Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 25, 1994 TAG: 9402250357
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The more he heard, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke, the more he heard,
O, if men were all like that wise bird!
For the past 14 years, Sunshine Too has been entertaining and educating deaf and hearing audiences around the world. The professional troupe of three deaf and three hearing actors has presented more than 8,000 performances to over 900,000 people in 48 states, as well as in Canada, Denmark, England, Israel and Japan.
Sunshine Too is sponsored by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of Rochester Institute in New York. The group has received lots of citations and awards, including the Environmental Protection Agency's "Environmental Quality Award" for contributions to public awareness about the importance of cleaning and protecting the environment.
The group's shows are aimed at helping dispel fear and misconceptions about deafness. The tempo is quick and the tone is upbeat.
The traveling troupe will perform Monday at 7:30 p.m. in New River Community College's Rooker Hall. The program will be presented in sign language and spoken English.
Admission is $2 for adults, $1 for children and free for New River Community College students and staff.
TONIGHT, TONIGHT!: The 11th annual Rebecca Orr Memorial Benefit Concert is tonight at 8 in Virginia Tech's Squires Recital Salon. Several talented musicians are participating to raise money for a college music scholarship project.
David Ehrlich, first violinist with the Audubon Quartet, will perform with his wife, Teresa, a well-known pianist. They will play a sonata by Leos Janacek.
Two musicians who are new to the area, Robert Trent and Pamela Swenson Trent, will play two works by Ferdinando Carulli on guitar and fortepiano. Lynn Mackey of Bluefield College will perform a piano arrangement of Frederickzewski's "Winsboro Cotton Mill Blues."
Jill Coggiola, clarinet, and Caryl Conger, piano, will perform a piece by Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim, and pianists Nitza Kats and David Phillips will play works by Chopin and Scarlatti. Each year, the concert is sponsored by the Highlands Chapter of the Virginia Music Teachers Association in memory of Rebecca Orr, a Blacksburg piano student of Nitza Kats who was killed by a drunken driver during her freshman year in college. Money raised will go to a deserving college student who wants to continue music studies in college.
Tickets for tonight's concert will be available at the door. They are $5 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens and $10 per family.
WINTER ESCAPE: The New River Valley Symphony's winter concert is Saturday at 8 p.m. in Virginia Tech's Burruss Auditorium. Joining the orchestra is guest artist Daniel Mason on violin.
Mason, who was a member of the prestigious Jascha Heifetz Master Class at the University of Southern California for three years, is currently a music professor at the University of Kentucky. His work as a soloist and chamber musician has taken him throughout the United States and Europe.
In Saturday's performance, Mason will play Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto.
The concert opens with the overture of Carl Maria von Weber's romantic opera, Der Freischutz (The Free-Shooter). First performed in 1821, the opera is based on a German fairy tale.
Franz Joseph Haydn's last known symphony, Symphony No. 104, is the concert finale.
Tickets for Saturday's concert are $5 for adults or $3 for students and senior citizens. For more information, call Virginia Tech's Division of Performing Arts at 231-5200.
HOT TICKET: Blind Melon, the new band whose debut album reached the top of the modern rock charts, will draw crowds to Radford University's Dedmon Center Saturday. The group, originally from Durham, N.C., plays electric and acoustic rock music with a pop edge.
Blind Melon features lead vocalist Shannon Hoon, drummer Glen Graham, bassist Brad Smith and guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn. The five musicians rated a recent cover story in Rolling Stone magazine.
Saturday's concert starts at 8 p.m. with two opening bands: Alice Donut and The Meat Puppets.
Tickets are $10 in advance for Radford University students and staff. Admission on the day of the show and for all others is $14. For ticket information, call 831-5420.
WOMEN OF THE WORLD: Virginia Tech will have a celebration honoring International Women's Day on Wednesday. Although the event is recognized worldwide on March 8, the celebration will be held early at Virginia Tech before the university's spring break.
Wednesday's activities start early at the Cranwell International Center. A song fest and storytelling circle runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The theme, "Grandmothers, Mothers and Daughters: Changing Family Traditions," will focus on the United Nations' Year of the Family.
An international luncheon will be served from noon to 1 p.m. A $1 donation is requested for the meal of vegetarian soup and breads from around the world.
From 1 to 3 p.m., you can catch "Kamala & Raja," an Indian film. A discussion will follow.
The day's activities are open to everyone in the community and admission is free.
WHO'S ON FIRST? : Jim Lipari is! He's the opening act Wednesday at the Blacksburg Marriott's weekly comedy club in Jacob's Lounge. The jokes start at 9:30 p.m.
Following Lipari is R. Bruce, the headliner. Don't ask what the "R" stands for. Riot, perhaps?
R. Bruce combines his stand-up comedy routine with music. In 1978, he wrote and recorded one successful comedy single, "Let's Give Virginia Back to the Indians." Since then, his songs have been heard in Europe, the Middle East, Australia, the British West Indies and throughout the United States.
His latest release is a collection of songs entitled, "Album?" It was featured recently on the syndicated "Dr. Demento Show."
Special meal deals are available in the lounge before the show. The cover charge is $5.
by CNB