Gallia All-County Elementary Choir

March 13, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION No ticket needed

Join the historic Ariel Opera House in welcoming to the stage the Gallia All-County Elementary Choir.

Music director Beth Fowble will lead students from Addaville Elementary, Green Elementary, Hannan Trace Elementary, Ohio Valley Christian School, Rio Grande Elementary, Southwestern Elementary, Vinton Elementary, Washington Elementary, and area Homeschools.

Enjoy selection several selections including Goliath, Shule Aroon, For Good, Dance, and Journey the Night!

Door open 6:00 p.m. Performance starts at 6:30. No food or drinks permitted in the auditorium.

Sponsored by the Ariel Opera House and Gallia Vinton ESC.

CELTIC DREAMS, The Ohio Valley Symphony

March 21, 2026
at 7:30 p.m.
CLICK TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

Maestro Peter Stafford Wilson takes us to the British Isles for an evening of Celtic Dreams on March 21 with  an evening of music from Ireland, Scotland and England. Doreen Carwithen’s pastoral Suffolk Suite opens the program and Concertmaster Manami White performs Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending. The OVS offers up Malcolm Arnold’s Scottish Dances, Leroy Anderson’s Irish Suite and the evocative Shropshire Lad by George Butterworth.

Peter Stafford Wilson, conductor
Peter Stafford Wilson is Music Director of Ohio’s Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Concurrently, he holds the post of Music Director of the Westerville Symphony, and was named Principal Conductor of Tulsa Ballet in 2012. With the SSO he has brought international attention for Agriculture and the Arts Growing Together and American Made: Celebrating Our Manufacturing Heritage and a new multi-media, multi discipline production of Gustav Holst’s The Planets resulted in a sellout house. Mr. Wilson held the posts of Assistant and Associate Conductor of The Columbus Symphony Orchestra for 28 seasons. Mr. Wilson has had enormous community reaction and has been recognized as “Best Music Director” and “Best in the ‘Bus 2015” for his work in Columbus. He also served as Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, which he has regularly led in local and regional concerts.

Ariel’s Merry TUBACHRISTMAS!

Join the fun at the ARIEL’S MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS!
December 13, 2025 at 2 pm
FREE CONCERT!

MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS is celebrating its 52nd Anniversary (1974-2025). Created by Harvey Phillips, MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS 2025 will be presented in over 300 cities throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. TUBACHRISTMAS ensembles may attract participants aged 8 to over 90 years! The warm, rich organ-like sound of tuba-euphonium choir has won the ears and hearts of every audience!

Come and Listen 100% FREE!
TUBACHRISTMAS is 100% FREE for audience members who just want to come into our hall and experience the event. No tickets are necessary. It’s sure to be loads of fun, and will get you in the Christmas Spirit! Always the second Saturday in December at 2 pm.

-OR-
Join in the Fun and PLAY ALONG!

Pre-Register to Participate Today!

Bring your Tuba, Baritone, Euphonium, or other big brass buddy and join in the fun at the Ariel Theatre! Participants pay  $10 to participate and will receive a 2024 commemorative button! Plus there are lots of souvenirs and music books available for purchase! Register at the door, or save time and Pre-Register here and we’ll have everything ready for you when you arrive!

Registration begins at 10:30am ~ Rehearsal begins at 11:00am

It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry

December 20, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. &
December 21, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW!

The historic Ariel Opera House presents for two performances the Ariel Players in It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry.

Inspired by the classic American film It’s a Wonderful Life, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience. Five actors perform the dozens of characters in the radio play as well as produce the sound effects. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play premiered in 1996 at Stamford Center for the Arts in Stamford, Connecticut, and has since been produced around the country to critical acclaim.

Premium seats are available for Rows A-F. Group of 10 or more tickets get 10% off!

Door open 3:30 p.m. Play starts at 4:00. No food or drinks permitted in the auditorium.

Produced by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing. www.BroadwayLicensing.com

Maestro for a Moment FUN-draiser 2025

The Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Cultural & Performing Arts Centre and The Ohio Valley Symphony are 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations, Federal Tax ID# 31-1273779

Congratulations to Cindy Sexton, Executive Director of French Art Colony, the 2025 Maestro for a Moment! The Maestro for a Moment Fundraiser is one of the highlights of The Ohio Valley Symphony’s season for both audience and orchestra! Each season’s three candidates vie for the opportunity to conduct the orchestra during the The Christmas Show in a rousing rendition of Sleigh Ride! Thank you to this year’s candidates are Gallia Co. Prosecutor Jason Holdren; Peoples Bank Branch Manager Chris Nida; and French Art Colony Executive Director Cindy Sexton for making this year’s fundraiser a success.

Click “Read More” to learn more about our candidates!

The Magic of Motown Live!

NOVEMBER 22, 2025
Evening at 7:30 p.m.
Purchase Tickets Now

Moxie Events presents and brings to the stage The Magic of 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 power-house vocalists who embody everyone from Diana Ross & The Supremes to Marvin Gay, The Four Tops, and the 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 five-piece band, 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!

Evening: Door open 7:00 p.m. Concert starts at 7:30.
This is a Moxie Events Production.

THE CHRISTMAS SHOW! The Ohio Valley Symphony

December 6, 2025
at 7:30 p.m.
CLICK TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

Maestro Steven Huang’s annual Christmas Show on December 6 is a perennial favorite of audiences young and old with carols and songs both new and familiar. Tickets sell out fast so be sure to get yours soon. December is also our annual Maestro for a Moment FUNdraiser when community members vie for the chance to conduct the OVS in Sleigh Ride. Every dollar is a vote for your favorite candidate and helps support The Ohio Valley Symphony with your tax deductible donation.

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.

ALL HALLOWS’ EVE, The Ohio Valley Symphony

November 1, 2025
at 7:30 p.m.
CLICK TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

Join us Nov. 1 for All Hallows’ Eve when Matthew Troy leads us in a musical celebration of All Saints Day with Wendel’s Ride of the Headless Horseman, Gounod’s Funeral March of a Marionette and Khachaturian’s Masquerade Suite and Borodin’s Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances as part of an evening of musical tricks and treats. Pianist Michael Chertock returns for Liszt’s Totentanz.

Matthew Troy, conductor
Matthew Troy was named Music Director and Conductor of the Western Piedmont Symphony (NC) in 2019. During this time, he has raised the profi le of the orchestra, increased the scope of the youth orchestra, created a vibrant pops series, increased the budget and sponsorships, formed new strategic partnerships, increased musician wages, and led the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic. Troy is a conductor with a mission to make classical music accessible to everyone and to program concerts that are meaningful, relevant, and artistically exceptional. He has conducted orchestras across the country, including the Sarasota Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Portland Symphony, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Northern Lights Chamber Orchestra (AK), Oklahoma Virtuosi, University of North Carolina School of the Arts Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, and others.