ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, November 11, 1994                   TAG: 9411110030
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS BANKS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long


THE VOTES ARE IN - FOR MUSIC

Now that the elections are over, it's time to fill our heads with something agreeable.

Music anyone?

The New River Valley Symphony performs Saturday, starting at 8 p.m., in Virginia Tech's Burruss Hall. The orchestra will play Camille Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22, as well as Gustav Holst's symphonic suite, "The Planets."

Nitza Kats, a pianist and member of Radford University's music faculty, is the featured soloist. Kats, a graduate of the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, has performed in solo recitals and chamber music concerts in Israel and the United States.

Tickets for Saturday's concert are $5 for adults or $3 for students and senior citizens. Discounts are available for groups of students. Call 231-5615 for reservations.

THE EVENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR: Yes, it's the YMCA Crafts Fair this weekend at Virginia Tech's Squires Student Center. Oodles of handcrafted items will fill both ballrooms in the center. The fair starts at 10 a.m. today and runs through Sunday.

The event not only offers high quality crafts and artwork, it also brings in some excellent local talent. Here's the entertainment lineup for the weekend:

Today

2 p.m. - Singer-guitarist Donovan Price

3 p.m. - Folk singer Fred Benfield

4 p.m. - Ed Robinson, bagpipes

5 p.m. - The Uncalled 4 Quartet, barbershop harmony

6 p.m. - Cabin Fever Blues Band

7 p.m. - Six String Swing Band

Saturday

10 a.m. - Singer-guitarist Jon Benfield

11 a.m. - Ujima Dance Theatre

Noon - Margaret Branch, ballads

1 p.m. - Blacksburg Hurrah Cloggers

2 p.m. - Chris and Chloe, guitar and vocals

3 p.m. - Anita Weiss, line dancing

4 p.m. - Jack Hinshelwood and Becky Barlowe, instrumentals and vocals

5 p.m. - No Strings Attached, acoustic music

6 p.m. - Skeeter and the Skidmarks

7 p.m. - Meridian Band

Sunday

1 p.m. - Trillium, folk music

2 p.m. - Blacksburg High School Madrigal Singers

2:45 p.m. - Simple Gifts, hammered dulcimers and guitar

3:30 p.m. - Country Line Band, bluegrass music

Admission to the YMCA Crafts Fair is $1, with proceeds benefiting community service programs.

SWEETLY SINGING: Singers from 12 local church congregations will come together Saturday for a concert at 5 p.m. in Blacksburg United Methodist Church.

Austin Lovelace of Denver, Colo., is the guest conductor. He will lead about 170 singers and musicians in the program.

The concert is open to everyone and admission is free.

RED AND GREEN: Those are the predominant colors at the annual Christmas show and sale put on by the Giles Arts and Crafts Guild. Saturday will mark the 17th year for the popular event.

Craftsmen and artists from several counties in Virginia and West Virginia will show their works in the Old Narrows High School annex. Hours run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission is free and food will be available.

FUN FOR ALL: Dancing is good for what ails you. This Saturday, you can find treatment at one of two old-time dances.

The Floyd County Rescue Squad Auxiliary will have a square dance at the town's rescue squad building. It runs from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. and features music by Bill Cannaday and the Original Orchard Grass Band. Admission is $4 for adults and free for kids under 10. Refreshments will be sold by members of the auxiliary.

In Blacksburg, it's the monthly mountain square dance put on by the Blacksburg Old-Time Music and Dance Group. It starts at 8 p.m. at the new Kipps Elementary School on Prices Fork Road. Fiddler Shay Garriock and the Brush Mountain Sand Sifters will pick the tunes while Chris Youngblood does the calling. Admission is $4.50.

OPERA! Chanticleer is a rooster known far and wide for his wonderful voice.

His owner values him. His wife loves him. A fox wants to have him for dinner.

Based on Geoffrey Chaucer's classic "Nun's Priest's Tale" from the "Canterbury Tales," this is a comic opera in one act by Seymour Barab. "Chanticleer" is the latest offering from Radford University's Opera Workshop.

Patricia Clevenger plays the role of Chanticleer in the opera. It also features Marci Clontz, Stefani Peikin, Susan Creasey and Darius Liptrap. Clarity James of the university's music faculty is the director. She is assisted by Elizabeth Curtis and pianist Michael Snyder.

The students will present the opera at four local elementary schools this month, but you can catch the public performance Tuesday at 4 p.m. It's in the university's Preston Auditorium and admission is free.



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