RAISING VOICES A benefit concert for Syrian refugee relief will be held Feb. 27 at Grace Episcopal Church in Medford.

Hosted by the church and the Medford interfaith community, the performance features local artists, including the Boston Children’s Theater show choir.

The choir features more than 30 teens from nearly two dozen communities in and around Boston. Led by musical director Austin Davy, it performs a range of musical theater, pop, and holiday songs.

Monty Hill, a soloist for the professional Boston-based a cappella group Ball in the House, and Sisters in Song, a local group founded by Grace Episcopal Church parishioner Jeff Pietrantoni, also will perform.

The afternoon includes a homemade Syrian supper (vegetarian with vegan and gluten-free options) and a silent auction. A children’s program is provided.

The event runs from 2 to 4 p.m. at 160 High St. A donation of $20 per person and $40 per family is suggested. All proceeds go directly to the World Food Program’s relief efforts to feed refugees and other hungry people around the world.

Visit gracemedford.org/syrian-relief.

RISING STARS Nurturing young talent has been part of the Firehouse Center for the Arts’ mission since it opened in Newburyport 25 years ago.

The support continues with the Rising Stars Music Series, which will present 10 concerts this year showcasing young and local musical and vocal talent.

The series begins Feb. 25, with a performance by the band Cold Spring Harbor. The Billy Joel tribute band features four Triton Regional High School students: Benjamin Eramo, Joshua Heselton, Andrew Pesaturo, and Quentin Callewaert.

Established in 2013, the group won the Yankee Homecoming Battle of the Bands in Newburyport last summer. Its repertoire includes familiar Joel hits such as “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant,’’ “The Stranger,’’ “My Life,’’ and “Piano Man.’’

The Rising Stars series will feature solos to combos, classical to jazz, Broadway to folk. Each evening has a theme and opens with a soloist or duo and ends with a band, group, or orchestra.

“We’re inviting young artists to take their talent out of their basements, bedrooms, and garages and onto our stage,’’ said Kimm Wilkinson, artistic director of the Firehouse.

Thursday’s performance begins at 7 p.m. at the Firehouse in Market Square.

Tickets are $15, $12 for students and Firehouse members. Call 978-462-7336 or visit firehouse.org.

WINTERESCAPE “Faraway Places,’’ a group show by members of the SwampscottArts Association, is at the Abbot Public Library in Marblehead through Feb. 28.

The association currently has more than 70 members from several communities, including Lynn, Salem, Peabody, Nahant, and Marblehead. This exhibit showcases their varied artistic endeavors.

The library is at 235 Pleasant St. Call 781-631-1481 or visit abbotlibrary.org.

FAMILY DRAMA “A Small Death in a Big Country,’’ an original play written and directed by Salem State University theater professor William Cunningham, is being staged at the college Feb. 25 through March. 6.

The play revolves around three generations of the Barry family. Matriarch Dolly Barry is slipping into dementia and her husband, children, and grandchildren are forced to determine how to best care for her as their lives move forward.

Dolly’s husband has a plan that challenges his children and their sense of allegiance to the ideals of The Greatest Generation, those who grew up in the Great Depression and served at home and abroad during World War II.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, Feb. 25-27 and March 3-5; and 2 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 28 and March 6.

A pre-show conversation, “Love and Letting Go,’’ is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 3.

Shows are at the college’s Callan Studio Theatre, 352 Lafayette St. Tickets are $15; free for Salem State students; $10 for senior citizens and students other than Salem State. Call 978-542-6365 or visit salemstatetickets.com.

FORM OVER FUNCTION The work of eight artists is featured in the exhibit “Transformations: Beauty, Color, Form’’ at Endicott College in Beverly through March 25.

The artists use glass, wood, stoneware, ceramics, plexi, bronze, aluminum, porcelain, urethane on polyurethane block, and more to create art that is reflective of nature.

Lindley Briggs, Jeffrey Briggs, Annie Campbell, James Durrett, David Engdahl, Anna Kasabian, Brad Story, and Bill Thompson are the exhibitors.

“Transformations: Beauty, Color, Form’’ also features a video of four of the artists and a gallery booklet that includes artist statements, bios, resumes, and a price list for many of the works.

The exhibit, in the college’s Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts, 376 Hale St., is free and open to the public. Call 978-232-2655 or visit endicott.edu/center for the arts.

Wendy Killeen can be reached at wdkilleen@gmail.com