CELEBRATING THE ARTS IN OUR REGION
Every week, arts writer Meredith Moss highlights some of the accomplishments of the arts groups and arts leaders throughout our region and shares arts-related news. If you have news you’d like her to include, send it to Meredith: MMoss@coxohio.com Please include a daytime phone number.
During his own lifetime, composer George Frideric Handel’s most popular oratorio was one that’s rarely heard these days. It was “Judas Maccabaeus,” a work that celebrates the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Thanks to the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra and the newly reconstituted Miami Valley Symphony Chorus, local residents will have a chance to hear the special work at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, just in time for Hanukkah. The concert will take place at the Dayton Masonic Center and will be preceded by a 2:45 p.m. talk by Rabbi David Sofian.
The orchestra, founded 24 years ago, is made up of singers from the entire Miami Valley; members come from churches, synagogues and community choral groups. The oratorio is based on the story of the Maccabean revolt — it begins with the people mourning the death of Mattathais, the leader of the revolt against the Greeks, and follows his sons Judah and Simon as they lead the people to victory and the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem.
“For musicians, nothing is more exciting than re-creating a piece of art that someone else had in their head, and because they wrote it down, we can enjoy the same piece of art some 255 years later,” said Basil Fett, conductor of the Springfield Symphony Chorale, who will serve as chorus master. David Deitrick, former executive director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, will conduct the orchestra and said Handel’s music takes us musically from the despair of oppression, through the liberation conflict, and into the jubilation of freedom.
“The theme of the struggle for freedom has universal appeal, and it is obvious to me why it was such a popular work during Handel’s lifetime,” he said.
Daniel Stein, a graduate of Wright State University, is performing the lead role of Judas Maccabaeus. Errick Hood, also a graduate of Wright State, is singing the part of Simon, Judah’s brother. Soloists are Minnita Daniel-Cox and Rachael Andrew Boezi.
Tickets for the concert can be purchased through the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra website (mvso.org) or at the door. Tickets are adults, $10; seniors, $8; and students, $5. The venue is located at 525 W. Riverview Ave. in Dayton, across from the Dayton Art Institute.
Opera Guild of Dayton marks 50th anniversary
When it began in 1963, the Women’s Guild of the Dayton Opera did everything from sewing costumes and creating sets to selling tickets and housing singers.
Today known as the Opera Guild, the organization will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a gala dinner on Saturday, Nov. 23, at Moraine Country Club, where the group first met 50 years ago.
Entertainment will be provided by past winners of the Guild’s Tri-State College Vocal Competition: Alyssa Martin (2012) and Adam Fry (2006). Martin is now a graduate student in vocal performance at Indiana University. Fry, a bass-baritone, is a resident artist of the Pittsburgh Opera Company and is appearing in two roles in Dayton Opera’s production of Tosca on Nov. 22 and 24. A 50th anniversary book recounting major events of the Guild’s activity will be distributed at the event.
Tickets are $75 per person. To make a reservation, contact (937) 434-8236.
UD to host dance group featured on “America’s Got Talent”
Hammerstep, the innovative dance group recently featured on “America’s Got Talent” and co-founded by University of Dayton graduate Garrett Coleman, will return to Dayton for a week of performances and discussions at UD.
The troupe also will engage in “guerrilla dance tactics” — short, pop-up events around campus intended to attract attention and break the “fourth wall” usually present at dance performances.
Coleman and co-founder Jason Oremus are both classically trained, world-champion Irish step-dancers who combine Irish, tap, hip-hop and African stepping. Hammerstep will perform at four events open to the public:
• At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Creative Culture Exchange, ArtStreet, the group will host a discussion about the future of dance in America. The event is free and open to the public.
• At 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, there will be a performance at the McGinnis Center that’s free and open to the public.
• At 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, and 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 , Hammerstep will appear with the UD Dance Ensemble at Kennedy Union Boll Theatre. The event is open to the public; tickets at $12 available at the door or online at http://tickets.udayton.edu.
‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ in dance comes to movie screens
At 7 p.m. this Tuesday, Nov. 19, audiences across the nation will be able to see a production of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Great Britain’s Royal Ballet. It will come direct from England’s Royal Opera House and the Covent Garden stage.
For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom Events web site. Among the theaters participating are Dayton South 16, Huber Heights 16, Hollywood Stadium 20 at Fairfield Commons, and Deerfield Town Center in Mason.
Tickets are available now at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com
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