2023-24 SEASON SUBSCRIPTION! The Ohio Valley Symphony

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Existing subscribers who wish to keep their current seats call the Box Office to order!

The Ohio Valley Symphony enters its 34th Season with a delightful and diverse selection of concerts sure to please all music lovers.  The season will see five exciting maestros conducting and feature world class soloists.

We kick things off Around the Campfire with the American Pops Orchestra founder and conductor Luke Frazier. On April 15th Luke is joined by vocalist Hilary Morrow, pianist Jacqueline Schwab and guitarist David Sanders and providing The Ohio Valley Symphony with several world premiere selections as well as the music of Copland, Mussorgsky, and MacDowell.

Maestro Carl Topilow was such a hit when he appeared with The Ohio Valley Symphony a couple years ago that he is back by popular demand in a Salute to Our Veterans on November 4th.  Local singer/songwriter Shana Smith will join for a few songs.  The only question – which color clarinet will Carl choose to play?

Click the “Read More” to view & download the new season brochure!

A TRIBUTE TO MOTOWN

JUNE 17, 2023
Evening at 7:30 p.m.
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Tickets for the originally scheduled March 25th 7:30 p.m. concert will be honored at this rescheduled 7:30 p.m. show!

Join the historic Ariel Theatre in welcoming Moxie Events presentation of A TRIBUTE TO MOTOWN!

This high energy homage to the legends  of Motown will transport you back in time as you visit the very best of “Hitsville, USA!” The show features a cast of 15 power-house vocalists who embody everyone from Diana Ross & The Supremes to Marvin Gay & The Jackson Five! The show has received rave reviews and sold out theaters throughout its highly acclaimed tour.A highlight of the show includes an extensive set of all your favorite “Temptations” choreography and songs.

Accompanied by a six-piece band with horns, their songbook delivers all of your favorite hits like, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough to Midnight Train to Georgia.” Creative Director Ms. Martha Brogden, whose credits include the national tour of Dreamgirls and the highly acclaimed Legends of Jazz, describes the show as “simply dynamic and loaded with talent.”

“This music has transcended generations and will continue to do so. There is something magical about Motown and we’re happy to bring it to The Ariel Opera House,” said Jennifer Saul Campbell of Moxie Events, the shows production company. 

Premium seats are available for Rows A-F and Row AA and BB in the balcony. Group of 10 or more tickets get 10% off!

Door open 1/2 hour before concert start time.

AROUND THE CAMPFIRE, The Ohio Valley Symphony

September 16, 2023
at 7:30 p.m.
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The Ariel heats up Around the Campfire with the American Pops Orchestra founder and conductor Luke Frazier.  On September 16 Luke is joined by vocalist Hilary Morrow, pianist Jacqueline Schwab and guitarist David Sanders and providing The Ohio Valley Symphony with several world premiere selections as well as music of Copland, Mussorgsky and MacDowell.

Luke Frazier, conductor
Luke Frazier believes that the future of orchestral music is breaking down barriers between orchestras and audiences. The most important priority for a modern conductor is not only musical excellence, but also creating diverse and engaging programming that brings communities together through the joy of music. Conductors are a bridge between audiences and orchestras and the responsibility that comes with that is something Luke takes to heart every day.

SALUTE TO OUR VETERANS, The Ohio Valley Symphony

November 4, 2023
at 7:30 p.m.
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Veterans & Active Duty get 10% off! Select ‘veteran’ when choosing seats online.

Carl Topilow was such a hit when he appeared with The Ohio Valley Symphony a couple years ago that he is back by popular demand in a Salute to Our Veterans.  Local singer/songwriter Shana Smith will join for a few songs.  The only question – which color clarinet will Carl choose to play?

Carl Topilow, conductor
Carl Topilow is delighted to be returning to work again with the Ohio Valley Symphony!  Founding conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, his eclectic programs have been acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. He enjoys a dual career as both conductor and clarinetist, often finding an occasion to perform a selection with the Pops on one of his brightly colored clarinets.

THE CHRISTMAS SHOW! The Ohio Valley Symphony

December 2, 2023
at 7:30 p.m.
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Maestro Steven Huang has planned another grand and memorable Christmas Show program the entire family will enjoy, featuring many songs of the season. Get your tickets early as we always sell out! Who will be the next Maestro for a Moment? Join the fun and become a candidate!

Steven Huang, conductor
Maestro Steven Huang is thrilled to return to Southeastern Ohio to the podium of The Ohio Valley Symphony, a Christmas tradition since 2018.

Mr. Huang has conducted orchestras and operas across the country and around the world. At the age of twenty-one Mr. Huang served as Music Director of the Bach Society Orchestra of Harvard University, where he received his undergraduate degree. While at Harvard, Mr. Huang also directed the Lowell House Opera (the oldest continuously running opera company in New England). Recently, he successfully concluded a sixteen-year appointment as Associate Professor and Director of Orchestras at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he brought the program to new achievements, including earning competitive accolades and awards, through over 200 performances that included symphonic concerts, opera, musical theater, and Halloween pops.

THE ENIGMATIC ELGAR! The Ohio Valley Symphony

March 16, 2024
at 7:30 p.m.
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British composer Edward Elgar’s music will be featured when the Cincinnati Symphony’s principal cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn joins Maestro François López-Ferrer and the OVS for the Cello Concerto, Op. 36. Paired with that is Elgar’s Enigma Variations which continues to capture music lovers attention with its haunting melodies and wistful musical descriptions of his friends for each of the 14 movements.

François López-Ferrer, conductor
Spanish-American conductor François López-Ferrer currently serves as Resident Conductor of the Académie of the Opéra de Paris. Former Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and May Festival, and a 2021-22’ Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, López-Ferrer stepped in for Louis Langrée with the CSO in January of 2022 for the US premiere of Mark Simpson’s Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti to great critical acclaim.

BRAHMS AND BEYOND! The Ohio Valley Symphony

April 27, 2024
at 7:30 p.m.
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West Virginia native and Cincinnati Symphony violinist Charles Morey will perform the Suite for Violin and Orchestra by African-American composer William Grant Still.  The OVS will play Brahms Symphony No. 2, Op. 73 under the direction of Maestro Scott E. Woodard.  What could be better!

Dr. Scott E. Woodard, conductor
Maestro Dr. Scott E. Woodard was born in Huntington, WV and is proud to be a life-long West Virginian. He is the Music Director of the Butler Philharmonic Orchestra in Hamilton, Ohio, the Founding Music Director of the West Virginia State Philharmonic Orchestra of Charleston, WV, the Principal Guest Conductor of the Rimini Chamber Orchestra in Rimini, Italy, and the former Cover Conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. His primary teachers were Dr. Leonid Korchmar of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory of Music and the Mariinsky Theatre and Dr. Oleg Proskuryna. Scott is the recipient of First Prizes at the International Conductor’s Workshop Competition (Macon, GA) and the International Academy of Advanced Conducting (St. Petersburg, Russian Federation).

A 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.

Ariel Opera House COVID-19 Statement

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.

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, violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn, for The Ohio Valley Symphony.

Ariel 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.