2018 h'ARTS On Main: The Celtabillies and Robert Chafin in Concert
Venue: Great Road on Main, Christiansburg
Organizations: Celtibillies, Robert Chafin
Date: Saturday, February 17, 2018
Time: 5:00 - 9:00 PM
Event Types: Music, Drink Specials
Cost:

Description:
The Montgomery Museum presents the 2018 h'ARTS On Main event The Celtabillies and Robert Chafin in concert on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at Great Road on Main in Christiansburg, VA.

Schedule:
• 5:00-7:00 pm: Wine by Vintage Cellar & Light Hors d'oeuvres by Pumpernickel Pickle Catering
• 7:00 pm: Concert

h'ARTS On Main is a weekend celebrating the arts in Christiansburg. Friday's big event features a "Taste of Art and Wine with Scott Crawford". On Saturday night, local favorites The Celtibillies and tenor Robert Chafin will perform together again for their first combined concert since 2009.

Formed in 1994 as a contradance band, Celtibillies began exploring the deep rooted connections between Celtic music and the Appalachian music of their home region of southwest Virginia. Their music expanded beyond dance tunes to include a wide range of traditional Celtic and Appalachian Old-Time music and song as well as original music.

"A masterful work of art that transcends all musical genres." That's how Bluegrass Unlimited described the music of Celtibillies.

The band features Becky Barlow on hammered dulcimer, keyboard and bodhran, Jack Hinshelwood on fiddle, guitar and harmonica, Tim Sauls on banjo, bouzouki, fiddle and guitar, and Jeff Hofmann on bass.

The Celtibillies have performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Savannah Folk Festival, Williamsburg Scottish Festival, Bele Chere, Virginia Highlands Festival, Blue Ridge Music Center and the Chesapeake Celtic Festival. Their performances have also been featured on WBRA Public TV and the nationally syndicated Song of the Mountains PBS series. Their recordings have been featured on the Thistle & Shamrock™ program on National Public Radio.

Celtibillies performances are a rousing mixture of vocal arrangements and spirited jigs, reels, waltzes, strathspeys, and breakdowns.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/Celtibillies

Robert Chafin has established himself as one of the finest young helden-tenors on the international stage. A native of Christiansburg, Virginia, his performances as Menelas in Die Ägyptische Helena at the Deutsche Oper Berlin received wide critical acclaim. Chafin has over 70 operas in his repertoire.

He began his career with the major roles of Mozart and Rossini, and has expanded his range to include such roles as Apollo in Daphne, Max in Der Freischütz, Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer, Midas in Die Liebe der Danae, Enée in Les Troyens, Don José in Carmen as well as Laca in Jenufa and the title role in Les Contes d’Hoffmann.

In these and other roles, Chafin has guested in New York (NYCO), Stockholm, London (ROH), Vienna, Frankfurt, Strasbourg, Berlin (Deutsche Oper), Leipzig, Brussels, Toulouse and Luxemburg, among others. International acclaim for his interpretation of Franz Schreker's Flammen and Christophorus show his versatility and flexibility. As described in Opera News: “Menelas, like so many Strauss tenor roles, is a punishing and thankless part, yet Robert Chafin...gave the Spartan king a vocally convincing and dramatically compelling performance that cut through the thicket of female voices: his work was so brazen that he not only held his own, but seemed to be waging war against Strauss's disdain for the male voice.”

Mr. Chafin has been a frequent soloist with orchestras and leading choral ensembles throughout Europe and America. He has worked with such conductors as Donald Runnicles, Riccardo Muti, Fréderic Chaslin, Markus Stenz, Michel Plasson, Gary Bertini, Nicolas Geogeghan, Stefan Anton Reck, Edo de Waart, Renée Jacobs, Eve Queler and Leon Botstein. Highlights include his Carnegie Hall debut as Goffredo Armida by Rossini with Opera Orchestra of New York, performing as featured soloist in the Paris opening of the Schubertiade at the Theatre des Champs - Élyseés with the Stuttgarter Kammerchor, making his Belgian debut in the Flanders' Festival (Rodrigo Rossini's Otello), and working with maestro Alberto Zedda at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as Tebaldo in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

Chafin is also establishing himself as an educator. In addition to his 2012-2013 appointment as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice at Virginia Tech, Chafin joined West Virginia University’s voice faculty in the School of Music in 2015. He recently worked on a collaborative multimedia presentation of Die schöne Müllerin, planned along with recitals throughout the United States in 2013. He made his Virginia Opera debut in the 2014 season as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos. More recently, he sang “Mona Lisa” to critical acclaim at Carnegie Hall, noted by one critic for his “big, sweet voice and a stage presence to match".

Link: http://www.robert-chafin.com/

Wine, beer, and light hors d’oeuvres will be available to ticket holders before the concert starting at 5:00 pm.

The People’s Choice Art Show winner will be announced at intermission.

Tickets for the concert are $30.00 per person or $40.00 for premium seating.

To purchase tickets, visit the Montgomery Museum in person or call 540-382-5644.

In addition to the concert, Friday, February 16th features Taste of Art and Wine event with knowledgeable and entertaining art history educator Scott Crawford. Tickets for the Taste of Art and Wine are $20.00 per person. To attend both events the cost is $45.00 per person.

For more information on Friday's Taste of Art and Wine event, visit: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=460336.

Great Road on Main is located at 100 West Main Street in Christiansburg, VA in the former Main Street Baptist Church.

To view the event flyer, visit: https://i.imgur.com/brvRStf.jpg.

For more information, visit: https://montgomerymuseum.org/events-2/harts-on-main or https://www.facebook.com/Montgomery-Museum-Lewis-Miller-Art-Center-151537141675 or call 540-382-5644.