Roanoke Symphony Orchestra At Curfman Hall, December 10th   Covington, VA (Nov. 28, 2018) - On Monday evening December 10 the Alleghany Highlands Arts Council will present the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra performing its annual installation of holiday cheer with their Holiday Pops concert. Gather your friends and family, and celebrate the season with a merry musical program for audiences of all ages. Admired as a tireless musical ambassador as Music Director & Conductor of the RSO, Maestro David Stewart Wiley maintains a diverse and active professional schedule. Wiley performs for tens of thousands each year in NY as Music Director & Conductor of the resurgent Long Island Orchestra.He has been named Roanoke’s Citizen of the Year for his service above and beyond his acclaimed work with the RSO. He has also received a Distinguished Music Educator Award from Yale University in partnership with RCPS. His energetic work bringing classical music to youth in our minority communities has been steadfast, and he was honored by the NAACP as Citizen of the Year in the Arts for his service. Maestro Wiley won the Aspen Conducting Prize, was Assistant Conductor for the Aspen Music Festival, and was awarded a Conducting Fellowship at Tanglewood. Wiley holds both a Doctor and Master of Music in Conducting from Indiana University, a degree in Piano Performance with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a degree in Religion, summa cum laude, from Tufts University. He is a recipient of the Perry F. Kendig Prize for service to the arts and is a Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International. Wiley was part of the leadership team that traveled to Denver when Roanoke was named America’s only 7-time All American City. Rob Gallagher is this year's featured vocalist. Gallagher hails from St. Louis, Missouri and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Music (Voice) with an outside field in theater from Indiana University School of Music. he's worked professionally playing numerous roles including Adam in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Will Rogers in the The Will Rogers Follies, Beauregard in Mame, and George Bailey in A Wonderful Life the Musical, for which he earned a Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination. He also appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award winning revival of South Pacific as a Seabee. He understudied and performed the starring role of Emile DeBecque, opposite Tony Nominee Laura Osnes. Additionally, he appeared in the City Center Encores production of Fiorello! at Town Hall In addition to his impressive performing career, Rob teaches vocal and performance technique as an adjunct professor of voice at Long Island University CW Post and Adjunct Professor of Applied Music at Five Towns College. He also teaches privately out of his home on Long Island’s South Shore. The Holiday Pops is supported by a Touring Assistance Grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts as well as a generous grant from the Alleghany Foundation. WestRock is corporate cosponsor of the event. Tickets for the event are $25 adults and $8 students and are on sale at the Arts Council website www.alleghanyarts4all.com. They can also be purchased at the door at CHS Monday evening. The public can reserve tickets or acquire more information by calling 962-ARTS (2787).

* * * * *