Arts and Culture find Solid Ground at Barns of Rose Hill

Arts and Culture find Solid Ground at The Barns of Rose Hill
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We care deeply about the future of Performing Arts. Over the past couple of decades, towns across America have begun to utilize old abandoned buildings in their municipalities. Old movie theaters and store fronts have been renovated and turned into delightful performance spaces. Many of them now have extremely vibrant arts and cultural centers. We know about these great spaces because for years we’ve been performing at such theaters across 48 States . They have the financial backing and support of their town councils and, while it may never be a huge money making bonanza, they successfully promote the arts. And that’s something most community’s endorse wholeheartedly.

That was the situation that presented itself a few years ago in a small charming town called Berryville in the heart of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The town had been left a large house, 2 barns and some acreage by a gentleman named Horace Smithy in 1964. Through the tireless efforts of a small dedicated team of “Barn Raisers”, a capital campaign was created to restore and renovate the two old dairy barns into a modern performing arts and cultural center that would also double as a community center. The result: Barns of Rose Hill, a magnificent acoustically engineered cultural arts center, with 2 art galleries, meeting rooms and a 175 seat concert hall named The Great Hall.

ACRIDDLE.COM

ACRIDDLE.COM

Photo courtesy of Aaron Riddle
Furnace Mountain Band L/R Danny Knicely, Aimee Curl, Morgan Morrison, Dave Van Deventer. “Furnace Mountain are a truly exceptional group and deserve to be in the upper tier of American roots groups” Bob Harris BBC 2.

Furnace Mountain Band L/R Danny Knicely, Aimee Curl, Morgan Morrison, Dave Van Deventer. Furnace Mountain are a truly exceptional group and deserve to be in the upper tier of American roots groups” Bob Harris BBC 2.

Morgan Morrison (2nd from right) is also the Program Director of Barns of Rose Hill

The Barns, after a complete redesign by a local architectural firm Carter + Baron , officially opened its doors on September 6, 2011 to great fanfare. The “Barn Raisers” and their capital campaign raised more than $2 million from public and private funding for the restoration and renovation of the barns into a multi-use facility.The Barns include an upper and lower floor that house the 2 art gallery’s with an elevator that joins them to the main floor where the Great Hall is located.

Photos courtesy of Barns of Rose Hill

THE GREAT HALL is ideal for wedding ceremonies, receptions, meetings, fundraisers, and parties, and seats up to 150 with tables and no stage or 200 without tables and no stage and seats 175 audience members in a concert setting and with a stage.

THE LOWER GALLERY is perfect for exhibitions, meetings, workshops, celebrations, receptions, and parties.It seats up to 50 with round tables and holds up to 50 cocktail style.

THE UPPER GALLERY is excellent for art shows, receptions, parties, and meetings and seats up to 25 theater style or lecture style without tables and holds up to 25 cocktail style.

Throughout the year, Barns of Rose Hill offer rotating art exhibitions, classes, workshops, lectures and discussions in their two galleries.They partner with local, national, and international artists and artisans as well as local schools, community members, and other organizations to showcase art and objects of interest for all to enjoy. For more information, visit their site at EXHIBITS or CLASSES OR WORKSHOPS

For times and tickets of posted concerts please visit BORH website

For times and tickets of posted concerts please visit BORH website

Photos courtesy of Barns of Rose Hill and Jennifer Lee (Furnace Mountain)

Morgan Morrison understands the need for diversity.As Program Director of Barns of Rose Hill she offers her audiences such diverse genres of music as Americana, Traditional, Old-Time, Folk, Roots, Blues, Bluegrass, Celtic, Gypsy Jazz, Classical, World Music plus every Thursday evening between 6 and 8 pm she offers Old-Time, Celtic, and Bluegrass Jams that are extremely popular and well supported.

Please visit the Barns website for times and ticket prices

Please visit the Barns website for times and ticket prices

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BARNS OF ROSE HILL

A musician herself, Morgan joined the Barns in 2012 and became Program Director in 2013. She plays guitar and bouzouki with the popular band, Furnace Mountain, who perform extensively in the United States and internationally. The fact that she and a large number of her family have been professional musicians make her amply qualified to be program director of The Barns.Her Uncle, Johnny Carisi, the trumpeter who played with Glenn Miller, and Benny Goodman wrote the jazz classic “Israel.“ The song is a polyphonic variation on the 12-bar blues, that he composed at a time when he studied under the classical composer Stefan Wolpe when he was playing in the Claude Thornhill Orchestra in 1949. Miles Davis the legendary Jazz musician, recorded “Israel” at the recording sessions that later became known as the Birth of the Cool. Morgan’s father the late John Morrison, her uncle Peter, grandmother Julie,and mother Holly, were also all professional musicians.

In a recent telephone interview Morrison explains that the Barns hosts between 30 and 40 concerts each year, and is exploring, in the future, the possibility of developing an “On School Time” program so that children can receive the benefits of experiencing live performance in multiple genres as part of their cultural arts education.

Arlo Guthrie is an American folk singer-songwriter, who first became famous for his song Alice’s Restaurant in 1969.Like his father, Woody Guthrie, he’s known for singing songs of protest against social injustice. On November 25th 2017 he’ll take his RE:GENERATION TOUR to Carnegie Hall in New York for his annual performance there.This performance marks 50 years since Arlo Guthrie first appeared at Carnegie Hall. Arlo will be joined by members of his family, including Cathy and Annie Guthrie as well as Terry A La Berry and his children Abe & Sarah Lee, who are currently performing with their Dad on the tour.

We’ve witnessed many Guthrie concerts over the years, and it’s noticeable how much Arlo and his band still love performing. After 51 years on the road it never seems to get old for them.

Arlo’s sense of humor and storytelling style make performing at large concert halls like Carnegie Hall feel intimate because of his ability to make his audience feel like he’s playing in their living room.He still loves to perform in smaller venues like The Capitol Theater in St Pete, FL or The Flying Monkey in Plymouth NH with a capacity of 455. His being willing to play in small concert halls is a win win not only for the audiences,but also as a validation for venues such as the Barns of Rose Hill. As musicians ourselves,every stage we play on, no matter how big or small, is a privilege to perform on. We never taken that for granted.

The talented Molsky’s Mountain Drifters will perform at the Barns on February 11th 2018. Bruce Molsky,Grammy Nominee performs on fiddle,and guitar and is joined by Allison de Groot on banjo and Stash Wyslouch on 6 string, to comprise Molsky’s Mountain Drifters.

Mile Twelve the exciting young Bluegrass Band, are performing at The Barns on March 2nd. Their lineup is Boston’s Evan Murphy on guitar, New Zealander Catherine (BB) Bowness on Banjo,New York’s Nate Sabat’s on stand up Bass,and Boston’s Bronwyn Keith‐Hynes on Fiddle with Clemson,SC’s David Benedict on Mandolin.

Also on the schedule between now and June 2018 is a cornucopia of talent.The Jason Masi Band, (Nov 18) Danny Barnes Trio, (Dec 7) The Woodshedders,(Dec 9) Where’s Aubrey,(Dec 29) Furnace Mountain Band,(Jan 5) The Clarke County High School Choir,(Dec 1) Swearingen & Kelli,(Jan 20) Petronel Malan,(April 7) The Alt,(April 12) Jayme Stone’s Folklife,(April 25) Loudoun Youth Guitars,(May 13)Jeremy Bass(May 25) and Joan and Joni.(June 2). For ticket prices and times please visit UPCOMING EVENTS

In 1964 Horace Smithy donated his estate to the town of Berryville in memory of his wife Rosalie McCormick Smithy. Sadly the original mansion was destroyed by fire in 1978. What was left were 2 large dairy barns and 3 ½ acres of land.

In 2004 Barns of Rose Hill Inc. was formed as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit and a capital campaign was started to raise funds for the restoration of the 2 historic barns to create a community, arts, and education center.6 years later the fundraising committee reached their $2 million goal. The Committee then hired local architects Carter+Burton, who developed a design that retained the historic structures and charm of the Barns but inserted the necessary amenities and elements required for a modern-day community center and performing arts venue.

LOUDOUN YOUTH GUITARS perform Concerto in G major by Vivaldi

The Barns is a destination for art lovers, musicians and music-lovers alike. Its superb acoustics and intimate atmosphere in The Great Hall, make for a perfect concert setting. With Barns of Rose Hill as a successful and viable cultural arts center, it proudly displays its talent as a Virginian cultural mainstay. Kudos to the dedicated Arts Management Team who run The Barns so well; kudos to the Artists, who dedicate their lives to perfecting their art forms, and finally kudos to the audiences of Clarke County Virginia and the surrounding area who’ve been willing to go out on a limb to support this impressive project. Our hope is that for the future of our children’s children, towns and communities around the USA will continue to support the Visual and Performing Arts, as they’re doing at Barns of Rose Hill.

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