THE CHRISTMAS SHOW, 2012

Stores are decking their halls even earlier every year, but the holiday season doesn’t start in October – or even at Thanksgiving. It starts Dec. 1 with The Ohio Valley Symphony’s annual “Christmas Show.”

The program, now a southeast Ohio tradition, is at 8 p.m. in the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre in downtown Gallipolis. Locally-based Holzer Health System is the long time sponsor of the evening’s festivities

OVS Music Director Ray Fowler has again assembled a holiday-sized spread of musical cheer for the concert. He and the orchestra will offer a menu of old favorites — both carols and winter holiday songs – and of some surprises that audience members will be adding to their list of favorites. Among the traditional carols will be arrangements including “Away in a Manger” and “What Child is This?”

Songs from America’s holiday traditions will include “Jingle Bells,” “Sleigh Ride” and “Winter Wonderland.” Look forward as well, to an American flavor, thanks to William Bergsma’s “Carol for Twelfth Night,” Lucas Richman’s “Reindeer Variations” – one for each of Santa’s four-legged helpers – and “A Quint of Carols” by Ohio native Don Waxman. Classical composers Gustav Holst and Sergei Prokofiev (another sleigh ride, this time in Russia) also will be represented.

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, Nov. 30, and 1-4 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Ariel Theatre. 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.

Concert-goers have another unique opportunity to make a personal connection with the music, too. Thomas Consolo, OVS Assistant Conductor and program annotator, offers a free pre-concert chat in the third-floor Ariel Chamber Theatre, just upstairs from the concert site. The casual get-together will put a more personal face on the night’s music and answer questions about the program, the OVS or the orchestral experience in general. The talk begins at 7:15 p.m. Dec. 1.

Single tickets to “The Christmas Show” with The Ohio Valley Symphony 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 OVS web site, www.ohiovalleysymphony.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.

Ohio Valley Symphony THE AMAZING CELLO with Efe Baltacigil

Turkish cellist Efe Baltacigil was acclaimed by audiences and critics alike when he and pianist Emanuel Ax performed Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No.1 at a Philadelphia Orchestra concert with only 10 minutes of rehearsal.

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: “Baltacigil is a highly individualized solo artist. His gorgeous sound, strong personality, and expressive depth suggest an artist about to have a major career.” Mr. Baltacigil won the 2005 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, The Peter Jay Sharp Prize, and the Washington Performing Arts Society Prize.

Ohio Valley Symphony Evening of Seconds

November 5, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

by Thomas Consolo

The “frost is on the punkin'” outside, but the Ohio Valley Symphony will keep “a feller a-feelin’ at his best” with the warm glow of timeless music.

The orchestra, conducted by music director Ray Fowler, welcomes pianist Lori Sims at 8 p.m. Nov. 5 for “The Grand Piano,” a program of Beethoven
and Brahms. It’s the second concert of the 22nd OVS season and the first this year at the orchestra’s permanent home, the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater
Performing Arts Centre in downtown Gallipolis.

The program opens with one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s early symphonies, the second. For audiences who equate Beethoven with forceful Romanticism,
the Symphony No. 2 will be an eye opener: Written just after the turn of the 19th century, it’s full of wry humor, delicacy and the kind of Classical-era balance
that his teacher, Franz Joseph Haydn, would have approved. It’s also filled with enough quirks and surprises to make it clear it’s from the new kid on the block.

Sims joins the OVS after intermission for Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2. Brahms spent his early years feeling the weight of Beethoven’s legacy,
but, by the time he wrote the second piano concerto, he had shattered that jinx with two symphonies. With a fourth movement — unusual for that kind of
piece — the concerto is like a symphony for piano and orchestra.

It’s Brahms at the top of his game and his most relaxed. It’s a perfect piece for Sims, according to Fowler, who counts her as “one of the best-kept secrets
of the piano world.” Her playing, Fowler says, “has such integrity and such heart. She’ll carry the audience through the piece.”

Sims won over Ariel audiences in 2008 with a performance of Rachmaninoff’s passionate second piano concerto. She has performed in recital, with chamber
groups and as soloist with symphonies in the United States, Europe, and China. She was the gold medal winner at the 1998 Gina Bachauer International Piano
Competition — where she also won the prize for best performance of a work by Brahms. Her 2000 debut at New York’s Alice Tully Hall earned a rave review
in the New York Times. The Colorado native is a Yale graduate who now teaches as the John T. Bernhard Professor of Music at Western Michigan University.

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, Nov. 4, and 1-4 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Ariel Theatre. 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.

Concert-goers have another unique opportunity to make a personal connection with the music, too. Thomas Consolo, OVS assistant conductor and program
annotator, offers a pre-concert talk in the newly-restored Ariel Chamber Theater. The casual get-together will put a more personal face on the night’s music
and answer questions about the program, the OVS or the orchestral experience in general. The talk begins at 7:15 p.m. Nov. 5.

Single tickets to “The Grand Piano” with the Ohio Valley Symphony cost $22, $20 (senior) and $10 (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
OVS Web site, www.ohiovalleysymphony.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.

Magical Mozart, Elena Urioste

Magical Mozart
Elena Urioste, violin

Elena Urioste has been hailed by critics and audiences alike for her lush tone, the nuance lyricism of her playing and her commanding stage presence. Her debut with the Chicago Symphony was praised by critics for her delicacy, poise and sensitivity. She debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2004 and has returned every year since. Elena performs on a Gagliano violin c. 1706.

Maestro for a Moment FUN-draiser 2019-20

The Ohio Valley Symphony’s annual Maestro for a Moment Fundraiser is one of the highlights of the season for both audience and orchestra! Each season three candidates vie for the opportunity to conduct the orchestra during the The Christmas Show! on December 7th, 2019, in a rousing rendition of Sleigh Ride! This year’s candidates are Randall Hawkins, M.D., representing Pleasant Valley Hospital; Jason Holdren, Gallia County Prosecutor; and Arthur Huntley, D.O., representing Holzer Health Systems.

Make your tax-deductible donation now!

Hip Harp, October 8, 2011

Arrangements featuring Deborah Henson-Conant, electric harp.

Grammy-nominated electric harpist Deborah Henson-Conant is a composer and songwriter whose performances range from blues to Latin jazz, Celtic to classical. Known for her renegade image and evocative singing voice, she has revolutionized the harp into a 36-string, custom-built, electric “harness harp.”

Glorious Gershwin, Richard Glazier

Glorious Gershwin
Richard Glazier, piano

At the age of 9, Richard Glazier was smitten by the music of Gershwin after seeing the film “Girl Crazy.” He wrote a letter to Ira Gershwin and continued to correspond with him for many years. Fueled by that relationship, Glazier dedicated himself the the Gershwin repertoire and became the leading authority on that genre. He has won many international awards and competitions and has the distinction of being selected as a Steinway Artist.

DVORAK, November 7, 2010

Joseph Johnson, cello

Principal cellist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and principal cellist-designate of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (2010-2011 season), Joseph Johnson is one of the most exciting solo artists of his generation. Since 1997 he has nurtured a special relationship with Russian culture and people, a relationship that was spawned during his tgour with the American Russian Youth Orchestra. Johnson performs on a 1747 Juan Guillami cello.

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