Monthly Archives: March 2012

In Concert – Philander Smith College Choir

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Tomorrow evening (Sunday March 25) the Philander Smith College Choir in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock.

Under the direction of Dr. Jeff Parker, and accompanied by Theresa Webb, this award-winning choir has sung at landmarks such as the Kennedy Center and the Crystal Cathedral. The choir appeared at the 1996 Election Night celebration, the 1993 Presidential Inauguration, 1992 Democratic National Convention and won first place at the 1992 American Negro Spiritual Festival.

The concert repertoire for the choir includes a variety of styles that include European-influenced music, African-American spirituals, blues, jazz, work songs and gospel songs.

Dr. Parker is a native of Hot Springs.  He has a bachelor’s degree from Ouachita Baptist University, a master’s from Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas and a doctorate in musical arts and choral conducting from the University of South Carolina.

CALS Lights Way at New Library Construction Site

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Photo courtesy of CALS

Just as libraries are places for illuminating minds, lights are shining on the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Children’s Library Initiative project at 4800 West 10th Street.

A tree on the site was lighted in November, and continues to highlight the work that has progressed. The structural steel is being erected, and roof beams are now being placed. The slab for the lower level has been poured, and the project is on schedule for the upper floor slab to pour very soon. Interior finishes are being selected, with the products and colors chosen for the countertops and the flooring carpet, tile, and cork.

Library staff is currently designing programming with Arkansas Out of School Network (AOSN), Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Central Little Rock Promise Neighborhood (CLRPN), the Clinton School of Public Service, and other organizations in preparation for the opening of the facility in early 2013. The library will offer programming for infants through middle school-aged children, including Storytime, crafts, music, and book clubs. The opening of the children’s library will allow CALS to expand the number and types of programs available for children. Public computers and a computer lab will allow more children to learn how to use and have access to computers and the Internet. Computer safety classes will teach them, and their parents, how to access the Internet safely.

Other planned features of the facility and site include a kitchen, gardens, and a greenhouse that will provide opportunities for enrichment activities for children in a wide variety of areas which cannot be duplicated currently by any other single organization. Located south of I-630 between the Pine/Cedar and Fair Park exits, the new Children’s Library will help anchor the renewal of the 12th Street Corridor Revitalization Project.

Olio Folio – Updates from the Rep, CALS and ASO

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Today we take a look at updates on a variety of previous posts.

First – the Arkansas Repertory Theatre has extended The Wiz through April 8.  It was originally supposed to end on April 1, but an additional week has been added due to overwhelming ticket demand.  Up next at the Rep after The Wiz – the annual ArtWorks auction followed by Next to Normal and A Loss of Roses.

Next up  – March 13 proved to be lucky for the Central Arkansas Library System as voters overwhelmingly approved the ballot initiative for future library expansion.  The vote was 4,548 FOR to 699 Against.  Because interest rates are at historic lows, bonds will be refinanced which will generate an estimated $19 million. Planned projects include:

– adding thousands of books, CDs, DVDs, children’s material, Arkansas history/genealogy materials, online audiobooks, databases, and eBooks to the collection
– adding space to accommodate the growing collections and services provided by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies
– adding approximately 250 new parking spaces on the Main Library campus
– expanding Internet capacity and adding more computers and other electronic devices
– expanding children and adult spaces at the McMath Library on John Barrow Road
– constructing a 350-seat auditorium on the Main Library campus for expanded programs for children and adults
– making miscellaneous improvements and repairs to various Little Rock branch libraries
– purchasing land in far west Little Rock for a future branch

 

Finally, the audience spoke at the recent Arkansas Symphony Orchestra “People’s Choice” Pops Concert.  The audience chose the following pieces to be performed:

Best Classical Composer
*Beethoven – Symphony No. 5 First Movement

Best Classic Film Score
*Lawrence of Arabia

Best Contemporary Film Score
*Titanic

Best Sci/Fi Soundtrack
*Star Wars

Best Animated TV Show
* “Looney Tunes”

Best TV Show
*“Mission Impossible”

Best Kids’ Pick
*Anastasia

Best Video Game
*The Legend of Zelda

Best Broadway Score
*The Phantom of the Opera

 

Arkansas Symphony 2012-2013 Masterworks and Pops

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Continuing with the Spring Break theme of looking to next year, today’s entry looks at the 2012-2013 Masterworks and Pops offerings from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will kick off the 2012-2013 season on September 29 and 30 with a Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks concert featuring violinist Augustin Hadelich returning to play Eduoard Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole.  Also on the program are Strauss’ Don Juan and von Dohanyi’s Suite in F-sharp Minor. ASO Musical Director/Conductor Philip Mann will conduct.

The ASO next turns to the Pops series. The Acxiom Pops Live! series starts on October 6 & 7 with the Beatles tribute act Classical Mystery Tour. ASO Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson will lead this concert.

Pulitzer Prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon will be the ASO Composer of the Year for 2012-2013.  Her composition To the Point will be featured on the ASO’s second Masterworks concert on October 20 and 21.  That concert will also featured pianist Elissa Bolkkvadze performing Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No. 2 and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5.

On November 10 and 11, the ASO’s annual “Beethoven & Blue Jeans” concert will showcase Tan Dun’s Pipa Concerto featuring soloist Wu Man. Also on the program is the overture to Beethoven’s only ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus.  The evening will conclude with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

For many families, it isn’t the holidays without the annual ASO Happy Holidays concert.  In 2012 it will take place on December 14-16.  Plan accordingly.

In January, the ASO will start 2013 with guest conductor Guillermo Figueroa, music director of the New Mexico Symphony and Colorado’s Music in the Mountains Festival on January 26 and 27.  ASO principal cellist David Gerstein will solo on Tchaikovsky’s Variationson a Rococo Theme.  The concerts will also include Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 1 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2.

Returning to Pops, on February 9 and 10, the ASO will present “A Night at the Movies.”  Later that month, the ASO will feature Composer of the Year Higdon again on February 23 and 24.  In addition to her blue cathedral, the program will include Haydn’s No. 95 in C minor and Shostakovich’s No. 10 in E minor.

The ASO will march into March with a celebration of the American Songbook on the Pops schedule on March 16 and 17.

The Masterworks season will conclude on April 13 and 14, 2013.  Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto featuring Midori will be the centerpiece of the evening.  Also on the bill will be the overture to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro as well as Brahms’ Symphony No. 4.

The final concert of the 2012-2013 season will be in the Pops series: Cirque de la Symphonie.  This concert, on May 11 and 12, will featured six Cirque du Soleil veterans performing to music accompanied by the ASO.

Sponsors for the 2012-2013 season are the Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Acxiom and American Airlines.

Arkansas Rep 2012-2013 season

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It is Spring Break throughout Arkansas. So this is a good time to take a break from the current arts season and look ahead to next year.

Rich stories and rewarding shows are the bounty that awaits Arkansas Repertory Theatre audiences during the 2012-2013 season, the Rep’s 37th year. Robert Hupp, the Rep’s producing artistic director, recently announced the lineup.

The season kicks off on September 7 with William Shakespeare’s Henry V.  This will be the first of Shakespeare’s “History” plays to be staged at the Rep in its history.  Following the overwhelming success of Hamlet last season, it is pleasing to see the Bard return to the Rep’s lineup.  It will run through September 23, 2012.

Next up is the annual Young Artists’ production.  This edition of the revue is entitled Singin’ on a Star.  It will run from October 24 through November 3, 2012. Though the show is still being written, it promises to feature Arkansas’ best and brightest students in songs and dances which will enchant audiences of all ages.

It is guaranteed that Little Rock will see a White Christmas in December 2012 because the Rep will be producing the stage version of the Irving Berlin classic White Christmas from November 30 through December 30, 2012.  In addition to the classic Berlin tunes from the film, a treasure trove of other Berlin classics is also included.

As 2013 kicks off, the Rep presents the play Gee’s Bend.  Set in the eponymously named Alabama town, it tells the story of the women who make quilts there. The play is not about the quilts themselves (though they are works of art which have been displayed in many top art museums), it is instead about the remarkable lives of the women who make them.  Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s play will run from January 25 through February 10, 2013.

As the Rep marches into the third month of 2013, it will present the world premiere of a new musical version of Treasure Island.  This production, which emphasizes the adventure and mystery of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, features a book by Brett Smock (who will also direct) and Carla Vitale with songs by Corinne Aquilina (who served as musical director/conductor for last season’s Hairspray at the Rep).  It runs from March 8 through March 31, 2013. (This world premiere is the reason the title of this entry is written in “Pirate.”)

Arthur Miller’s prize winning Death of a Salesman is up next at the Rep.  This classic tale explores the American Dream in the middle of the 20th Century as the Loman family copes with hope and despair.  During its original Broadway run, it received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Best Play recognition from the Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle.  “Attention must be paid” from April 26 through May 12, 2013.

Avenue Q is one of the smartest, funniest, and bawdiest musicals over the last decade. Written by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, it irreverently tells the story of a group of 20 and 30somethings in New York City as they cope with the onset of adulthood. Some of the characters are played by humans while others are portrayed by puppets — but this is not for the kids; it is definitely an adult show (it includes full puppet nudity).  This 2004 Tony winner for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score, ran for over 1000 performances on Broadway and is now enjoying a healthy Off Broadway run.  The Rep’s brand new production will run from June 7 – 30, 2013.

Preservation Conversations: Historic Tile

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When one sees a restored building or a building in need of restoration – the quality of tile work is often a key factor in the success.  Little Rock City Hall and the Capital Hotel are two notable examples of restorations which have showcased their historic tiles.  With that in mind, this month’s Quapaw Quarter Association “Preservation Conversation” is on historic tiles.

Bryan Byrd, a ceramic engineer at American Restoration Tile will be giving the presentation.  American Restoration Tile is a custom ceramic tile manufacturing company based here in Little Rock.  It specializes in reproducing the tiles of the past to facilitate restoration of historically significant buildings and residences. We use modern manufacturing technology and decades of ceramic engineering experience to exactly duplicate the sizes and colors of old ceramic tile installations.

Beginning at 5:00, Curran Hall will be open for patrons to enjoy a glass of wine, programs start at 5:30 p.m. and last for one hour.  After the official program concludes, all are invited to keep the conversation going and enjoy a discounted dinner at nearby Copper Grill, 300 East Third Street.

The Quapaw Quarter Association is a non-profit historic preservation advocacy organization whose mission is to promote the preservation of the historic buildings and neighborhoods of Greater Little Rock. Rhea Roberts is the Executive Director.

Sculpture Vulture: Statuary at St. John’s

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Last week’s Sculpture Vulture looked at the state of St. John the Baptist on the St. John Catholic Center campus.  Today’s looks at three other statues on the ground.  Though there are other sculptures and icons inside worship spaces on the grounds of St. John’s, these are outdoors and are therefore more properly discussed as public art rather than solely as religious iconography.

Near the campus entrance is a statue of the Virgin Mary with her hands clasped as if in prayer.  Behind her are radiating beams of light. At the base of the statue is a cherub who is actually supporting the pedestal on which she stands.  Another cherub is off to the side. It is possible that there is a missing cherub who was originally on the other size to balance out the statue.

There is another statue of Mary on the campus.  In August 1988 a statue was dedicated in honor of the Marian Year which ran from June 1987 through August 1988.  It was donated by the Bishop and priests of the Diocese of Little Rock and dedicated by Most Rev. Andrew J. McDonald, who was Bishop at the time.  It depicts Mary with her arms at her sides and hands open and outstretched.

The other statue is that of Christ as an adult. It is located near the Marian Year statue.  Given in memory of Barbara Anderson, it features Christ with one hand outstretched and the other hand pointing to his heart.