The Roanoker - September / October 2018 - 38

is sponsored by the Friendship Foundation.
To view this year's full lineup and purchase
tickets, visit BroadwayInRoanoke.com.
Celebrating 31 years of children making
music, the Roanoke Valley Children's
Choir supplements school music classes
with in-depth voice study in a specialized
choral setting and provides performance
experiences in a variety of situations for
children from 8-18 years old.
Kimberly Davidson, founding director
of the Roanoke Valley Children's Choir
(formerly known as the Roanoke College
Children's Choir), has served as both artistic
director and administrative director of the
Children's Choir since 1987. And it's a labor
of love for her.
"I love the music and the challenges,
but mostly feel honored to get to know so
many dear children and their families as
they grown up in the Children's Choir," she
says of her time fostering young voices. The
choir's mission is to not only teach children
great music, musical technique and style, but
to also teach about discipline, hard work,
team work and the value of a job well done.
Over three decades, the choir has amassed
an impressive resume including a joint
concert with the United States Army Band,

being chosen twice as the Official Choir
of the National Christmas Tree Lighting
Ceremony, selected as a featured solo choir
twice at Carnegie Hall, and as featured
Performance Choir at the Virginia Music
Educators Association Convention. The
Children's Choir also performs regularly
with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
and Opera Roanoke and hosts an Annual
Communit y Holiday Sing-A-Long in
December.
The choir has churned out many hardworking and successful choir alumni. Mrs.
Kianna Price Marshall, former Roanoke
Valley Children's Choir member, hosts the
new WFXR show, "Living Local." Other
alumni have been Disney Princesses, Disney

crew leaders and entertainment members,
lawyers, administrators and pastors, and
several have gone on to success in the theatre
and arts business. To view their calendar of
events and learn more about the Roanoke
Valley Children's Choir, visit childrenschoir.
com/calendar.
And rounding out Roanoke's big cultural
celebrations, the Southwest Virginia
B a l l e t (SVB) ma rk s its 28t h season
of performances in Roanoke this year.
Currently led by Pedro Szalay, the regional
ballet company serves over 10,000 children
and adults with pre-professional training
to young dancers and classical ballet,
contemporary and new works performances
t h at p r omot e d a n c e a w a r e n e s s a n d
appreciation. The centerpiece of their annual
season is the enchanted holiday staple, "The
Nutcracker," performed at the Berglund
Center since 1993. The performance has
grow n into a Roanoke Va l ley holiday
tradition with as many as 180 SVB Company
and community members, both children and
adults, sharing the stage. Also on the 20182019 calendar is a performance of the classic,
"Firebird." For tickets and to view the full
Southwest Virginia Ballet calendar, visit
svballet.org/season. I

The Southwest Virginia Ballet celebrates
28 years of performances.
38

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

TheRoanoker.com

ROANOKE VALLEY CHILDREN'S CHOIR: COURTESY OF ROANOKE VALLEY CHILDREN'S CHOIR / SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA BALLET: COURTESY OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA BALLET

The Roanoke Valley Children's Choir
performs their Christmas concert.

http://www.BroadwayInRoanoke.com http://www.svballet.org/season http://www.TheRoanoker.com

The Roanoker - September / October 2018

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