The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

Related Photos

  • The New River Youth Symphony and Chrous will perform with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra at a free Labor Day concert in Beckley. Musicians set to play include Perri Kiser, from left, Elyse Robinson, Kendra Ramsey, Christina Bailey, Samuel Casto, Timothy Bailey, Nathanial Ramsey and Azriel Ashmore, not pictured. W. Dayton Whittle/The Register-Herald

    Young musicians
August 30, 2010

New River youth to perform with symphony

By Tina Alvey Register-Herald Reporter

Some of the musicians on stage during this year’s annual Beckley Area Foundation Labor Day concert may look a little young for membership in the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Ten members of the New River Youth Symphony and Chorus (NRYSC) have been invited to sit in with the WVSO, thanks to Larry Ford, chairman of the 2010 concert.

“It was my goal this year to include some local entities,” Ford noted. “Having the youth perform with the symphony is brand new this year. It’s never been done since I’ve been involved with the concert.”

He added, “It’s a great opportunity for these students.”

The students agree. Sam Casto explained the selection process, saying, “As percussion section leader, I was given the opportunity to participate.”

The 16-year-old from Fayetteville said, “I’m a little nervous, but I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never played with musicians like these.”

Violinist Perri Kiser, who lives in Hico, has been with New River since the group’s beginning, five years ago. Aspiring to a career in music, Kiser is only days away from her 13th birthday.

“I’m very excited about this performance,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to playing with a big orchestra.”

Also playing violins during this special performance are Ben Casto, Nathanial Ramsey and Elyse Robinson. Christa Neal will play the viola, Kendra Ramsey the cello, Azriel Ashmore the oboe, Tim Bailey the clarinet and Christina Bailey the trumpet.

The concert,  which is free to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson High School auditorium on Monday, Sept. 6.

The Labor Day concert is now in its 24 year. Dress is casual.

— - —

Directed by William Bailey and Judith Arnold, the NRYSC is open to students in the southern West Virginia region, encompassing Raleigh, Nicholas, Fayette, Mercer and Greenbrier counties.

Each component — symphony and chorus — boasts a membership of around 30, a third to half of whom participate in both programs.

“We have a beginner course that starts at about age 5,” explained Agnes Casto, NRYSC’s general manager, adding that participants in the symphony and chorus range in age from 8 to 24.

“We have a number of students who have been with us since high school and have stayed beyond their school years,” she noted.

The NRYSC stages five or six concerts each year, spread out over three seasons — spring, summer and fall. The spring concerts are held in various locations across the region from which the organization draws members.

“It offers our best opportunity to show what we do and encourage local support,” Casto said.

Unless the venue requires an admission charge, NRYSC concerts are free.

The summer season schedule focuses on one major concert coupled with an ice cream social. The fall season, running from September through November, wraps up the program’s year.

“We try to schedule our fall concerts before the snow starts flying,” Casto said. “We take the winter off because we don’t want that precious cargo on the road in bad weather.”

For additional information on the organization, go to the NRYSC website at newrivermusic.org or call 304-574-3567. Auditions for the upcoming fall season will begin Sept. 13.

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com

Text Only
Today's Front Page
  • sign Sparks are flying

    Mike Williams, an employee with SKYWAY Signs and Graphics out of Bastian, Va., is showered with sparks as he uses a cutting torch to help dismantle the old Raleigh Mall sign Tuesday afternoon in Beckley.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill would strengthen copper theft laws

    Copper thieves, led largely by an insatiable hunger for narcotic drugs, are vandalizing telephone lines, even swiping manhole covers, in what one senator terms “an epidemic” spreading across West Virginia.
    A fresh bill put on the Senate floor Tuesday by nine senators seeks to throw up a roadblock when stolen copper is fenced at scrap metal dealers and hopefully open a trail back to the bandits.
    Put simply, it means no junk dealer may buy any metal that is “reasonably” recognized as stolen.
    “It bans the purchase of copper that’s been burned,” explained a co-sponsor, Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming.

    February 8, 2012

  • ‘Paint the town blue’

    Mountain State University hopes members of the business community, public officials and citizens will show their support for the school by painting the town blue as the university prepares for an upcoming accreditation visit, said Andrew Wessels, public relations officer.
    Students, faculty and staff will be handing out “I support MSU” buttons and yard signs to individuals and businesses this week.

    February 8, 2012

  • Miner drug testing policy opposed

    A union leader joined the lead investigator in an independent inquiry into the Upper Big Branch mine disaster Tuesday in exhorting lawmakers to focus on “real” safety issues, and ignore a call to impose a state-led drug testing policy for new miners.
    After showing a joint assembly of House and Senate judiciary panelists a 13-minute, animated recap of the April 5, 2010, explosion that killed 29 miners in Raleigh County, the two speakers disparaged drug testing — a major part of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s safety package.

    February 8, 2012

  • Shake-up continues for Spa City

    The shake-up at City Hall continued Tuesday evening, as newly-reinstated Mayor Thomas Taylor announced that the man who took his place for four months has decided to resign.
    Taylor told the standing-room-only crowd in council chambers that Lloyd Haynes had decided to resign instead of returning to the council seat he left when appointed to take over as mayor.

    February 8, 2012

  • Senators target 'epidemic' of copper thefts

    Copper thieves, led largely by an insatiable hunger for narcotic drugs, are vandalizing telephone lines, even swiping manhole covers, in what one senator terms “an epidemic” spreading across West Virginia.
    A fresh bill put on the Senate floor Tuesday by nine senators seeks to throw up a roadblock when stolen copper is fenced at scrap metal dealers and hopefully open a trail back to the bandits.

    February 7, 2012

  • National conference on Marcellus, Utica shale scheduled for April at The Greenbrier

    The Greenbrier Resort will be hosting a national conference and expo April 1-3 relating to the Appalachian Basin's billion dollar Marcellus and Utica shale industry.

    February 7, 2012

  • frost Cool surroundings

    Heavy frost covers the ground during a sunny Monday morning at New River Park in Beckley.

    February 7, 2012 1 Photo

  • Corrections official looks at pay raises, overcrowding

    Higher starting pay to attract new officers and a host of increases to keep them on the payroll are chief among priorities of a union representing West Virginia’s correctional officers as this session nears the midway point.
    Prison crowding is another topic of keen interest, and Elaine Harris, international representative of the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, says her union strongly endorses efforts to ease the congestion behind bars.

    February 7, 2012

  • Senate agrees to cell texting ban

    Using a cell phone to send or read text messages while driving becomes a primary offense law in West Virginia in a Senate bill passed unanimously Monday with no debate.
    In fact, the only controversy that flared was a brief discussion over right to work.
    Judiciary Chairman Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha, explained the Senate bill on hand-held phones makes conversation a secondary offense, meaning a police officer must spot some other violation before issuing a ticket.

    February 7, 2012