The Shadow
The Alleghany Highlands Arts Council will present the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra performing its annual installation of holiday cheer with its Holiday Pops concert on Monday evening, Dec. 9.
Gather your friends and family, and celebrate the season with a merry musical program for audiences of all ages.
“This is always our biggest event of the season,” said Alleghany Highlands Arts Council Executive Director Tammy Scruggs-Duncan. “Fans will remember that a severe snowstorm forced the RSO to cancel last year’s Holiday Pops concert.
“We hated to disappoint so many people but the symphony simply stated that they could not get to us because of the show,?she added. “So we are happy to get this long-standing treat back on track this season.”
The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra has been making appearances through the arts council since the 1950s and has always been an audience favorite. The program will feature classical and contemporary songs of the season, a rocking Santa and other surprises as well as the traditional sing-a-long medley of familiar carols and Christmas songs.
The local audience will remember this year’s guest soloist Adrienne Danrich O’Neill from her outstanding performance with the RSO back in 2015.
Ms. Danrich made her soloist debut at Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in Beethoven’s Mass in C and Mozart’s Mass in G.
On the concert stage, she has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cape Cod Symphony, Bryan Symphony, St. George’s Choral Society, Dayton Philharmonic, Kentucky Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke, Louisville Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Laredo Philharmonic, Hartt Symphony and Hamilton Fairfield Symphony.
As always, music director and conductor of the RSO, Maestro David Stewart Wiley, will lead his skilled and talented group of musicians.
Wiley performs for tens of thousands each year in New York as music director and conductor of the resurgent Long Island Orchestra.
He has been named Roanoke’s Citizen of the Year for his service above and beyond his acclaimed work with the RSO. He has also received a Distinguished Music Educator Award from Yale University in partnership with RCPS.
His energetic work bringing classical music to youth in our minority communities has been steadfast, and he was honored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as Citizen of the Year in the Arts for his service.
Wiley holds both a doctor and master of music in conducting from Indiana University, a degree in piano performance with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a degree in religion, summa cum laude, from Tufts University.
He is a recipient of the Perry F. Kendig Prize for service to the arts and is a Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International.
The Holiday Pops is supported by a Touring Assistance Grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts as well, as a generous grant from The Alleghany Foundation.
There are special group rates for various clubs, organizations and groups including church choirs, youth groups, retiree groups and the local newcomers club. Group leaders can inquire about these specials by emailing AlleghanyArts4All@gmail.com.
Tickets for the event are $25 for adults and $10 for students, and are on sale at the Alleghany Highlands Arts Council website, www.alleghanyarts4all.com
They can also be purchased at the door at Covington High School Monday evening. The box office will open at 6:15 p.m., auditorium doors open to general seating at 6:30 p.m. The public can reserve will-call tickets or acquire more information by calling 962-2787.
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Adrienne Danrich O’Neill – Guest Soloist
