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Spring Music Festival

Enjoy an evening of both light and serious music about life's choices. This concert, titled "Chosen," features the 32-voice Chorale of Appalachian Bible College, Jubilate handbell choir, orchestra, and youth choir. Free admission. Anderson Hall is the first building on your right when entering campus from Robert C. Byrd Drive (WV-16).

Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra Concert

The Friends of Music will present a Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra concert in Shepherdstown, WV on Saturday, November 18. The concert will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. Entitled "Joyful Noise," it will feature three works: "Träumerei," by Robert Schumann; Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto; and Beethoven's 7th Symphony. The featured soloist will be violinist Ruotao Mao. Admission to the concert will be free for Friends of Music members. The ticket price for others will be $25 per person ($22.50 before November 5). Tickets can be purchased on the Friends' website at www.friendswv.org; or by mail (FOM, PO Box 220, Shepherdstown, WV 25443); or, if space is available, at the church the evening of the performance. Visa and Master Card will be accepted. Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra Music Director Jed Gaylin will conduct. Gaylin says the evening's program "will demonstrate that classical music can, quite simply, be a lot of fun, and this is fun on overdrive!” The concert will open with Schumann's "Träumerei," a short, beautiful work that the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz frequently played as an encore. "It may look simple on the page," Horowitz said, "but it is a masterpiece." Prokofiev’s 2nd Violin Concerto is one of the finest examples of the composer's effort to establish a "new simplicity" in music, centered on graceful melodies. Beethoven’s 7th Symphony is full of relentless energy. It is generally regarded as one of the most innovative, compelling, and ecstatic symphonies ever written. Mr. Mao, the violin soloist, is a native of Beijing, China who graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a "distinction in performance" award. He currently teaches violin and chamber music at The College of New Jersey and is the concertmaster of the Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, the Riverside Symphonia, the Bay Atlantic Symphony and most recently, the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra. The Classical Network of New Jersey has described his playing as a "virtuoso display of world-class magnitude." This concert is dedicated to the memory of the late Sherman Ross of Shepherdstown, a longtime Friends of Music patron, by his wife Elinor. The Friends of Music is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1999 to support and promote musical excellence. The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra was established by the Friends in 2007. Gaylin was named Music Director in 2012. He also serves as the Music Director of Baltimore's Hopkins Symphony Orchestra and the Bay Atlantic Symphony in New Jersey, and is an Artist in Residence at New Jersey's Stockton University. This year's Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra Concerts are being supported by a grant from the WV Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts. Full information about the Friends, the Orchestra, and the concert season is available at www.friendswv.org.

Wheeling Symphony Orchestra presents “Appalachian Rhapsody”

Andre Raphel, conductor Nate Strasser, piano Matt Combs, violin Television/Film composer, songwriter and virtuoso pianist, Nate Strasser returns to his roots performing the WV Premiere of his signature “Appalachian Rhapsody.” Joining Nate is violinist and collaborator, Matt Combs, a featured performer of the “Grand Olde Oprey” the dynamic duo explores music inspired by the West Virginia hills. Nate and the WSO also perform additional orchestral compositions that feature piano, jazz and popular music in this homecoming concert.

Wheeling Symphony Orchestra presents “Bach Double & Mozart”

Stravinsky, Bach, Danielpour & Mozart André Raphel, conductor Rachel Stegeman, violin Juan Jaramillo, violin Igor Stravinsky’s charming “Pulcinella Suite” begins this all WSO concert. Stravinsky called this work his “discovery of the past” and “gateway” to his future compositions. The timeless Bach “Double Violin Concerto” highlights the virtuosity of our very own Rachel Stegeman and Juan Jaramillo. The lively concerto is characterized by the expressive counterpoint between the two violins. The concert continues with Richard Danilepour’s “Adagietto for Strings” a WSO commission that Danielpour called “…an exciting fusion, being written as it is for Wheeling—one of the smallest cities to maintain an orchestra of this caliber…” The concert concludes with Mozart’s final “Symphony, No. 41” (Jupiter) where Mozart demonstrates his sheer brilliance as a composer. Its emotional range prefigures the vast expressive canvas that foreshadow the symphonies of Beethoven.

Wheeling Symphony Orchestra presents “Russian Masterpieces”

Berlioz, Prokofiev & Rachmaninoff André Raphel, conductor Stewart Goodyear, piano The lyrical “Roman Carnival Overture” by Hector Berlioz opens this spectacular showcase of symphonic music by the WSO. The Los Angeles Times proclaimed returning guest artist, Stewart Goodyear “a phenomenon!” He joins the WSO performing Sergei Prokofiev’s inventive and witty “Piano Concerto No. 3.” This masterful concert concludes with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s gorgeous, melodic “Symphony No. 2,” one of the composer’s best known compositions. A monumental concert experience!

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1896, has a long and distinguishes history celebrating some of the world’s finest conductors and musicians. The critically-acclaimed orchestra has toured extensively internationally, performing in Europe, the Far East and South America. Under the baton of guest conductor Krzysztof Urbanski, the PSO will perform “Shostakovich Triumphant,” which will include Beethoven’s “Overture to Egmont,” Bruch’s “Violin Concerto No.1” and Shostakovich’s “Symphony No.5.” Urbanski is in his sixth season as the music director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Critically-acclaimed violinist Ray Chen will be featured. Chen is the winner of Queen Elisabeth (2009) and Yehudi Menuhin (2008) Competitions.

The Morgantown Jazz Orchestra with Travis Riddle and The Bourbon Street Band

The Morgantown Jazz Orchestra performs modern and straight-ahead big band jazz. Orchestra members have performed with legends as Bobby Vinton and the Temptations. New Orleans meets the Mountain State with Travis Riddle and his Bourbon Street Band.

Air Force Concert

Rhythm in Blue is a 15-piece orchestra of the United States Air Force. The band is presenting a free concert in the 700-seat Ripley High Auditorium.

Wheeling Symphony Orchestra at the Clarksburg Amphitheater

Celebrate Independence Day with a riveting performance from the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, followed immediately by a fireworks show! This event is FREE and will begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information, please contact the City Parks of Clarksburg at 304-624-1655.

Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra Concert

The Friends of Music will present a Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra concert in Shepherdstown, WV on March 25. The concert will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. Entitled "Songs and Dances of Love," it will feature three works: Johannes Brahms' "Liebeslieder Waltzes," Edward Elgar's Serenade, and the Marimba Concerto No. 1 of Brazilian composer Ney Rosauro. The soloist will be Michelle Humphreys, the Orchestra's Timpanist and Principal Percussionist. Humphreys, who formerly taught at Shepherd University, is now Professor of Percussion at Towson University. An early music specialist, she performs regularly with many of the region's top ensembles, including the Washington Bach Consort, Folger Consort, National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra, Philadelphia's "Tempesta di Mare," and the Handel Choir of Baltimore. Music Director Jed Gaylin will conduct. The Brahms waltzes were composed in 1869. Sumptuous in style, they are based on a collection of folk songs and love poems. It has been said that Brahms was moved to write them by his frustrated love for Clara Schumann, the wife of fellow composer Robert Schumann. Elgar's Serenade is a work of great lyricism. The composer wrote it in 1892 to commemorate the third anniversary of his marriage to his wife, Alice, whom he loved deeply. Elgar retained a great fondness for this work throughout his life and referred to it often as his favorite. It was the last piece he recorded before he died in 1934. Rosauro's Marimba Concerto is another very lyrical work that blends classical, jazz, and Brazilian motifs. The composer dedicated it to his son Marcelo, who was born around the time of the composition in 1986. Its four-movement structure is based on a Brazilian "Serenata," a lover's serenade that consists of a greeting, a lament, a dance, and a farewell. Admission to the concert will be free for Friends of Music members. The ticket price for others will be $25 per person ($22.50 before March 12). Tickets can be purchased on the Friends' website at www.friendswv.org or by mail (FOM, PO Box 220, Shepherdstown, WV 25443) or, if space is available, at the church the evening of the performance. Visa and Master Card will be accepted. In addition to on-street parking around the church, free parking will be available at the Bavarian Inn's upper parking lot, with free shuttle bus service to and from the concert. Full information about the Friends, the Orchestra, and the concert season is available at www.friendswv.org.

WV Jazz Orchestra Veterans Day Concert

The concert will feature jazz favorites and patriotic music. GVT will honor veterans with a slide show of local veterans photos to be played throughout the performance. Greenbrier Valley Theatre is now accepting photos of veterans to be included in the slide show. Submissions should include name(s) of the veteran(s) pictured, rank and branch of service, and years of service....and may be submitted in person or by mail to GVT, 1038 Washington Street East, Lewisburg WV 24901. Photos may also be emailed to micah@gvtheatre.org. For more information, please call 304-645-3838.

Wheeling Symphony presents “Inspired By Dance”

André Raphel, conductor Christopher O’Riley, piano Program Stravinsky: Scherzo a la Russe Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 Ravel: La Valse Ravel: Bolero This exhilarating concert takes its inspiration from dance, opening with the rhythmic Scherzo a la Russe by Stravinsky. Returning guest artist and “From the Top” radio host Christopher O’Riley performs one of Rachmaninoff’s most enduringly popular pieces, Piano Concerto No. 2; with its big opening chords and beautiful melodic line, the piano will truly dance with the orchestra in this spectacular romantic piece. The performance concludes with two ballet works by Ravel: La Valse and the perennial favorite Bolero, which Ravel viewed as an experiment in repetition, rhythm, crescendo and orchestration.

Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra All-Mozart Concert

The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra will launch its new season on November 19 with an all-Mozart concert in Shepherdstown, WV. The concert, which is sponsored by Friends of Music, will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. The program will include Mozart's Symphony No. 39, the overtures to the "Marriage of Figaro" and "Cosi Fan Tutte," and arias from these and other Mozart operas. The Orchestra's Music Director, Jed Gaylin, will conduct. The featured artist will be Washington DC-based soprano Jennifer Casey Cabot, who has sung in venues throughout the world, including the Boston Lyric Opera, Washington Opera, New York City Opera, and many others. Admission to the concert will be free for Friends of Music members. The ticket price for others will be $25 per person ($22.50 before November 6). Memberships and tickets can be purchased on the Friends' website at www.friendswv.org or by mail (FOM, PO Box 220, Shepherdstown, WV 25443) or, if space is available, at the church the evening of the performance. Visa and Master Card will be accepted. In addition to on-street parking in the vicinity of the church, free parking will be available at the Bavarian Inn's upper parking lot, with free shuttle bus service to and from the concert. For more information contact the Friends at 304-876-5765 or info@friendswv.org.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – The Ghosts of Christmas Eve

Paul O'Neill launched a project in 1996 that over the past 20 years has become a critically-acclaimed, multi-platinum, musical powerhouse: Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The progressive rock group's record-setting "rock theater" tours sell out venues year after year and have cemented TSO's status as a must-attend, multi-generational, holiday tradition. Now, TSO's creator/lyricist/composer O'Neill is proud to announce that in its Platinum anniversary year, the group is bringing back its treasured tale, "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve," to 61 cities across North America beginning on November 17th and concluding, after 105 shows, with special New Year's Eve performances in Seattle and Cleveland (see below for a full itinerary). TSO's Winter Tour 2016 is presented nationally by the Hallmark Channel.

Opening Night 2016: Kayoko Dan

The kickoff to the 2016-2017 season and search for a new music director begins! Conducting candidate Kayoko Dan will lead the orchestra in Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 with a Charleston favorite guest artist, Rachel Barton Pine performing Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

Shinnston Independence Day Celebration

Celebrate our nation's independence at an old-fashioned, small town celebration with big-city quality entertainment. Come to Ferguson Park in Shinnston for rides, fireworks, swimming, food, and musical entertainment featuring the Shinnston Community Band - a volunteer orchestra with 70 members from all across the state.