. He was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1970, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri in 1979, the U.S. Court of Claims in 1979, and to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit in 1979. He has also served as a Captain, J.A.G.C., in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1970. 

For more information about the Writers' Guild, visit their Website at www.stlwritersguild.org.