Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412100005
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS BANKS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It just wouldn't be Christmas without "The Nutcracker."
The ballet - beloved for its charming story and Tchaikovsky's memorable music - is back again this year, thanks to Radford University's ballet theater. Performances are 8 p.m. today, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
The production features ballerina Maria Teresa Del Real of the English National Ballet. She will dance the roles of the Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Del Real, who joined the London ballet company in 1989, was born in Miami and became the principal dancer with the Ballets de San Juan when she was only 18. She has since performed with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet of Flanders and has appeared as a guest dancer with many European troupes.
Dubravko Kolsek of Croatia will be back at Radford this year to dance the role of the Nutcracker. He also performs in the Russian dance and leads the Waltz of the Flowers.
Frano Jelincic and Dagmar Kessler, the university's artists-in-residence, are staging the production. Music professor Mark Camphouse will conduct the full orchestra.
Tickets, $6 for adults and $3 for children, are on sale. Admission is free for Radford University students and staff. Call 831-5420 for information.
BANJO MASTER: Ralph Stanley is one of the world's best pickers.
He can grin with the best of 'em, too!
Stanley will bring his Clinch Mountain Boys to the New River Valley Fairgrounds in Dublin on Saturday for some spirited bluegrass music. The group plays at 7:30 and 9 p.m. for a special holiday jamboree put on by the New River Community College Fiddle, Banjo and Dance Club.
The jamboree begins at 5 p.m. with jam sessions and recorded music. Live entertainment begins at 7 p.m. when the Original Orchard Grass Band takes the stage.
As always, the jamboree is free. Donations will be accepted, however, to help the bands with traveling expenses.
Questions? Call Charlie White at 674-3611, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., or 639-9597, after 5:30 p.m.
TONIGHT, TONIGHT! Voices in Harmony, Radford University's youth chorus, will sing with the angels in Porterfield Theatre tonight. The group's holiday concert starts at 7:30.
Director Betty Turner said the program offers both traditional and unusual holiday music. Selections include "The Holly and the Ivy," a traditional English carol, "The Night Before Christmas," "Hanukkah Shalom," "How Great Our Joy" and other seasonal pieces.
Children in the chorus are between the ages of 9 and 15 and come from all over the New River Valley. They are selected through auditions and practice together each week. The university's Community Arts School sponsors the chorus.
Tonight's performance is free.
For information on Voices in Harmony, call the Community Arts School at 831-5177.
SWEETLY SINGING: The New River Community Chorus will give two Christmas concerts next week.
The first is Sunday, 3 p.m., at Pulaski's First Presbyterian Church. The chorus will perform again Monday, 8 p.m., at Central United Methodist Church in Radford.
Lynn Loftus will direct the singers in renditions of "St. Cecilia Mass" by Charles Gounod and the second suite of "The Many Moods of Christmas," an arrangement by Robert Shaw and Robert Russell Bennett. In the latter, the chorus will be joined in Pulaski by the Pulaski County High School Advanced Concert Choir and in Radford by the Radford High School Concert Choir.
There's no admission charge, but donations are welcome.
MUSIC, FOOD, ART AND GOOD CONVERSATION: That's what you'll find Sunday at the Gallery of Local Artists in downtown Christiansburg. The gallery will have a reception for the artists participating in this year's holiday event.
More than 70 local artists have work on display at the gallery. They will be available Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. to talk about their work.
Pam Tyrrell, a fabric artist from Floyd, will provide music on the harp.
The gallery is in the former Furniture Market building across from Montgomery County Courthouse. It will be open through Dec. 31.
URBAN BLUESMAN: Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin is back at Blacksburg's South Main Cafe on Saturday for some ferocious guitar playing.
Margolin, who played with the Muddy Waters Blues Band from 1973 to 1980, does Chicago blues Muddy-style.
Since going solo, Margolin has produced three albums on his own. His last, "Down in the Alley," features seven original songs out of 15 cuts. He says the album is his best yet, calling it "a combination of Muddy's legacy, some personal favorites and my own songs."
Saturday's show starts at 10 p.m. at the cafe, 117 S. Main St. Admission is $5 if you're 21 or older, $6 if you're younger.
by CNB