SPRING STRINGS

April 27, 2019
at 7:30 p.m.

To cap off the season Peter Stafford Wilson will conduct the rousing April 27th Spring Strings concert.  Soloist Tim Berens encouraged his friend, Grammy nominated American composer Frank Proto, to premiere his newly written double bass concerto in the acoustically superb Ariel Opera House.  Frank was in agreement and decided to include Tim on guitar – giving you twice the pleasure at this April 27th concert!  The first half of the concert will feature Frank’s music and the second half will feature Tim’s arrangements.

Conductor Peter Stafford Wilson

Now in his seventeenth season as Music Director of Ohio’s Springfield Symphony Orchestra, PETER STAFFORD WILSON is one of the most exciting and talked about conductors of his generation. Concurrently, he holds the post of Music Director of the Westerville Symphony. He also fulfills his seventh season as Principal Conductor of Tulsa Ballet, leading three productions, including the annual holiday performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, with choreography by Artistic Director Marcello Angelini.

Peter Stafford Wilson’s leadership of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra continues to elicit praise from the public, musicians and press. Its 2005 Agriculture and the Arts Growing Together brought international attention to the organization, as did the sequel, American Made: Celebrating Our Manufacturing Heritage, which premiered in November 2007. The orchestra’s innovative series, “Night Lights,” has enjoyed steadily increasing sales and attendance. The recent endowment of the Music Director chair with gifts totaling one million dollars is further testimony to the community’s expanding support. Mr. Wilson and the SSO are the recipients of a 2009-2010 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming.

2019-20 Season Subscription! The Ohio Valley Symphony

On Sale Soon!

Who would have thought back in 1989 when we had our first Ohio Valley Symphony concert on a bare stage with the audience on folding chairs and no heat, that such a powerhouse could come from that inauspicious beginning and grow and move forward to us now celebrating our 30th season as the only professional symphony orchestra in Ohio River valley, attracting world class musicians and globe trotting conductors?  But we did!  And we have a spectacular 30th season planned for you!

The 2019-20 Season will see on the Ariel stage three exciting maestros conducting The Ohio Valley Symphony in 6-concerts featuring world class soloists.

The Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Cultural & Performing Arts Centre and The Ohio Valley Symphony are 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations, Federal Tax ID# 31-1273779

OPERA GALA-POLIS!

September 14, 2019
at 7:30 p.m.

The Ariel Opera House lives up to its name at the season opener on September 14th when Opera Gala-polis kicks off the season with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Katherine Rohrer under the able direction of Maestro Steven Huang.  Katherine’s Carmen sizzles!

Conductor Steven Huang

Maestro Steven Huang has conducted orchestras and operas across the country and throughout the world. At the age of twenty-one, he served as Music Director of the Bach Society Orchestra of Harvard University, where he received his undergraduate degree. While at Harvard, Mr. Huang also directed the Lowell House Opera (the oldest continuously running opera company in New England), in a critically acclaimed production of Kurt Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

Mr. Huang has worked with musicians around the world, including California, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio, Haiti, and Romania. He has held the position of Music Director of the University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Central Illinois Youth Symphony, the Gilbert and Sullivan Players of Chicago, and the Bradley University Orchestra. In America, he has guest conducted professional ensembles such as the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Lake Shore Symphony (IL), and the Four Seasons Symphony (CA).

THE FABULOUS FLUTE

October 26, 2019
at 7:30 p.m.

You asked for him and he’s back!  Maestro Keitaro Harada returns to the podium twice this season on October 26th and March 21st.  The Fabulous Flute with soloist Lindsey Goodman, OVS’s own piccolo and flutist performs an Ohio premiere of Nancy Galbraith’s Concert for Flute.  Independent Streams for percussion and strings is another Ohio premiere – written by the OVS’s principal percussionist Roger Braun (a fitting piece as Lindsey’s husband is also a percussionist).

Conductor Keitaro Harada

Conductor Keitaro Harada continues to be recognized at the highest levels for his artistic abilities and passion for musical excellence. As a three-time recipient of The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award (2014, 2015, 2016), Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview (2013), the Seiji Ozawa Conducting Fellowship at Tanglewood Music Festival, a student of Lorin Maazel at Castleton Festival and Fabio Luisi at Pacific Music Festival, Harada’s credentials are exemplary.

In his third season as Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops, Harada regularly assists Music Director Louis Langrée and conducts the CSO, POPS, and World Piano Competition, and assists James Conlon and Juanjo Mena for the May Festival. Keitaro also holds the position of Associate Conductor of the Arizona Opera.

A SALUTE TO OUR VETERANS

November 9, 2019
at 7:30 p.m.

Last year’s Songs of Rural America pops concert, seen nationwide on television, let us know that you wanted pops added to our mix.  Maestro Tim Berens and Broadway tenor Mike Eldred (Jean Val Jean in Les Miserables) have a terrific Salute to Our Veterans concert on November 9th just in time for Veterans Day!

Tim Berens, conductor

Tim Berens’ multi-faceted career gives testament to his lifelong quest to learn, perform and write music. So far, his venture has led him through the worlds of classical guitar, jazz guitar, orchestral guitar, arranging, orchestration, composition, and conducting.

During his years as the guitarist for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Tim played guitar, banjo, mandolin and bouzouki on concerts, recordings, television programs, and tours. Beginning in the late 1990’s, Tim began arranging for the CPO, eventually becoming the orchestra’s principal arranger.

His arrangements are regularly performed in venues from Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center to the Hollywood Bowl.