The Ohio Valley Symphony kicks off its 22nd season with a combination of hip style and traditional flair

by Thomas Consolo

For its 2011-12 series opener, southeast Ohio’s only professional orchestra welcomes Deborah Henson-Conant back to the
Ohio Valley for “Hip Harp,” a night with the world’s first electric harpist. Ray Fowler, the orchestra’s music director, leads the 8 p.m.
performance Oct. 8 in the Lillian & Paul Wedge Auditorium at the Point Pleasant Jr./Sr. High School in Pt. Pleasant WV.

The program’s sponsor is Ohio Valley Bank, a long-time OVS supporter. As a part of the bank’s “Year of Celebration”, OVB
will be giving away symphony tickets at their Main Office during the week of October 3rd-7th. Stop by their office to register for
free tickets and join them as they celebrate a very special anniversary.

It’s the fourth year the OVS has performed in Point Pleasant, including a concert that helped dedicate the facility’s completion.
“We can’t expect everyone to come to us,” said Lora Snow, the orchestra’s founder and executive director, “so we’re happy to go
to them to share our beautiful music.”

That organization has, over more than two decades, built a reputation for offering a lineup of world-class guest artists performing music
ranging from R&B to classical mainstays to holiday favorites. That variety is key both to the OVS’s mission and its two decades of
success, said Snow.

“Great music comes in all kinds of packages,” she said, “and we try to show people all the things an orchestra can do. It’s a lot more than
just symphonies.”

That will be clear at “Hip Harp.” Henson-Conant — a Grammy-nominated performer, composer and songwriter — has built a renegade
image on her evocative singing voice and the 36-string, custom-built electric harness harp she plays. Her programs fuse theater, stories
and virtuosic playing skill and cover genres from ballads to jazz to flamenco.

She’ll put on a different program on October 8.

It’s the first time a guest artist has appeared with the OVS twice in the same year. For Fowler, Henson-Conant was an obvious choice
for the honor.

“This is a person who will reach right into the heart and soul of the audience,” he said. “She’s just so natural on stage.”

Henson-Conant is a composer, performer, singer, songwriter, author, cartoonist, entertainer, comedienne — all rolled into one! She’s put
on a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, opened for Ray Charles, toured with the Boston Pops and released
a dozen albums from Latin jazz to Celtic to blues.

She’s also revolutionized the harp — usually though of as a genteel instrument — with a custom-made, 36-string electric “harness harp.”
When she turns on the “fuzz box,” though, audiences know they’re in for a different kind of evening.

It’s more than showmanship, Fowler continued. “I was so impressed with how thoughtful she was about her choice of pieces,” he said.
“She wanted to choose just the right repertoire to reach our audience.”

Fowler hopes some people who saw Henson-Conant in July will want to experience her and the orchestra indoors. “There are people
who keep cracking the door of the Ariel open but not quite coming in. We knew that, when they heard Deborah on July 4, they’d want
to hear her again.”

Also on tap for the Saturday evening performance is the conclusion to the annual Maestro for a Moment fund-raising campaign. Find out
which of this year’s finalists earns a spot on the podium to conduct the OVS by raising the most for the orchestra. Mike Brown, Joe Li
and Darlene Ringhand are vying for the honor.

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, Oct. 7, and 1-4 p.m. Oct. 8 at
Wedge Auditorium. Open rehearsals are a great way for young and old alike to grow familiar with symphonic music, and they offer a
fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse at the preparation of an orchestral performance.

Single tickets to the Ohio Valley Symphony’s “Hip Harp” cost $22, $20 (senior) and $10 (student). Subscriptions to all five 2011-12
OVS concerts, including the always popular Christmas concert, are available for $100, $90 (senior) and $50 (student). Family
subscriptions for two adults and children are $275.

Single-ticket buyers who decide they want to lock in their seats will be able to buy pro-rated subscriptions for the four remaining
OVS performances at the Oct. 8 concert.

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 website arieltheatre.org.

Funding for the Ohio Valley Symphony is provided in part by the Ann Carson Dater Endowment. Further support is provided by the
Ohio Arts Council, a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally
and economically.

The Grand Piano, November 5, 2011

Lori Sims, piano

Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 2; Beethoven, Symphony No. 2.

Internationally known pianist Lori Simms has performed in recital, with chamber groups, and with orchestras in the United States, Europe, and China. The Colorado native is a Yale graduate who now teaches at Western Michigan University. She is the gold medal winner at the 1998 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition.

The Christmas Show!, December 3, 2011

Sponsored by Holzer Clinic

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The Christmas Show! 2013

The Ohio Valley Symphony

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

The Christmas Show, Brant Adams, composer

Saturday, December 6, 2014 at 8:00 pm

Originally from Gallipolis, Ohio, Brant Adams (b. 1955) holds a bachelor of music degree in piano performance from Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), a master of music degree in music theory from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Ph.D in theory from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied composition with Donald Grantham. He taught at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and since 1987 at Oklahoma State University, where he has served as professor and coordinator of the music theory and composition areas, coordinator of music business, academic advisor, and since 2008, as Head of the Department of Music.

In 1992, Dr. Adams was awarded the Distinguished Composer of the Year Award by the Music Teachers National Association for his Masque and Bacchanalia for woodwind quintet and piano. In 1994, he wrote the incidental music for the off-Broadway play Exchange produced at the Soho Repertory Theatre in New York City. In 2000, he arranged and orchestrated Sing for the Cure, a compilation of choral compositions of ten composers from around the US commissioned by the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and which has been performed in dozens of cities across the country, including performances at Carnegie Hall.

His compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations have been performed and recorded around the world by orchestras and choral ensembles across Europe, Central and South America, the Middle and Far East, and across the United States. His choral compositions are published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing and Mark Foster Music (Shawnee Press). Since 2000, he has become widely known for his orchestrations and instrumental arrangements of sacred music that are published by the Lorenz Corporation, Shawnee Press, Hope Music, Alfred Music, and Southern Music. Performances of his music at regional and national meetings of professional music organizations include the Society of Composers, Inc., Music Teachers National Convention, American Choral Directors Association, College Band Directors National Association, and the National Flute Association.

Dr. Adams also works periodically in the recording/publishing industry as a producer, arranger, orchestrator, and conductor.

At OSU, Dr. Adams has received several awards including two Outstanding Faculty Member awards, the Friends of Music Distinguished Music Professor award, and the Wise-Diggs-Berry Award for Teaching Excellence.

Symphony Spooktacular, Brian Evans, actor

Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 8:00 pm

Brian Evans teaches voice and speech, stage combat and acting in the School of Dance, Film and Theater. He is an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors. As an actor, he has worked at venues including Human Race Theatre, the Colorado, Illinois and Oxford Shakespeare Festivals, South Coast Repertory, Porthouse Theatre and CATCO. Television credits include Chapelle’s Show and Judging Amy. He produced and directed award-winning theatre while working in Los Angeles, at theaters including the Raven Playhouse, Metropole Theatre Works and Elephant Stageworks. Directing credits include Romeo and Juliet at Monomoy Theatre, Henry IV, Part One at Oxford Shakespeare Festival, and Brecht’s Man Equals Man at OU. In the area, Brian often works with Available Light Theatre in Columbus and Brick Monkey Theater Ensemble. He received his M.F.A. in Acting from UC, Irvine. Brian is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association.

Suite Sounds of Jazz, Thomas Pandolfi, piano

Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 7:30 pm

The young American pianist THOMAS PANDOLFI is an exciting virtuoso who, with each passing season, is becoming more and more sought after by audiences worldwide, and showered with superlatives by critics for his passionate artistry and amazing technique. His orchestral appearances often feature not only the beloved masterpiece concerti by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Liszt, but also the equally brilliant ones by Paderewski, Rubinstein and Moszkowski. Additionally in the “Pops” genre, Thomas is considered a leading interpreter of the works of George Gershwin.

Thomas’ career has already included performances with such European orchestras as The George Enescu Philharmonic, The Cluj Philharmonic, The Oltenia Philharmonic (Craiova), The Moravian Philharmonic, The National Philharmonic of the Republic of Moldova, and The Aberystwyth Symphony in Wales, as well as the American symphony orchestras of Mississippi, Cedar Rapids, Asheville, Princeton, San Angelo, York, Fairfax, Northbrook, Great Falls, and Owensboro to name but a few. He has collaborated with such conductors as Dimitru Goia, Sabin Pautza, Emil Seigbert Maxim, Peter Schmelzer, Mihail Agafita, Grigori Moseico, David Russell Hulme, Murry Sidlin, Michael Luxner, Andreas Delfs, Christian Tiemeyer, Ron Spigelman, William Kushner, Nicholas Palmer, William Intrilligator, William Hudson, Kirk Muspratt, Kim Allen Kluge, Robert Hart Baker, Crafton Beck, Lawrence Rapchak, Gordon Johnson, Philip Bauman, Anthony Maiello and Vincent Zito.

Following a performance of MacDowell’s D Minor Piano Concerto with The George Enescu Philharmonic, The Bucharest Cultural Observer lauded Pandolfi’s “virtuosity, beautiful touch, sensitivity and broad scope…logical phrasing and expressive percussiveness…a soloist whom we would like to hear again.” Of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Asheville Symphony, The Asheville Citizen-Times remarked, “Pandolfi is a standout among today’s young pianists, demonstrating a great technician’s grace, finesse and polish…his virtuosity and strength might have had some believing that Liszt himself had taken over the keyboard.”

Equally popular as a recitalist, Pandolfi has appeared in concert halls nationwide. The Washington Post has described him as “an artist who is master of both the grand gesture and the sensual line. Pandolfi possesses first-rate technical skills, an unerring comma and of phrasing, a quicksilver touch and cunning legerdemain when it comes to pedaling…etched with calm and crystal clarity…outstanding.” New York Concert Review has characterized Pandolfi’s interpretations as containing “high level pianism and tasteful, diversified musical ideas…crystalline texture and deft coloration… charm and bracing elan.”

While the 2008-09 season marked Thomas’ debut recitals in Canada, Germany and China, the 2009-10 season highlighted his debut in London, as well as return engagements throughout Eastern Europe, and concerts both as recitalist and soloist with orchestras across the United States. Pandolfi released his 6th CD album during the 2010-11 season, and returned to China in August of 2011 for his second tour of that country. Additionally, he made his recital debut in Toronto during the 2011-12 season, as well as stepped in on 48 hour notice to perform the Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto for The Alexandria Symphony’s closing concert of that season. During the last two seasons, he performed highly successful and acclaimed 15 state recital tours across the United States.

Audiences during 2014-15 will enjoy his artistry in an expanded 21 state recital tour to include the states of New York, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Indiana, Connecticut, New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, Washington, DC, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, California, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Kentucky. Thomas will also be making his debut with the Lafayette Symphony and Nicholas Palmer in The James Bond Concerto and Warsaw Concerto, and his debut with The McLean Orchestra in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 under Miriam Burns on their Gala Opening Night. He will also return as guest soloist with both The Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic and Ulysses James in Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, and The Owensboro Symphony under Nicholas Palmer in The James Bond Concerto and Warsaw Concerto. Following a violin concerto for Midori, and a saxophone concerto for Brandford Marsalis, film and concert composers Kim Allen Kluge and Kathryn Vassar Kluge are now composing a piano concerto for Thomas, who is most honored and very excited to be involved in this thrilling project.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Pandolfi earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as a scholarship student. He is the father of two beautiful children, and resides in Washington, DC.

Follow Thomas:
Facebook: @ThomasPandolfiPianist
Twitter: @TPandolfiPiano

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, Sept. 11, and 1–4 p.m. Sept. 12 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 SUITE SOUNDS OF JAZZ 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.

Silver Celebration, Jay Campbell, cello

Saturday, October 4, 2014 at 8:00 pm

Praised by The New York Times for his “electrifying performances” which “conveyed every nuance,” American cellist Jay Campbell is the First Prize Winner of the 2012 CAG Victor Elmaleh International Competition. This spellbinding artist combines eclectic musical interests and a diverse spectrum of repertoire, which has led to collaborations with musicians ranging from Elliott Carter and Pierre Boulez to David Lang and John Zorn to members of Radiohead and Einstürzende Neubauten.

Jay is actively involved with the music of our time, having premiered nearly one hundred works to date, including concerti by Chris Rogerson and Pulitzer Prize winning composer David Lang.

In 2013-14, Jay premieres a new recital piece written for him by John Zorn called occam’s razor, and for the 2015-16 season, a new cello concerto will be commissioned for Jay from American composer David Fulmer, which is entitled Genus and Species and co-commissioned by the Human Rights Foundation. Already, the cellist has had the privilege of working with leading new music groups including ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), Ensemble InterContemporain, Da Capo Chamber Players and the Argento Ensemble. A further testament to his dedication to the music of our time comes from the ASCAP Foundation which honored Jay with the Lieber & Stoller Award.

As a chamber musician, Jay has worked with members of the Arditti, Takacs, Kronos and Afiara String Quartets. He has been invited to the Marlboro and Music@Menlo Festivals and enjoyed residencies at Vermont’s Yellow Barn Music Festival and at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Texas.

Born in Berkeley, CA, Jay Campbell is currently a student at The Juilliard School where he received his Bachelor of Music degree and is pursuing his Master of Music degree. He studies with celebrated cellist Fred Sherry.