Welcome to the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre, the historic Ariel Opera House, 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.

François López-Ferrer
Spanish-American conductor François López-Ferrer has carved an impressive path in the world of classical music. Recipient of the prestigious 2024 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, his international career has been marked by leading esteemed orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica G.

Rossini at the Rossini Opera Festival, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Utah Symphony, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica Radio Televisión Española, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Opéra de Lausanne, George Enescu Philharmonic, Verbier Festival Orchestra, and Opéra National de Paris.
He has collaborated with renowned soloists such as Pekka Kuusisto, Boris Giltburg, Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, Karen Gomyo, Paul Huang, Geneva Lewis, Clara-Jumi Kang, and Pepe Romero. Critics have been enthusiastic: Bachtrack praised López-Ferrer’s “richly expressive sound, always rendered with clarity and precision,” while Beckmesser magazine described him as an “elegant and authoritative” figure whose gestures “are contagious, commanding the listener’s attention.” SF Classical Voice highlighted López-Ferrer’s “attentiveness as a conductor, moving briskly across the sections of the orchestra to ensure that practically every note from every musician played its role in the design.”

Upcoming engagements include debuts at the Teatro Real in a production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and with the Symphonieorchester der Volksoper Wien, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra, and Opera San Antonio leading Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, as well as returns to the Basque National Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Symphony San Jose, and the Orchestre Internationale de Genève.

López-Ferrer’s journey began as Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and its May Festival. In 2022, he led the CSO in the U.S. premiere of Mark Simpson’s Violin Concerto, featuring Nicola Benedetti. He was a 2021-22 Dudamel Fellow with the LA Phil and was a featured conductor in the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview with the Louisiana Philharmonic. Earlier in his career, he served as Associate Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile as well as Resident Conductor of the Opéra de Paris Académie.

Winner of the inaugural 2015 Neeme Järvi Prize at the Menuhin Gstaad Festival and a former member of the Deutsche Dirigentenforum, his educational background includes a master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne and a bachelor’s in composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Born in Switzerland and raised in the United States, François López-Ferrer combines Cuban and Spanish heritage.

Grace Park, Violin
Grace Park is a violinist celebrated for her artistry, passion, and virtuosity. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as “fresh, different and exhilarating” and by Strings Magazine for her “intensely wrought and burnished” sound, she captivates audiences worldwide. A winner of the Naumburg International Violin Competition, Ms. Park is recognized as both a compelling soloist and a devoted chamber musician.

Recent highlights include solo appearances with the Colorado Music Festival, the Bard Music Festival under the baton of Leon Botstein, the New York Youth Symphony at Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, and the Prague Philharmonia at the Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall. She has also given recital debuts at the Krannert Center, Beethoven Minnesota Festival, and Carnegie Hall.

Ms. Park has since made notable international and U.S. debuts including performances at Seoul Arts Center with Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski, and with the Sarasota Orchestra under Peter Oundjian and the Orlando Philharmonic led by Eric Jacobsen. Her chamber music collaborations include regular appearances the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Camerata Pacifica and Savannah Music Festival.

Her debut solo album, recorded with the Prague Philharmonia and music director Emmanuel Villaume, features concertos and solo works by Mozart and Dvořák and was released in 2025.

A devoted and passionate educator, Ms. Park is an alumna of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect and has given masterclasses and coached at institutions including the Conservatorio de Música de Cartagena, Mannes School of Music, University of North Carolina, University of Mississippi, Washington and Lee University, and Skidmore College. She currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Violin at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University alongside an annual visiting residency at the North Dakota State University.

A native of Los Angeles, California, Ms. Park began studying violin at the age of five and trained at the Colburn School of Music before continuing her studies at the Colburn Conservatory and New England Conservatory, where she earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. Her principal teachers include Donald Weilerstein, Miriam Fried, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Robert Lipsett. She resides in New York City.

Ms. Park performs on a 1717 Giuseppe Filius Andrea Guarneri violin, generously on loan from an anonymous sponsor.

Repertoire

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.

Widely respected as a music educator and conducting pedagogue, Mr. Huang is the founder and director of International Conducting Masterclasses, Inc., which has trained scores of conductors over the last two decades. He is currently working on a book about conducting.

Mr. Huang has collaborated with orchestras including California, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Ohio, Haiti, Moldova, and Romania. He has held the position of Music Director of the University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Central Illinois Youth Symphony, the Gilbert and Sullivan Players of Chicago, and the Bradley University Orchestra. He has served as guest conductor with multiple appearances with Brasov Philharmonic, Romania, and the National Philharmonic of Moldova. In America, he has guest conducted professional ensembles such as the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Lake Shore Symphony in Illinois, and the Four Seasons Symphony in California.

Currently Mr. Huang serves as Music Director and Conductor of the New Westchester Symphony Orchestra in New York, Music Director of the Yale Medical School Orchestra, Music Director of the Norwalk Youth Concert Orchestra, as well as a board member of BLUME Haiti, which supports music education in Haiti.

Repertoire

Join the fun at the ARIEL’S MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS!

MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS is celebrating its 53rd Anniversary (1974-2025). Created by Harvey Phillips, MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS 2026 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 2026 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

This December 12 at 5pm, join us for The Scrooge Experience!

You’ve heard the story year after year, ever since you were a small child.  Now, hear it again as you never have before!

Seth Argabright is Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge, recounting A Christmas Carol as only one who lived it could tell it.  Meet Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley, and the Spirits of Christmas as Ebenezer himself describes them.  Witness the warming of his heart and the reclamation of his soul in a multimedia production sponsored by Isaac Mills and Jennifer Rose of Edward Jones Investments.

This presentation will be in Ariel Chamber Theatre on the 3rd floor of Ariel Opera House (elevator available) and is general admission seating tickets.

No food or drinks in the historic theatre.

On March 13 things get a bit brassy for the Bugler’s Holiday concert when the OVS will be joined by Dave Zeng performing Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto.  Maestro Scott Woodard takes us to Ireland with Hamilton Harty’s Irish Symphony for a bit-of-the-green.

Scott E. Woodard
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 product of the public schools in Cabell County, Scott picked up the trumpet in the sixth-grade band.  He is a proud Son of Marshall, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. During those MU years, Scott began his study of orchestral conducting under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Balshaw.  In 2014, he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University, where his dissertation explored the importance of the Leningrad School of conducting and its founder Ilya Musin.

Scott lives in Scott Depot with his wife Nafi, a family physician, and their son, Gabriel, a trumpet player just like his dad, and a new baby daughter, Gabriella!  His hobbies include playing horrible golf, and trying to figure out how to work on his vintage 1970 Volkswagen Beetle.

Dave Zeng, trumpet
Dave actively performs in the Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus areas.  He is principal trumpet of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Ohio and the Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.  Additionally, Dave has performed with many orchestras across the Midwest including the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio, The Bach Society of Dayton, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.  Dave has been a finalist at the National Trumpet Competition on multiple occasions.

In addition to performing, Dave is the Manager of Personnel and Orchestra Operations for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.  Through his company, Dave Zeng Productions, Dave also specializes in professional audio/video production for performing artists.

Repertoire

For Gershwin’s Greatest the stunning Michael Chertock is back showing us just how good he really is by conducting AND performing George Gershwin’s Concerto in F on April 17.  Rounding out the year of celebrating America’s greatest, the OVS will also feature Gershwin’s perennial favorite An American in Paris and the music of jazz great Duke Ellington.

Michael Chertock
Conductor and pianist Michael Chertock has fashioned a successful career as an orchestral soloist, collaborating with conductors such as James Conlon, Jaime Laredo, and Keith Lockhart.

His orchestral appearances include solo performances with, among others, The Philadelphia Orchestra, l’Orchestre Symphonique du Montreal, the Toronto Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, and the Dayton Philharmonic.  He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1999 with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, performing Duke Ellington’s New World A’Comin’.

In 2005, Michael performed the world premiere of Jeux Deux, a work by Todd Machover commissioned by the Boston Pops Orchestra expressly for him.  He recorded the piece in Denmark.

Michael first performed publicly at the age of 11 and by age 17, he performed the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 with Andrew Litton.  He has garnered numerous awards at major competitions, among them the top prize in the 1989 Joanna Hodges Int’l Piano Competition (Brahms Division) and the grand prize in the 1993 St. Charles International Piano Competition.

Michael released three CDs of his original arrangements entitled Cinematic Piano, Telarc: Palace of the Winds, Christmas at the Movies and Love At the Movies, which have been praised for their lush, original arrangements and exquisite technical facility.

Michael was soloist for The Ohio Valley Symphony’s musical journey of the greatest hits of the 1920’s performing a brand new orchestral arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue just in time for the 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s masterpiece.

Michael is the conductor of the Blue Ash-Montgomery Symphony, located in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio.  When not on tour he also serves as principal keyboardist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  In June of 2004 Mr. Chertock was appointed Assistant Professor of piano at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where he received his Master’s Degree as a student of Frank Weinstock.

Repertoire

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.

[Transcript]
Lora Lynn Snow:  “Welcome to the historic Ariel Opera House in downtown Gallipolis, Ohio. The Ariel was built in 1895 by the Ariel Oddfellows lodge. It was a fairly typical 19th century Appalachian Opera House with retail space on the front sidewalk and the theatre portion in the back with a banquet room on the second floor and their lodge room on the third floor. Most towns had an opera house in the nineteenth century and they were built by the various lodges, Moose, Masons, Elks, Oddfellows, etc. and they shared a similar design. Retail space was on ground level to provide income, opera houses were behind or on second or third floors and their lodge room was on the top floor as they felt they were the upper class citizens of their community and they literally wanted people to look up to them. It also meant any secret parts of their rituals couldn’t be seen by the people on the street.

We call them theatres today, but in the nineteenth century, “theatres” were considered disreputable so they used the term “opera house.” Opera houses proliferated throughout the nineteenth century and almost every town had one. The Ariel was designed by the state architects of Packard and Yost who were responsible for many facilities throughout Ohio, including the Great Southern Theatre and connected hotel in Columbus, Ohio. Another of their designs, The Ohio Valley Bank also on Second Ave. in Gallipolis has been recently restored and occupied by Ohio Valley Bank, the original owner.

The Oddfellows lodge sold the Ariel a few years after it opened on Christmas Day in 1895 and it changed hands several more times until the Gallia Masonic Lodge bought it in 1919. Silent movies began to share the stage with live entertainment and then only movies remained until the doors closed for good in the mid 1960’s. TV sealed the fate of many historic theatres and they were lost to the wrecking ball.

I’m Lora Lynn Snow and I’m a professional musician. In 1987, I had a vision of starting a professional orchestra and a few days later found the abandoned Ariel. It was love at first sound! I could hear the spectacular acoustics and knew if would be the perfect home for The Ohio Valley Symphony. After a year and a half or planning and organizing, we obtained a long term lease and began physical work on the theatre only portion of the building. We encouraged the long time pigeon residents to move on and then began the cleanup of the remnants of their occupation. We found beautiful golden oak woodwork under many layers of paint, graceful plaster ornamentation and decorative woodwork in the piles of rubble which were carefully sifted through. Volunteers by the dozens showed up for months of clean up and initial restoration work and we had a tea to show it off. That raised community interest a bit, but it wasn’t until we had our first performance of The Ohio Valley Symphony on April 1, 1989 that people really sat up and took notice. They, too, were mesmerized by the sound of the instrument that is the Ariel and they began to respond in earnest.

A Grand Re-opening date was set for June 9, 1990 and the work began. The building was still strong and sound, but a new roof was installed, new wiring and plumbing and the real plaster repaired. The goal was to restore the Ariel with the look of the original while bringing it up to code. We had no interior photos of the Ariel, but serendipity was often at play during the process. We ordered the massive main stage curtain and had the seat fabric dyed to match. Later, in a room that had been sealed up in 1930, we pulled up some threadbare carpeting. Apparently during the installation, they folded under the excess instead of cutting it off and the colors on that portion were still brilliant AND the red background was an exact match for the fabric we had just ordered.

As the re-opening date drew near, work became more frantic and round the clock. The original ceiling stencil was discovered only a few weeks before June 9 and was re-created in an all-night dash by volunteers before the scaffolding came down in a beat-the-clock race against time. The seat installers were literally screwing in seats until 8:00 pm the night of the re-opening concert as the line to get in stretched down the long hall, out the door and down the street. The OVS sold out of their first upcoming season that very night.

The Ohio Valley Symphony, the only professional orchestra in the southeast Ohio River Valley region, has grown and developed over the years. We pull in musicians from seven states and Canada and have world class soloists join us in concerts. The OVS recently completed a project with folk singer Michael Johnathon resulting in Songs of Rural America that is being shown on public tv stations around the country. This was conducted by Cincinnati Pops Principal Arranger, Tim Berens, and you can hear his arrangement of “Simple Gifts” arranged especially for OVS playing in the background. You can view and hear both on our website at arieloperahouse.org

In 2005, longtime arts patron, Ann Carson Dater, purchased the entire 25,000 square foot facility and gave it to us as a permanent home for The Ohio Valley Symphony. Her incredible generosity has enabled us to expand our offerings and propel us into the future. In her honor, we renamed the facility the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre. She wanted a place for young children to have dance and music lessons and experience the thrill of performing before an audience. She often said to me, “If more people listened to symphonic music, the world would be a better place.” We agree and to that end, we facilitate the connection between artists of all kinds and students, both young and old, to be able to select a teacher at the Ariel Academy on our website. We also offer performances of all kinds and of all abilities, lectures, debates, book signings and conferences. We are available to rent for parties, weddings and commercial events.

The Ohio Valley Symphony has a six concert season with fall and spring concerts surrounding the annual Christmas Show the first Saturday in December. Our soloists have included Philadelphia Orchestra concert master, David Kim, jazz great Byron Stripling, pianist and Gershwin expert Richard Glazier, Broadway star Mark McVey and many, many more. Audience members come from far and wide to hear fine symphonic music expertly performed in a fabulous acoustic instrument, the Ariel Opera House.

The Ariel hosts an annual Merry TubaChristmas on the second Saturday in December which allows tuba and euphonium players from far and wide to gather together to perform traditional Christmas carols. The warm rich organ-like sound of the low brass instruments sounds especially wonderful in the Ariel’s spectacular acoustics.

We now have a Banquet Room seating 100 and a ballroom on the second floor. The former lodge room on third floor has been transformed into our Chamber Theatre seating 130 and we also have a Conference Room complete with state of the art Web-Ex conferencing equipment allowing connections around the world. From that little scrap of carpet we found back in 1990, restoration work has recently culminated with the completion of a long term project recreating the original carpet and laying that throughout the building. With the help of the League of Historic American Theatres we found a world renowned historic carpet expert who guided us through the textile analysis and recreation of the Axminster wool carpeting that is a historic reproduction of the original.

Visit our website at arieloperahouse.org and plan your visit to coincide with an Ohio Valley Symphony concert performed in an intimate hall with superb acoustics. Parking is nearby and plentiful, nearby restaurants and hotels and motels offer discounts for symphony ticket holders when visiting our ADA accessible facility. We guarantee you will leave here uplifted and ready to return.”