Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 22, 1993 TAG: 9304220341
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
What many people don't know is that the ensemble is a training ground, not just for the performers, but for the technicians and support personnel who work behind the scenes.
Jerry Smith, a fifth-year architecture student with a minor in graphic design, created the cover art for the group's latest album.
"There's no way I could get that kind of experience anywhere else," he said. Smith, a graduate of Glenvar High School, is one of four Tech students from the Roanoke Valley involved with the New Virginians.
Three of them got together recently to discuss their experiences and their reactions to changes that are taking place in the group.
Michael Wimmer, a junior, is one of 22 performers. Eighty people are involved with the troupe that consists of a 13-member band, a public relations staff of 17, three administrators and 25 technicians.
Wimmer, a Northside High School graduate, is majoring in liberal arts and sciences with minors in business, communications and music. He also is a member of the Corps of Cadets.
"I keep pretty busy," he said. The group performs over 25 shows each year, sometimes doing two or three performances in a weekend.
Andrew Talmadge of Roanoke also is a cadet and a member of the corps' marching band, the Highty-Tighties. He was busy practicing with them when the others were interviewed.
Christopher Howard, a graduate student from Villamont, is the marketing director for the group and is responsible for booking performances and overseeing the public relations staff. He graduated from Roanoke Catholic High School and is majoring in marketing.
Although Howard will be leaving the group at the end of the year, and Smith has been too busy to participate lately, all have strong feelings about their experiences with the New Virginians.
Wimmer came to Tech on an Air Force scholarship to study engineering. But after a short time, he realized it was "not what I wanted to do."
After watching a performance of the New Virginians, he was encouraged by his family to audition. He was more surprised than anyone when he was accepted, Wimmer said. Performing soon became a passion, and now he plans to make a career of show business.
Smith got involved when he heard that the New Virginians were looking for someone to design an album cover. He agreed to help. Afterward, he stuck around.
"It's like a fraternity," he said.
The public relations staff, Wimmer explained, not only works at promoting shows, but also is responsible for selling program advertisements to sponsors.
"It's not a lab," he said. "It's real work."
Howard is one of two paid staff members. He was hired because of his background in sales and marketing. Part of his job is to pass his expertise on to the student staff. He is studying for an MBA and plans to work in the field of international business after he graduates in June.
"It's a really motivated group," he said. "These guys do a lot of work."
But there are some big changes coming for the group in May.
Although the New Virginians are self-supporting, Howard said, half of the music department faculty is involved in the program, even though only three members are music majors.
Howard said Tech administrators have decided to scale the New Virginians down by using fewer performers, a smaller band and only five technicians, as well as completely phasing out the support staff.
Wimmer said he and the others were shocked when they heard the news and feel that the reasons behind the changes haven't been fully explained.
"They are changing what the nature of the group is," Wimmer said. Without its own lighting and sound systems, the New Virginians will be "just another show choir."
Wimmer said that although he'd like to fight to keep the group as it is, he will probably continue to perform, as will most of the others. But "it won't be the same," he said. "This will kill the group."
The people who really will suffer, he said, are the technicians and support staff who won't be able to get the kind of experience the New Virginians offer anywhere else.
Howard thinks "the people who will lose the most are the students and the sponsors."
Every year, he said, the group raises thousands of dollars for civic groups such as the Raleigh Court and Williamson Road Lions Clubs, which support the local eye bank; and the Montgomery County Christmas Store, which provides for needy people. Last year, the group raised $75,000 for the Lions clubs alone.
As for the audiences, he said, "there's not a part of the state we haven't played in. People rely on us."
by CNB