A cappella groups to compete at April 8 Shenandoah Valley Sing-Off
Ten a cappella groups will compete for cash prizes during The Shenandoah Valley Sing-Off, an amateur contest hosted by the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir (SVCC). The event is 7 p.m., Saturday, April 8, at Harrisonburg High School.
During the evening, the groups will perform an up-tempo song of no more than four minutes. Up to five groups will advance to the ballad round, with the top two contestants advancing to perform a selection of their choosing.
The first-place group will receive a $750 prize, and the runner up, $500. The “audience favorite” of the first round will be awarded $25.
The contest “promotes artistry, excellence, camaraderie and musical community among singers in Virginia,” said SVCC Artistic Director Janet M. Hostetter.
Additionally, it will raise money for scholarships to help children participate in SVCC, a nationally acclaimed choir that provides opportunities for music education, performance, touring and recording.
The competition is also a nod to a cappella’s historic legacy, which has been practiced in the Shenandoah Valley since the late 1800s, “thanks to the singing schools and songbook publications produced by Joseph Funk and his sons in Singers Glen,” added Hostetter.
Tickets are $10 for under 18 and students with a college ID, $15 for adults, and $20 at the door. To purchase tickets, visit www.singoff.org.
Performing Groups
Camerati is an all-male chamber ensemble that was founded by James Madison University students in 2016. They perform sacred, gospel and Renaissance a cappella music, with an emphasis on sight reading.
Cantore, a men’s group based in the Shenandoah Valley, has performed at over 250 events since they were founded in 1999. The ten members make decisions by consensus, and perform everything from religious choral work, to folk, international, bluegrass, gospel and barbershop music.
Desperate Measures is a barbershop quartet from Harrisonburg which performs traditional and modern barbershop and other a cappella works. Their repertoire spans many decades of musical styles.
Exit 245, founded in 1998, is a male group from James Madison University. Their repertoire focuses on covering popular tunes. In 2013, they received a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award for their album Boyfriend Material.
The Flying V’s are from the University of Virginia. Their first album is currently in the works, which includes covers of the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana and the Arctic Monkeys.
Good Company, a six-member co-ed group based in the Shenandoah Valley, was formed in 2013. They have released two albums, including a Christmas album in December 2016.
Harrisonburg Harmonizers is a 25-member male barbershop chorus which formed in 2008. This chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society performs monthly throughout the Shenandoah Valley.
Low Key became James Madison University’s second co-ed a cappella group in 2000. Low Key’s members value their tradition of friendship, family and a passion for music.
The Overtones is a co-ed group from James Madison University. The Overtones, founded in 1997, have released seven albums and been featured on multiple “Best of College A Cappella” compilations.
Shekinah is an independent female vocal ensemble which formed in 2003 at Eastern Mennonite University. They have released seven albums, and contributed to recordings of the Mennonite hymnal supplements.
The Shenandoah Valley Sing-Off is sponsored by Muddy Feet Graphics, with additional sponsors Jon and Mary Ann Alger, Clay Showalter, Cherished Memories Studios and Mast Landscaping.
SVCC is a program of Eastern Mennonite University.
Art of Storytelling comes to Wayne Theatre March 18-19
The Wayne Theatre is hosting a Storytelling Weekend on March 18-19 with Donald Davis, Geraldine Buckley, Linda Gorham and Leonard Lee Smith presenting in four sessions.
In our digital world, where personal connection is often diminished, the Wayne Theatre will bring back the timeless tradition of personal, family and generational connection through the Art of Storytelling.
Three sessions will be offered on Saturday, at 9:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.One session will be offered Sunday morning at 9:30. All four storytellers will participate in every session.
Ticket prices to attend all four sessions are $55 adults or $25 students. Individual ticket prices are $15 for morning and afternoon sessions and $20 for the one night session.
While many people think “storytelling” is for children, that is not so, says Donald Davis, one of the storytellers at the weekend event. Stories are primarily geared for adults though families are welcome (grades 3+ recommended).
“Each session will be totally different,” said Davis. “We cannot tell you in advance what we might be telling.”
Stories always have humorous elements though some of them will take quite serious turns along the way. The stories should remind listeners of things that have happened to them and that they will be telling their own stories on the way home.
“We all tell original stories of our own,” said Davis. “For example, Geraldine’s home of origin is England, my roots are in the mountains of North Carolina, while Linda brings African-American culture and heritage to the mix.”
Stories always have humorous elements though some of them will take quite serious turns along the way. The stories should remind listeners of things that have happened to them and that they will be telling their own stories on the way home.
The storytellers regularly perform together with 42 festival weekends booked in 2017 in more than 24 states ranging from Virginia to Washington.
The Wayne Theatre is located at 521 W. Main St. in Waynesboro.
Info: (540) 943-9999 or www.waynetheatre.org.
40UNDER40 featured at Shenandoah Valley Art Center in March
The Shenandoah Valley Art Center, during the month of March, in the Cabell/Arehart Gallery is presenting 40UNDER40, the annual exhibit for Virginia artists aged 40 and under.
This juried exhibition features forty contemporary works that push boundaries of media with no size or subject restrictions. The show will be judged and awards will be given to the top three works chosen by a juror from SVAC and a juror from Beverley Street Studio School. The top prize will be a solo exhibition at SVAC in 2018, and a $100 gift certificate and membership to Beverley Street Studio School. An opening reception will be held March 4, 6 – 8pm. The public is invited to come, meet, and talk to the artists. In conjunction with the exhibit in our 122 S. Wayne gallery, SVAC is holding a UNDER40 Pop Up Market in the 416 Main Street gallery from 10:00a.m – 8:00 p.m. on March 4. The art market day will showcase artists and business owners under 40.
In the Members’ Gallery, the theme Orange will be interpreted by SVAC members through a variety of media and creative ideas. In the Upstairs Hallway Gallery, a tribute to art education features an exhibition of artwork by Waynesboro Public Schools art students. The exhibit celebrates Youth Art Month, a national initiative promoting art and art education for kids. Exhibiting artwork in a professional gallery is an important experience for the exposure of young artists to the world of art. A special Opening Reception for the young artists, their families, and teachers will be held for the public to meet the artists on March 9, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Ever wonder what your art needs to be finished, successful, win awards, and appeal to buyers? Join the Shenandoah Valley Art Center’s new monthly critique class led by nationally recognized instructor Karen Rosasco. The critique will broaden your horizons, fine tune your design skills and help you to create a masterpiece every time. Bring one or two finished pieces or works-in-progress along with a sketchbook, pencil, eraser, and Sharpie pen. After critiquing the participants’ work, Karen will lead a short design exercise which will strengthen knowledge of the elements and principles of design. The class will meet Thursday March 9, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. and cost $20. Call SVAC to register. On Wednesday, March 15, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Karen Friedlander will teach Etching Metal Jewelry. Students will learn how to trace simple designs onto metal, and then permanently capture the image through the etching process. Preselected designs are available or artists can create their own. ($45 – all supplies included)
Tai Chi in the Art Gallery with Linda Revis! Join in the fun every Tuesday morning in March, from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. in the Invitational Gallery. Discover the graceful art that is tai chi which uses gentle movements combined with breathing exercises to help open the energy passages throughout the body, leading to overall improvement in body, mind, and spirit. Each week will add on to what was learned in previous classes, with continued practice until participants are confident. No special clothes needed, but comfortable clothing and athletic/flat shoes are suggested. Everything taught can be adapted for persons in a wheelchair or sitting in a folding chair. ($10 per class) All are welcome!
ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES! Go on line to the SVACART.COM and check out artist opportunities and calls for artists. Applications for SVAC Open Studio Tour, September 16 – 17, Fall Foliage Art Show, October 14-15, and 2018-2019 Solo/group exhibitors in the Invitational Gallery can be found.
For the young artist, Shenandoah Valley Art Center offers, the ever popular Saturday Art for Kids, presenting a creative art experience for young artists. Designed as a program that expands upon art offered in school or as an art experience for the home schooled, the classes are taught by artists who are amazing with kids. All supplies and snacks included for children ages 6 – 10. Preregistration required. (March 4, 11, 18, and 25, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., $15 per class).
Open studio opportunities in the Virginia Ross Education Studio are available to printmakers and ceramic artists. Access to top of the line clay and printmaking equipment and space to work will be furnished for $60 per quarter. Apply on line at www.SVACart.com.
The art center is a retail alliance partner with the Artisan Center of Virginia. In the SVAC Gift Shop you can find the perfect creative gift in fiber, jewelry, wood, glass, pottery, and more by juried artisans from Virginia and SVAC member artists.
The Shenandoah Valley Art Center is located in downtown Waynesboro at 122 S. Wayne Avenue. Galleries are open to the public 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call (540) 949-7662 or visit www.svacart.com.
Hiss Golden Messenger makes their first appearance in Harrisonburg
The Court Square Theater Music Series, organized by Arts Council of the Valley, continues on Wednesday, February 1st with a concert by Hiss Golden Messenger.
Hiss Golden Messenger is the project of songwriter M.C. Taylor. Taylor’s music draws from the deep well of traditional and vernacular Southern song that Taylor has explored and documented as a practicing folklorist.
Hiss Golden Messenger’s newest album, “Heart Like a Levee, released in October 2016, deals with Taylor’s guilt of being away while he tries to provide for his family: it’s a remarkable record that feels like a breakthrough,” says The Independent, which listed it the 18th Best Album of 2016.The Independent showers further praise, “Here is a well-paced, uncluttered collection of arrangements that manage to make the hardest of times sound upbeat, featuring HGM’s trademark grooves on the likes of ‘Like a Mirror Loves a Hammer’ and fusing modern tones with ancients ones—it is utterly exquisite.”
Hiss Golden Messenger performs at Harrisonburg’s Court Square Theater on Wednesday, February 1st. Multi-instrumentalist Scott Hirsch will open the show. Doors open at 7:00pm and the concert begins at 8:00pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Please visit valleyarts.org or call 540.433.9189 for more information and to purchase tickets.
Court Square Theater is located at 41-F Court Square in downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Actors’ Renaissance Season opens at American Shakespeare Center
The American Shakespeare Center Actors’ Renaissance Season creates powerful and entertaining theatre by experimenting with how Shakespeare might have rehearsed.
To modern audiences, Shakespeare’s staging and rehearsal conditions might sound like antiquated practices, but they’re really focused on collaborative, experimental, and fast-paced theatre-making. The actors must work together to embrace the often chaotic few days they have to mount productions — and the results are fresh, creative, and straight out of the minds of our actors.
“The ASC Ren Season is our annual experiment into what we think Elizabethan and Jacobean rehearsal conditions might have been like, and this year we’re adding a few new twists,” says ASC Artistic Director and Co-Founder Jim Warren. “In addition to re-creating Shakespeare’s staging conditions (leaving the lights on the audience and including them in the world of the play) our Ren Season also includes re-creating some of Shakespeare’s rehearsal conditions of limited group rehearsals and actors often working with just their own lines and cues rather than full scripts. This year we’re also adding a brand new play and a rarely-performed play with an actor/manager/director at the helm. We hope these new wrinkles to our Ren Season will help us continue to reconnect with past practices as we rediscover more ways to go back to the future with new works and recover the joys and accessibility of Shakespeare’s language and staging conditions.”
The Actors’ Renaissance Season begins performances on January 13 with The Merchant of Venice, featuring a full troupe of American Shakespeare Center veterans. Against the backdrop of social intolerance suddenly buffeted by inevitable change, Shakespeare weaves interconnected tales of friendship, love, and family while bringing to life one of his strongest and most resourceful heroines. Mingling dreamy romance with senseless and timeless cultural conflicts, The Merchant of Venice reveals that mercy and love can come from unexpected places.
Coriolanus joins The Merchant of Venice in rotating repertory on January 19. Loaded with startling contemporary commentary on politics, politicians, and “the people” politicians represent, Coriolanus gives us a stark look at the triumphs and failures of a tragic hero. With his insightful analysis on the political journey of Rome’s most famous military man, Shakespeare highlights the pitfalls of pride and and the danger of arrogance in one of his final and most complex tragedies.
The School for Scandal throws uproarious comedy into the mix on February 2. Rumors abound in this searing comedy of manners, where no one can avoid the stinging bite of gossip — even though the truth is sometimes juicier. A rich guardian tests his wards to choose the worthier heir, but there’s more to them than meets the eye. Throw in a few scandal-mongers, a wandering wife, and a sneaky hireling name Snake, and A School for Scandal will have you rolling in your seat.
February 23 brings the world premiere performance of the new play Shakespeare’s Sister by Emma Whipday. Judith Shakespeare has one ambition: to be a playwright. When her debt-ridden father forces her into an engagement, she runs away with the help of dashing actor Ned Alleyn, hoping to join her brother in London. But when Judith arrives in the plague-stricken capital, she finds her brother gone, Ned engaged to another, and her play refused. Judith confronts a society where women’s freedoms are curtailed; and a government tackling religious extremism in a climate of fear. Judith must choose between succumbing to social pressures, and following her dream, no matter what the cost in this moving and funny play..
Finally the ASC rediscovers a play which has never seen a professional production in America, The Fair Maid of the Exchange. Anthony, Ferdinand, and Frank must battle it out to win her love, and they’re not above underhanded tricks and disguises to get her attention. This wickedly witty city comedy pits brother against brother, and shows even in sibling rivalries, somebody has to come out on top. ASC veteran actor René Thornton, Jr. steps into the director/manager chair like Peter Quince in Midsummer to lead the troupe in reviving this show for (we think) the first time in over 400 years. Performances of Fair Maid begin March 22.
The Actors’ Renaissance Season features American Shakespeare Center veterans Lauren Ballard, Grant Davis, Allison Glenzer, John Harrell, Ginna Hoben, Josh Innerst, Chris Johnston, David Anthony Lewis, Benjamin Reed, Tim Sailer, René Thornton Jr., and Jessika Williams.
An opening night party will be held on January 14 at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel after the opening of The Merchant of Venice during which the 2017/18 Season will be announced. Premium level tickets start at $42 and can be purchased online at www.AmericanShakespeareCenter.
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum to host Valentine Tea
A Very Valentine Celebration and Tea is set for Saturday, Feb. 4 from 2-4 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton.
There will be games, crafts and a museum scavenger hunt. The event will conclude with a traditional three course tea with savories, sweets, and scones. This event is suggested for children ages 6-11, the cost is $20.00/child, reservations are required. Group rates are available for parties of 10 or more.
Register online at woodrowwilson.org/events. For more information, contact Susan Laser @ (540) 885-0897 X110 or museumeducator@woodrowwilson.org.
OASIS events on schedule for January 2017
On First Friday, January 6th, OASIS will host a reception for a new show titled “Fur the Love of Art” to benefit Cat’s Cradle.
OASIS and invited artists will exhibit animal-themed arts and crafts in a variety of media. The First Friday reception, from 5-8, will include light refreshments, and is FREE. There will be live music, an animal costume contest, a photo booth, face painting and lots more FUN.
The exhibit continues through 31 January 2017.
January 14 and 28 at OASIS: FREE children’s art activities, from 10:30 to 12:00. Activities will be on a first-come-first serve basis for children 5 years of age and older. Media will be varied, and may include painting, paper crafts and other fun projects. Preregistration by the prior Thursday (January 12 and 26, respectively) is required by emailingaskoasisart@gmail.com.
OASIS is a co-op gallery, which receives on-going sponsorship from WMRA/WEMC. At OASIS, over 35 local artists and artisans exhibit and sell their work. OASIS Fine Art & Craft is located at 103 S. Main Street, Harrisonburg.
For more information, call 540-442-8188, and email askOASISart@gmail.com, website of www.oasisartgallery.org, and at Facebook as OASIS-Art-Gallery-Harrisonburg-VA.
Rosanne Cash and The Cat in the Hat this March at The Paramount
The Paramount Theater is excited to present two live onstage performances to the March 2017 lineup.
On Thursday, March 9 at 8 p.m., The Paramount welcomes Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash. Cash’s exciting show celebrates her highly-acclaimed and three time Grammy winning album, The River & the Thread.
The River & the Thread (2014) is a collection of original songs that connects and re-connects Rosanne to the American South, the place of her birth and the home of her ancestors. Rosanne follows her acclaimed Grammy nominated and award-winning album The List (2009) with her own poetic survey of places and people of the South on these beautiful and varied songs written with her collaborator, musical director, guitarist and husband, John Leventhal.
On Sunday, March 26 at 2 p.m., The Paramount presents Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, performed by Childsplay of Tempe, Arizona. In The Cat in the Hat, Childsplay creates a wild Seussian storytelling experience pulled straight from the pages of the classic rhyming book.
From the moment his tall, red-and-white-striped hat appears at their door, Sally and her brother know that the Cat in the Hat is the most mischievous cat they will ever meet. With the zaniest antics and the wildest ideas, he transforms a dull rainy day into an amazing adventure!
Tickets to these live events at The Paramount Theater are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at The Paramount Theater’s Box Office, by phone at 434.979.1333, or online at www.theparamount.net.
Shenandoah Conservatory celebrates world-renowned composer John Corigliano
Shenandoah Conservatory celebrates Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Corigliano with two concerts in this year’s Pulitzer Prize Composer Festival on Nov. 11 and 12. The first concert begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, at Bright Box Theater (15 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, Virginia) and features Shenandoah Conservatory’s in-house new music group EDGE Ensemble. The second concert begins at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, in Armstrong Concert Hall on the campus of Shenandoah University and features Chamber Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Shenandoah Chorus.
A world-renowned American composer, John Corigliano has created one of the richest, most unusual, and most widely celebrated bodies of work of any composer over the last forty years, winning him the Pulitzer Prize, Grawemeyer Award, five Grammy Awards, and an Academy Award. During his time at Shenandoah Conservatory, the celebrated composer will conduct masterclasses for composition students, coach instrumental students and ensembles in advance of their performances, and participate in Q&A’s and meet-the-artist receptions.
“I’m simply thrilled that Shenandoah Conservatory students will have this opportunity to dig into John Corigliano’s music and do some work alongside him,” said Shenandoah Conservatory Dean Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. “He is virtually without equal among composers alive today. I’m always struck how he has been able to shape music which was simultaneously graceful and grounded in extraordinary form. John Corigliano’s music speaks with extraordinary power.”
Friday’s concert features three works by Corigliano: “Mr. Tambourine Man,” for amplified soprano and chamber group, “Stomp” for solo violin, and “Soliloquy” for clarinet and string quartet. The recipient of the fourth annual William Averitt Prize for Excellence in Composition is also to be announced Friday evening. Saturday’s concert features four works for large ensembles: “Fern Hill” for chorus and chamber orchestra, “Gazebo Dances” for orchestra, “Chiaroscuro” for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart, and “Tarantella” from Symphony No. 1 for wind ensemble.
“John Corigliano is no less than a living legend, and the body of work he has created in the last fifty years delineates the limits of what is possible in both live concert music, and music for film,” said Director of Composition and Coordinator of New Music Jonathan Newman, M.M. “Our students, now exposed to his music, and soon to himself as a person, will be rewarded for their hard work with a unique and enriching experience.”
Tickets for each performance are $15 general admission, $13 senior citizens and $5 for military, students, and youth. Tickets and information are available at the Shenandoah Conservatory Box Office, (540) 665-4569, located in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and online at conservatoryperforms.org.
For a full calendar of events at Shenandoah Conservatory, visit conservatoryperforms.org or on Facebook under Shenandoah Conservatory.
Washington Post veteran Leonard Shapiro to speak at Shenandoah University
Leonard Shapiro, former reporter, editor and columnist for The Washington Post, will speak at Shenandoah University’s Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, in Halpin-Harrison Hall, Stimpson Auditorium on the campus of Shenandoah University (1460 University Drive, Winchester, VA 22601).