CHRISTISANSBURG—The Montgomery Museum & Lewis Miller Regional Art Center and Great Road Events are hosting H’ARTS on Main, the first of its kind weekend-long arts festival, Feb. 16 and 17.
Regional artists will display, demonstrate and sell their work on Friday and Saturday. Visitors to the festival will have an opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice prize and a winner will be awarded the top choice painting. The People’s Choice winner will be awarded a cash prize.
The art exhibit is free and open to the public. Hours are 1-9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday. Wine and hors d’oeuvres are available beginning at 5 p.m.
On Friday evening, in a fine art interpretive talk, “A Taste of Art and Wine,” Scott Crawford, will be presenting “Exploring the Emotions of the Heart on Main: Western Depictions of Passion, Life, and Love.”
Crawford will lead the audience from Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” through the 19th century Pre-Raphaelite movement discussing how powerful images tied to the heart have reflected, and continue to influence our understanding of the heart as a symbol.
Saturday evening ‘s program reunites Appalachian hammered dulcimer, fiddle, banjo, bouzouki, keyboard and bass of The Celtibillies and helden-tenor Robert Chafin, nine years after their 2009 concert ”Arias and Airs.”
The Celtibillies have been exploring the deep-rooted connections between Celtic music and the Appalachian music of southwest Virginia since the 90s playing traditional and original Celtic and old-time music defying genre.
Appearing in folk festivals throughout the eastern USA, touring in Alaska, they have been celebrated on Blue Ridge Public television and national radio.
“Celtibillies‘ concerts are a rollicking mixture of traditional and original music and song interspersed with just the right amount of humor to keep audiences in stitches,” the Virginia Commission for the Arts wrote.
Joining them is Christiansburg native and internationally acclaimed “helden-tenor” (“helden” means “heroic”) Robert Chafin. Chafin has garnered accolades for his dramatic interpretation and versatile creativity in his performances, both on the operatic and concert stages.
He has performed in over 60 roles with some of the finest performers, conductors and directors in the world from New York City Opera, Covent Garden and English National Opera, Salzburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Israel singing with the London Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York and Roanoke Symphony.
He is currently an Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera at West Virginia University.
Conductor and pianist Taylor Baldwin who will accompany Robert Chafin, has performed extensively as chamber pianist, vocal coach and conductor throughout the United States, Germany, Austria, Italy and Russia.
Professional engagements have included Opera Roanoke, Cleveland Opera, Graz, Austria and Opera Colorado, while he has conducted “A Little Night Music,” “La Traviata,” “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and “Pirates of Penzance” and many other musical productions.
The art exhibit is free and open to the public. Tickets for “A Taste of Art and Wine” are $20, The Celtibillies and Robert Chafin $30 and both evenings are $45.
For more information, call the museum at 382-5644.
