Sierra Hull. Courtesy of The Harvester.
Sierra Hull. Courtesy of The Harvester.

Here’s a round-up of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside:

Hull to perform at Harvester May 21

Bluegrass singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sierra Hull will take the stage at Harvester Performance Center on Sunday, May 21 at 8 p.m. 

After making her Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 10, the Tennessee-bred mandolinist played Carnegie Hall at age 12 and landed a deal with Rounder Records just a year later. 

Since then she’s released four full-length albums for Rounder, garnering several International Bluegrass Music Association awards and a pair of Grammy nominations.

Hull’s most recent release is “25 Trips.”

Tickets start at $32 and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at harvester-music.com.

* * *

Exhibit on dinosaurs opens at Virginia Museum of Natural History

 A new exhibit on dinosaurs is set to open at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH) in Martinsville on Saturday, February 11. The exhibit explores how current thinking about dinosaur biology has changed over the past two decades and highlights current research by scientists from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and other leading paleontologists around the world.

Using a combination of fossil finds, computer simulations and models, Dinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas examines, in great detail, recent scientific sleuthing and the array of investigative tools — from bioengineering computer software to CT scans — used by modern scientists to reinterpret many of the most persistent and puzzling mysteries of dinosaurs: what they looked like, how they behaved and how they moved. It also explores the complex and hotly debated theories of why — or even whether — they became extinct.  

Dinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas is exhibited at the Virginia Museum of Natural History from February 11, 2023 through January 20, 2024.

Admission to the special exhibit is included in the price of general museum admission. Museum admission is $10 per adult ages 18-59 and $5 for children and youth ages 3-17, seniors ages 60+ and college students. Admission is free for children under 3, museum members, and members of museums and science centers that participate in the ASTC Passport program.

* * *

Blacksburg orchestra sets regional tour

The Cayambis Sinfonietta, a thirteen-member  chamber orchestra based in Blacksburg, will hold its first regional tour during April, 2023. The ensemble, whic  serves as the performance arm of the Cayambis  Institute for Latin American Studies in Music, will
present a formal concert in three communities:

  • April 12 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Blacksburg, 7:30 p.m.
  • April 13 at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, 7 p.m.
  • April 14 at Radford University in Radford, 7:30 p.m.

    The program will features musical styles over the past one hundred thirty-five  years, including Italianate opera overtures from Brazil, Guatemalan  indigenism and Mexican folklorism. Each event is free and open to the public.