The Homecoming, Philip Armstrong, tenor

April 22, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.

A native of Bidwell Ohio, Philip Keith Armstrong’s musical interest began as a young child singing the
National Anthem, a capella, at all the home football & basketball games at area high schools & colleges.  He was awarded two full-time Presidential Scholarships to Shenandoah College & Conservatory of Music in VA and Central State University in Wilberforce, OH. Mr. Armstrong earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Akron.  As a soloist he has traveled extensively in the U.S. as a member of the widely acclaimed Central State University Singers, recording with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Amen: A Gospel Celebration with Jennifer Holiday, Maureen McGovern, Lou Rawls, and Gershwin: Selections from Porgy and Bess featuring Cab Calloway.  Both records were nominated for Grammy awards.  

Barb White’s Piano Student Recital 2017

Sunday, May 7, 2017
2:00 p.m.
Ariel Chamber Theatre

The historic Ariel Opera House presents a Piano Recital of students of local instructor Barb White. Join us for this free Sunday afternoon concert to be held in the 3rd floor Ariel Chamber Theatre.

Admission is free ~ donations accepted at the door.

13th Annual Tri-County Gospel Sing

May 20, 2017 at 6 p.m.

Join the historic Ariel Opera House in welcoming the Tri-County Gospel Sing, presented by Pastor Rick Barcus of the Addison Free Will Baptist Church.

Featuring: Brian’s Family Connection
Covered by Love • Dayspring
Fishermen’s Net Singers • Neal Family
New Creation • New Salvation • New Covenant
Ordinary People • Rick & Ginny Towe
Ricky & Marie Alley • Singing Shafers
Victory River Quartet • West Virginia Couriers
Brenda Hensley • Karen Polcyn
Lisa Browning • Mike Cadle • Vickie Moore• Randy Parsons • Joint-Heirs

This concert is free to the public. A love offering will be collected. Doors open at 5 pm and the concert starts at 6 pm.

2016 Ariel Façade Updates

December 11, 2016 Gallipolis, OH
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The Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre installed a new sign on November 21 to take it a step closer to its original opulence. According to the Ariel’s Executive Director Lora Lynn Snow, the new sign pays homage to the theatre’s origination as the Ariel Opera House and reflect the coexistence of The Ohio Valley Symphony, the Ariel’s resident professional orchestra.

2016-17 Season Subscription! The Ohio Valley Symphony

Purchase Concert Tickets

Join The Ohio Valley Symphony for the 27th Season featuring 5 exciting concerts in our home, Ariel-Dater Hall. Order subscriptions online or call the box office today at 740-446-ARTS!

27th Annual Brittany’s Prom Style Review

Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 2:00 pm
Brittany’s 27th Annual Prom Style Review

Join the historic Ariel Theatre in welcoming Brittany’s Fashions and students from area high schools to the main stage. The audience is in for a treat!

All proceeds of this spectacular event benefit the continuing restoration of the historic Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre. Brittany’s owner Kay Hardway is excited to again showcase teens from 8 area high schools modeling the new 2016 prom styles.

Get your tickets early!

David Kim, Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra

September 10, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Violinist David Kim was named Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1999. Born in Carbondale, Illinois in 1963, he started playing the violin at the age of three, began studies with the famed pedagogue Dorothy DeLay at the age of eight, and later received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School.

Highlights of Mr. Kim’s 2015-16 season includes teaching/performance residencies at Oberlin College, Bob Jones University, and The Boston Conservatory of Music, continued appearances as concertmaster of the All-Star Orchestra on PBS stations across the USA and online at the Kahn Academy; recitals, speaking engagements, and appearances with orchestras across the United States; multiple solo performances with the The Philadelphia Orchestra including the Brahms Double Concerto, the Beethoven Triple Concerto, and a New Year’s Eve performance of the Meditation from Thais with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting; and the launching of the first annual David Kim Orchestral Institute of Cairn University in Philadelphia where he is also a Professor of Violin Studies.

153rd Emancipation Day Celebration

Friday, September 16, 2016
6:00 pm – Homecoming Reception, 2nd Floor
7:00 pm – Featured Performance, Auditorium

The Gallia County Emancipation Board will honor and dedicate the 2016 Homecoming Reception and Concert in memory of Board Member and Area Philanthropist George “Ray” McKinniss who passed away December 2015. The 2016 Homecoming Reception and Concert will be held Friday, September 16, 2016 at the Ariel-Dater Hall located at 426 Second Avenue, Gallipolis, Ohio beginning at 6:00 pm.

History of the Annual Emancipation Day

The Emancipation Proclamation has been celebrated and observed in Gallia County, Ohio continuously since 1863. The Gallia County Emancipation Day Celebration is reported to be one of the longest continuous running celebrations of the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States.

Bring Your Friends Concert! Ariel Children’s Chorus

October 9, 2016
2:00 p.m.
Ariel Chamber Theatre

The Historic Ariel Theatre presents The Ariel Children’s Chorus Concert under the direction of Judith Cavendish with accompanist Barb White. Join us for this free concert which will also feature students of piano and voice.

Admission is free ~ donations accepted at the door.

2016 River Recreation Scholarship Pageant

Saturday June 18, 2016 at 6:00 pm
River Recreation Scholarship Pageant

Purchase Tickets
Note: One accompanying-adult ticket will be provided free for Little Miss and Little Mister contestants. Please call the box office to make reservation.
VIP-Individual Ticket $15; VIP-Child under 12 $10
Individual Ticket $10; Child under 12 $5

Join the historic Ariel-Dater Hall in welcoming the 2016 River Recreation Scholarship Pageant to our stage.  The evening will feature contestants for Queen, Jr. Queen, and Little Miss and Little Mister River Recreation.  To The Pointe Dance Studio will also perform.

Scholarships for this year’s pageant are being provided by River City Outdoor Advertising, The University of Rio Grande, and Westbanco.

For more information about the pageant entry,
contact Queen Pageant Chairperson Jamie Pratt at 740-339-2710.

Be sure to visit the local Gallipolis area sponsors to this fantastic community event! They include:
Mane Designers Salon & Spa • Floral Fashions • Gallipolis Career College
Halfelts Mill Outlet • Image Gallery • Gary Jarvis CPA
Jr. Womens Club • Kiwanis Club • Baskets Delight • The Beauty Bar

The Ariel Children’s Chorus Concert

Sunday, May 8, 2016
2:00 p.m.
Ariel Chamber Theatre

The Historic Ariel Theatre presents The Ariel Children’s Chorus Concert under the direction of Judith Cavendish with accompanist Barb White. Join us for this free concert which will also feature students of piano and voice.

Admission is free ~ donations accepted at the door.

2015-16 Season Subscription! The Ohio Valley Symphony

2015-16 Season

Join The Ohio Valley Symphony for the 26th Season featuring 5 exciting concerts in our home, Ariel-Dater Hall. Order subscriptions online or call the box office today at 740-446-ARTS!

Carl Michael Magic & Illusion 2016

Friday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m.

The art of magic is making the impossible possible. To bring the audience out of their everyday world and connect them to what lies beyond. Surprise, shock and astonishment are simply the means to a greater goal: to awaken the sense of mystery and awe that lies dormant in all of us.

For millennia, the secrecy, inexplicability and mystery of magic and illusion have enraptured mankind, tapping into the primal human yearning to pierce the veil of reality. In every age, great performers have emerged to update and redefine this most ancient of art forms. Carl Michael is such a performer.

From childhood, Carl Michael has immersed himself in the study and practice of magic and illusion. His voracious quest for perfection, relentless work ethic, enormous talent, and astonishing skill and creativity have yielded one of the most brilliant young illusionists of our day.

We invite you to enter the world of Carl Michael. It is a world where everything you know is wrong, what is real and what is illusion merge into a new kind of possibility, a new take on reality.

Your journey awaits you. We invite you to begin.  carlmichaelmagic.com

Glorious Guitars, Tim Berens & Craig Wagner

Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 7:30 pm

Tim Berens’ multi-faceted career gives testament to his lifelong quest to learn, perform and write music. So far, his venture has led him through the worlds of classical guitar, jazz guitar, orchestral guitar, arranging, orchestration, and conducting.

During his years as the guitarist for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Tim played guitar, banjo, mandolin and bouzouki on concerts, recordings, television programs, and tours. Beginning in the late 1990’s, Tim began arranging for the CPO, eventually becoming the orchestra’s principal arranger.

Tim’s arrangements caught the ears of others and he began receiving commissions from many leading conductors and major orchestras. His arrangements are performed hundreds of times

12th Annual Tri-County Gospel Sing

May 21, 2016 at 6 p.m.

Join the historic Ariel-Dater Hall in welcoming the Tri-County Gospel Sing, presented by Pastor Rick Barcus of the Addison Free Will Baptist Church.

Featured guests include GLORYLAND BELIEVERS * COVERED BY LOVE * BRIAN & FAMILY CONNECTION * MIKE CADLE * NEW CREATION * RICKY & MARIE ALLEY * SINGING SHAFERS * LISA KEMP BROWNING * RICK & GINNY TOWE * BRENDA HENSLEY * THE NEAL FAMILY * NEW SALVATION * KAREN POLCYN * NEW CITY SINGERS * SCOTT FRASER * FISHERMEN’S NET SINGERS * RANDY PARSONS * THE NEAL FAMILY * NEW COVENANT * BRENDA MCDANIEL * MARTY SHORT * VICTORY RIVER QUARTET

This concert is free to the public. A love offering will be collected. Doors open at 5 pm and the concert starts at 6 pm.

2016 Oboes On The Ohio, A Double Reed Festival

November 5, 2016 at 11:00 a.m.

The future of Double Reed playing is now at Oboes on the Ohio, A Double Reed Festival at the historic Ariel Opera House in downtown Gallipolis, Ohio.  This unique event is designed to showcase the musical flavor of double reeds.

An exiting day of workshops, music readings and a masterclass will culminate in the evening The Ohio Valley Symphony concert featuring soloist Dwight Parry, oboe.

For more information and registration, please visit Oboes on the Ohio!

Oboes on the Ohio, Dwight Parry, Oboe

November 5, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Dwight Parry is just rounding out his first decade as the principal oboist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he held the same position with the San Diego Symphony and was a fellow with the New World Symphony. He has performed as guest principal oboist with groups including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Los Angeles Opera, and the Deutsche Symphonie of Berlin. Originally from coastal Southern California, he found his passion for music studying piano, voice, and jazz saxophone. It was not until late in high school, however, that he began playing the oboe and truly found his calling.  He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with John Mack and at the University of Southern California with Allan Vogel and David Weiss, a gentleman who also taught him to surf.

The Christmas Show! 2016

December 3, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

The Ohio Valley Symphony presents its most beloved holiday tradition, The Christmas Show! Order tickets early!

As part of the Ohio Valley Symphony’s mission to bring live, professional, orchestral music to the region and to instill a love of music — especially in children, the public is encouraged to attend OVS rehearsals for free at 7–10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, and 1–4 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Ariel. Open rehearsals are a great way to grow familiar with symphonic music, and they offer a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse at the preparation of an orchestral performance.

Single tickets to the Ohio Valley Symphony’s THE CHRISTMAS SHOW! cost $24, $22 (senior) and $12 (student). Tickets and more information are available at the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre box office, 428 Second Ave., Gallipolis; by phone, (740) 446-2787 (ARTS); and through the Ariel website www.arieltheatre.org.

Black History: Celebrating the life of Dr. Edward Bouchet

Sunday, February 21, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

Join the historic Ariel Theatre in celebrating Black History Month and the life of Dr. Edward Bouchet (1852-1918).

Edward Alexander Bouchet was an African American physicist and educator. In 1874, he became one of the first African Americans to graduate from Yale College, and was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. from any American university.  Dr. Bouchet was a principal and teacher at Lincoln High School in Gallipolis, Ohio from 1908 to 1913.

Music selections by The Ariel Children’s Chorus and Washington C.A.T.S. Choir with commentary by Elaine Armstrong.

Drew Hastings: Farmageddon

Friday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Purchase Tickets
Join the Ariel Theatre in welcoming the most unlikely farmer and Mayor you’ve ever met, Drew Hastings.

As a Comedian, Drew Hastings has been a well-known standup for 20-plus years with television comedy specials, Tonight Show appearances, and a regular favorite on the National Bob & Tom Radio Show.

As a Farmer. A lifelong, loft living, city dweller, he left Los Angeles at age 50 to take up farming in rural Ohio
which he describes as “Farmageddon”.

As Mayor: he was just re-elected as Mayor of the small, rural City of Hillsboro, Ohio, where his politically incorrect candor would get most elected officials recalled, (they’ve tried twice) yet somehow he thrives.

Sponsored by WBYG 99.5FM, Big Country