Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 31, 1992 TAG: 9201300101
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
CONCERT AIDS MUSICAL MEMORIAL
Rebecca Orr was the kind of student high school teachers treasure.Bright, conscientious, talented - those words came easily when describing Rebecca.
Those who knew her appreciated the kindness, the consideration and the love she showed toward others.
I must admit that she was one of this teacher's pets at Blacksburg High School back in 1979.
Rebecca was in my sophomore English class that year. She signed up in her senior year for a speech and drama class I was teaching but had to drop out because of a scheduling conflict. She needed an advanced language class to complete requisites for admission to a liberal arts college she hoped to attend.
She dreamed of going to college and pursuing her first love - music.
While she was away at college, Rebecca was killed by a drunken driver while she was out jogging.
Words describing the loss teachers and students at Blacksburg High School felt over Rebecca's death don't come easily.
As a memorial to Rebecca, the Highlands chapter of the Virginia Music Teachers Association started a scholarship fund for deserving high school students who wish to continue piano studies in college. The Rebecca Orr Memorial Scholarship Fund helps these young musicians each year.
This year's annual benefit concert for the fund is tonight at 8 p.m. in Squires Recital Salon at Virginia Tech. Several local musicians are donating their time and talents.
Highlighting the concert is a performance of an original song written by Radford University professor David Phillips. Clarity James, also a faculty member at RU, will sing Phillips' "Going to the Mall," with accompaniment by pianist Caryl Conger.
Others in tonight's benefit performance are David Jacobsen, saxophone, and Craig Fields, baritone. Phillips and Conger, along with Mary Louise Hallauer and Teresa Ehrlich, are pianists. A variety of works, including compositions by Chopin, Maurice, Mendelssohn, Ravel and Schumann, make up the program.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens or $10 for a family ticket. Those attending are invited to a reception honoring the performers following the concert.
\ SINGING FOR PEANUTS: It's been some time since Playmakers & Company staged a musical.
"Too long," said actors in the community theater group.
"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" is the latest Playmakers & Company production, and it continues today and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on the stage of Blacksburg Presbyterian Church's fellowship hall. There's also a Sunday matinee at 2:30.
Eric Wiedegreen plays the lovable loser Charlie Brown. He's joined by Larry Cowley as Linus, Geoffrey Knobl as Schroeder, Patti Cowley as Lucy and Mary Harder as Peppermint Patty.
Nora Hansen will wear the dog costume. She's Snoopy.
Directed by Sandy Wiedegreen, the production has its final run next weekend with performances Feb. 6-8. Tickets for all shows are $7 for adults or $5 for children, students and senior citizens.
\ GUITARZAN: Gibb Droll sinks his teeth into his music - literally.
In the style of Jimi Hendrix, the Virginia Beach native has been known use his teeth as a guitar pick in his gigs.
Gibb's gig is at Bailey's nightclub in Radford tonight.
Called a "guitar whiz" in Upbeat Magazine, Droll plays the blues - with a twist. His sound combines the styles of his heros - Stevie Ray Vaughn, Frank Marino, Carlos Santana, to name a few - with his own personal touch.
Others in the Gibb Droll Band are bass player Tom Hall and drummer Mike Williams. Opening tonight's act is local favorite Rick Plastic and His Rubber Band.
The entertainment starts at 10:30 p.m. at Bailey's, 1033 Norwood St. There's a $3 cover charge at the door.
\ FUNNY GIRL: Bertice Berry is her name.
Making you laugh is part of her game.
The other part has something to do with making you think.
Voted "Comedian of the Year" last year by college students all over the country, Berry performs what's called a "hybrid of comedy and social commentary." She has a doctorate in sociology from Kent State University and is a former university professor.
Berry will appear in Radford University's Preston Auditorium Monday for one show at 9:30 p.m. Her performance is part of the Black History Month celebration at RU.
Admission is $2 for the public and free for RU students.
\ A RAPPED PACKAGE IS FULL OF SURPRISES: Kris Parker took to the streets when he was 13 years old.
The runaway was one of America's homeless for six years.
He knows what tough is.
Now a social activist, Parker uses his talents as a rap singer in an effort to raise social consciousness. Known professionally as KRS-ONE, Parker is a regular on the college lecture circuit.
Parker will speak as part of the Black History Month observance at Radford University Thursday. His talk will begin at 8 p.m. in Preston Auditorium.
And you can bet he won't be talkin' trash.
Admission for the public is $3. RU students will be admitted free.
\ PERSONIFYING THE MOTHERLAND: Texas artist Joshua Brown has captured the natural beauty of the land and the people from his motherland.
Brown's paintings have explicit references to his African ancestry. He emphasizes the power, the mystery and the vitality of Africa through his use of warm earth hues.
"From Within: The Personification of the Motherland" is the title of an exhibit by Brown currently on display in the Black Cultural Center at Virginia Tech. The exhibit will run through Feb. 29 as part of the African-American Heritage Month celebration at the university.
Brown, who recently received his master's degree from the University of Texas in Austin, has received a number of awards for his work, including "Best of Show" in the 1990 juried Texas Black Artists exhibition and the 1988 Liquitex Art Award for the Faber Birren National Color Award show.
The Black Cultural Center is in room 126 of Squires Student Center at Virginia Tech. Regular hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Saturday, 1-5 p.m.
For more information, call the center at 231-5355.
Donna Alvis-Banks is an editorial assistant in the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.