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Welcome to the historic Ariel Opera House
Welcome to the historic Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre, permanent home of The Ohio Valley Symphony, in the heart of Gallipolis, Ohio. Explore our website for upcoming performances and events, lessons, directions, and history! Be sure to contact the Ariel Opera House Box Office at 740-446-ARTS (2787) if you have any questions or if we may help you in planning your next visit to Gallipolis.
Paul Robert Simón, In Memoriam

Paul Robert Simón
President, Ariel Board of Directors
From Executive Director
Lora Lynn Snow
Paul Simón, President of the Ariel Board of Directors, passed away February 25, 2021. He transformed the board bringing in members with a wide variety of professional skills and he led us ever upward as we completed the restoration of our 1895 opera house. He will be greatly missed.
Paul was a renaissance man. He ran his farm but once owned an antique shop. He was head of the Mason County Emergency Team that stepped in to work at a moment’s notice, and he collected art. While working on the Main Street Committee he found out a community’s ranking could be elevated with certain amenities so he started an art gallery in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Through his many contacts he was able to get the Pitcairn family to loan art work to The Gallery at 409 – and while he was at it, he also found a soloist in the same family for The Ohio Valley Symphony.
Paul worked with the Mason County Community Foundation that dispersed funds to worthy organizations and he was able to convince them to fund a string program facilitated by the OVS in the schools. He was a Rotarian and came to that via his father, Dr. Mel Simon, who ran a medical mission in the Philippines for over 30 years with Rotary support and with Paul’s help. Paul’s family home is a beautifully restored historic home, circa 1860.
Paul was a man of many interests, and he loved the Ariel and The Ohio Valley Symphony. He introduced numerous people to the symphony by inviting them to come and sit with him in what he liked to call “President’s Row.” Sometimes he would even escort them there in his limousine – a favorite story for him was how he traded a golf cart for that classic limo!
Paul loved people and he was always at concerts greeting people as they came in and spending time with them at concert receptions. He had a great gift for conversation and made it a point to get to know audience members and artists alike. Paul could easily speak with everyone from farmers to the governor and find common ground. If someone was in the hospital or in trouble and needing help, Paul was there to lend a shoulder and a hand.
These times of social distancing keeps us from those we care about, keeps us from gathering to mourn and to celebrate, keeps us from sharing the beauty of the music of The Ohio Valley Symphony. When we can safely return to the stage and once again elevate people to that place only music can take us, we will do a concert to honor Paul Simón and our journey together to make the Ariel Opera House what it is today.
A private family service was held on Monday, March 1st, 2021 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Point Pleasant, WV, followed by memorial service and interment at the Ohio Valley Memory Gardens in Gallipolis, OH. In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the organizations that Paul was passionate about: the Ariel Ann-Carson Dater Performing Arts Theatre in Gallipolis, OH, the Community Foundation of Mason County in Point Pleasant, WV and Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Point Pleasant, WV.
To donate to the Ariel and The Ohio Valley Symphony in memory of Paul, please click the Paypal link below.
From the Ariel Board of Directors…
“Our friend Paul found real power in giving, especially to the Ariel. He showed us how giving is a two sided thing. First, it’s what it does to yourself. It gives you the experience of others, their personalities and families and it also lets other people experience you. I think Paul showed us how giving helps make us kinder while building something for the community.”
“Paul was a family man who was so passionate about his community and country. He was so full of life! Paul had an intense drive and focus to grow the performing arts and The Ohio Valley Symphony within our region. Just a solid leader and fun person to be around. We will miss you Paul.”
“The phrase “Patron of the Arts” in our part of the Ohio Valley has meant Paul Simon. His outstanding contributions to local musics at the Ariel Theatre and the Gallery at 409 will be sorely missed. We who are grieving his loss must now carry his torch and continue to realize his dreams.”
“Paul became one of our first friends when we moved to Mason county. He introduced himself to us at the first OVS concert that we attended and quickly became a friend. He got John involved with CERT and got both of us involved in becoming licensed Amateur Radio Operators, as well as getting us involved in personal defense training. But his greatest love was for the symphony.That’s where most of his time and interest was devoted and that’s where we spent our most enjoyable times together. It was Paul who asked me if I would be interested in serving as a Board Member for the Ariel and OVS. I said I would and I’m pleased to say that I am still serving.”
“A life lived fully, with joy and appreciation of art and all good things!”
(Paul’s online obituary can be found here.)
Read MoreAriel Opera House COVID-19 Statement
Following the order of the Governor of the State of Ohio, the Ariel Opera House is temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
Virtual music lessons will be available via the Ariel Academy. Watch this page for updates!
Read MoreA Video History of the Ariel Opera House
Watch the history of the Ariel Opera House unfold – from it’s opening on Christmas Day 1895 to the present. Narrated by the founder and Executive Director Lora Lynn Snow.
Read MoreAriel Academy Online Music Lessons
The Ariel Academy is designed to help you find a teacher to guide you through your musical journeys. Whether you need to find a piano teacher for your first grader or are a professional taking orchestral auditions, a college student needing help with music theory or an aspiring composer needing guidance, you can set up one or more lessons with one of The Ohio Valley Symphony’s musicians.
Now is your opportunity to study music digitally right from the comfort of your own home with professional musicians who have a solid background of education and experience. Peruse the choices, contact one or more and then set up a time convenient for you both. Make this time at home count.
Ohio Arts Council Governor’s Awards for the Arts Winner
ARTS ADMINISTRATION
Lora Snow, Executive Director
at the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre,
Home of the Ohio Valley Symphony
Gallipolis
Lora Lynn Snow is the founder and executive director of the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre in Gallipolis, home of the Ohio Valley Symphony. Lora, an oboist, was inspired in 1987 to form a professional orchestra in Gallia County and recognized the amazing acoustics in the long-neglected 1895 Ariel Opera House that had been abandoned for 25 years. Lora spearheaded the restoration and set about to organize the community toward the grand reopening of the historic Ariel in 1990 with a performance of the Ohio Valley Symphony. Mrs. Ann Carson Dater gifted the Ariel as a permanent home to the Ohio Valley Symphony (OVS) in 2005, which added an additional theatre, conference room, and banquet rooms. The OVS, now in its 30th season as the only professional orchestra in the Ohio River Valley, recently premiered Songs of Rural America on PBS nationwide with folk singer Michael Johnathon.
Having a holistic view of the arts, Lora also established a music education program, a double reed festival, a community theatre troupe, and OVS woodwind and dance programs at the Ariel. An active recitalist, clinician, and consultant with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance and education from the Ohio State University, Lora has taught at several universities and public schools covering kindergarten through graduate level inclusive. She is principal oboist for the Ohio Valley Symphony and OVS Woodwind Quintet, a member of the West Virginia Symphony, and a freelance musician.
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Gift Certificates Available!
An Ariel Opera House Gift Certificate is the perfect way to share the music – and at the same time give support to the arts in your community! Gift certificates can be for specific dollar values or even for “a year of lessons”!* Purchase a Season Subscription to The Ohio Valley Symphony’s upcoming 2020-2021 concert season – or just purchase a gift for an upcoming show!
Call the Box Office today at 740-446-ARTS!
*Purchase your certificate before December 15th to have it mailed to the recipient in time for Christmas or stop by and pick it up. Gift Certificates may be used for Ariel Opera House presented concerts, events, and merchandise. Gift Certificates may not be accepted for concert and events presented by others.
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