The Shadow
The Alleghany Highlands Arts Council announced today that season tickets are now on sale for its 2022-23 Performing Arts Series. There are eight outstanding programs under contract and the season promises to be one of the best in recent memory.
This year’s robust season opens on Thursday November 17 with an audience favorite returning with their new sound. Neil Berg has presented numerous shows highlighting Broadway but will encore “Neil Berg’s Fifty Years of Rock and Roll – Part 2″. From the birth of this genre in the 1940s through its heyday years of the 50s 60s and 70s, all the way to the inception of MTV in the 80s, this show uses fascinating stories and groundbreaking music to pay tribute to the iconic starts, groups, and songs of what we call ‘rock and roll”. The show will be held at Covington High School at 7:00 pm.
As is the tradition, the Roanoke Symphony Holiday Pops will ring in the Yuletide season on Monday evening December 5 in its usual location at Curfman Hall in Covington High School. Curtain time is also the usual 7:00 pm. Maestro David Wiley and the RSO will bring all the magical elements that the local audience has come to expect – glorious musicianship, familiar tunes, a group sing-a-long and exuberant warmth designed to ignite our holiday spirit.
As the calendar flips to 2023, the Arts Council will celebrate its seventieth birthday with a Big Band Birthday Bash on Saturday afternoon, January 14 in the WestRock Ballroom at the Historic Masonic Theatre. Brass Five will present an evening of swing music in the nostalgic style of Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman.
Jazz trumpet player Victor Haskins will help break the winter blues with his mastery of improvisational jazz. Haskins is an international performer, composer, improvisor and educator. This intimate concert is scheduled for Friday February 3 in the Tom Dean Underground of the Historic Masonic Theatre beginning at 7:00 pm.
Also returning by popular demand is the American Spiritual Ensemble in a matinee performance on Sunday afternoon, February 26. Blending hope, joy, sorrow and faith, the ASE brings their tremendous sound back to Curfman Hall in Covington High School. Prepare for another unifying and beautiful celebration of the Negro Spiritual. A special guest appearance by members of our local community choirs is also planned. Afternoon curtain time is 3:00 pm.
If Celtic music is your idea of a good time, you may remember Rhythm of the Dance. The National Dance Company of Ireland will be bringing their live band, three tenors and 22 dancers to the stage at the Historic Masonic Theatre on Thursday, March 21 at 7:00 pm. The Arts Council is expecting a sell-out for this incredible Irish celebration that creates a new era electrifying music, dance, and song.
Changing the mood to something cool and laidback, the May 5 event will feature the songs and sounds of James Taylor as offered by Bill Griese in his retrospective “Sweet Baby James”. Griese and his acoustic guitar plays JT so closely that you close your eyes and imagine you are listening to the legend himself. This Nashville artist is not an impersonator. The audience can expect a genuine, down-to-earth presentation, respectfully fitting to an American original.
The season will close on Thursday, May 18 with a mixed repertory program from Richmond Ballet. RBII is a professional company comprised of elite dancers from around the world. Dance USA Magazine named them “a jewel among U.S. dance companies,” while The Washington Post calls them “a company to which dance fans everywhere ought to pay attention.” Curtain time is 7:00 pm at the Historic Masonic Theatre.
Season tickets are on sale now online at www.arts4allAlleghanyHighlands.com. These tickets can also be purchased from any Arts Council board member. Members are Kayla Austin, Stephanie Clark, Mary Beth Garten, Kim Halterman, Erin Haynes, Beverly Johnson, Bruce Loving, Sandra Minter, Steve Minter, Nancy Moga, Linda Morrison, Caleb Morrison, Tammy Scruggs-Duncan, David Wheeler, Carl Withrow, and Michele Wright.
A season ticket good for admission to all 8 events is $95 adult and $35 student with a family pass priced at $195. Each season ticket sold before November 17 will include a bonus gift of two complimentary guest passes good for admission at any one event in the season. This will encourage subscribers to share the gift of live performance by bringing along friends or family to enjoy the arts together.
Board members are also accepting contributions to help further the mission of the organization. Along with individual and corporate donors, Arts Council funding is provided by the Alleghany Foundation, the Virginia Commission for the Arts the National Endowment for the Arts, Community Foundation Serving Southwest Virginia, the City of Covington, and the County of Alleghany and the Town of Clifton Forge.
For information, to purchase season tickets or contribute, call the Arts Council at 962-ARTS, or visit their website www. arts4allAlleghanyHighlands.com. Information is also disseminated via their fan page on Facebook.
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| The American Spiritual Ensemble (ASE) Jonathan Palmer |
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| Neil Berg’s Fifty Years of Rock and Roll – Part 2 |
