Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 15, 1991 TAG: 9102140177
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The concert will feature works spanning nearly a century, from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's "The Bamboula" to Duke Ellington's "New Worlds A-Comin.' "
George Walker's "Lyric for Strings" and Afro-American Symphony by William Grant complete the program.
James Glazebrook, symphony conductor, said the best thing about this concert is the diversity in the styles and rhythms of the music. All the composers, Glazebrook noted, represent different forms and values of black music. Admission is $5 for adults or $3 for students and senior citizens. Reserved tickets are available by calling the Arts at Virginia Tech box office at 231-5615.
\ LIKE GRANDMA AND GRANDPA USED TO PLAY: As living legends go, Ralph Stanley is at the top of the mountain.
Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys still carry on the old-time sounds and songs of mountain music. The group will perform Saturday at Floyd Elementary School. The show gets underway at 7:30 p.m.
Stanley, famous for his three-finger banjo picking, also introduced the a cappella gospel quartet to bluegrass recordings. He still sings a powerful tenor with his distinctively rural southwest Virginia accent.
A native of Norton, Virginia, in Dickenson County, Ralph Stanley has been performing professionally for more than 50 years, and he's surely made his mark on bluegrass music history.
Opening the show for Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys Saturday is the Bobby Davis Comedy Show. The act features the cornball humor of Ole Buford the Rooster, Lester Leadfoot, Li'l John and Unk Harold.
Advance tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. You can get them at the Floyd Recreation Department and at various businesses in Riner and Floyd County.
\ CHEERS! The athletes participating in the Virginia Special Olympics Winter Sports Invitational games deserve cheers.
More than 150 adults and children with mental retardation will participate in the tournament Saturday in Virginia Tech's Memorial Gym. The opening ceremonies are at 10 a.m. and the competition runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Organizers of the event are looking for a few good volunteers to cheer on the basketball teams and gymnasts. More than 90 athletes, representing 12 teams, will compete in the basketball tournament Saturday. The only qualification you need is a lot of spirit!
Volunteer registration is from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the gym. For more information, call Mary Dee Boemker at 231-3147.
\ WAY OFF BROADWAY: Lyrical lampooner Gerald Alessandrini's spoof on Broadway's musicals and stars, "Forbidden Broadway," will be presented Wednesday in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. This is a musical comedy you can enjoy even if you're not familiar with all the original plays Alessandrini ridicules.
"I'm Thirty Years Old, Tomorrow," a not-so-little Orphan Annie sings. And then there's Evita who croons, "Don't Cry For Me, Barbara Streisand."
Bruce Blanchard, Drew W. Jansen, Christine Pedi, Janis Thomas and Brad Van Nostrand play a variety of roles in this fun-loving show.
Curtain time is 8 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets are $3 for the public and $1 for Radford University students. For information, call 831-5420.
\ WELCOME GUESTS: The Virginia Tech Department of Music is sponsoring a guest recital featuring Gordon Cole, flute, and Alan Hersh, piano, Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Blacksburg United Methodist Church.
Cole, a member of the music faculty at the University of Kentucky, has played with the U.S. Army Band and is presently a member of the McCracken Wind Quintet at U.K. and the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra in Wisconsin.
Hersh, also a professor at the University of Kentucky, is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and Indiana University. He was awarded the Manhattan School's Harold Bauer Award and an Edward's Fellowship for advanced study at Indiana.
The two will play Yvar Mikhasashoff's "Dances for Davia," George Rochberg's "Between Two Worlds," Aaron Copland's Duo for Flute and Piano and sonatas by George Antheil and Lowell Lieberman.
Admission to Tuesday's concert is free. Call Tech's Division of Performing Arts at 231-5200 for more information.
by CNB