Monthly Archives: February 2013

Bradley Hunter Welch Organ Recital This Evening

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The Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists presents a recital by Bradley Hunter Welch tonight.  The recital begins at 8pm tonight at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church.

Hailed as “a world-class virtuoso” and “an expert at defining darks, lights, shadows and colors,” Bradley Hunter Welch is increasingly in demand as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and collaborative artist. A native of Knoxville, TN,  Dr. Welch holds the Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Musical Arts, Master of Music degrees, and the Artist Diploma from Yale University where he studied with Thomas Murray and Martin Jean.

He also holds the Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude from Baylor University where he studied with Joyce Jones. Dr. Welch has also continued his study of organ and piano technique with Sheila Paige.

Dr. Welch is the 2003 First Place winner of the Dallas International Organ Competition and was also awarded the Audience Prize for the second time, having previously won it in 2000. In 2005, he was a featured artist at three regional conventions of The American Guild of Organists, and he made his European debut in France performing in the Chartres Festival.

He has appeared as soloist with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. With the DSO, he gave the world premier of Stephen Paulus’ Grand Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, the piece written for Bradley as the winner of the Dallas International Organ Competition.

Additionally, he has taught at Southern Methodist University and Baylor University. He is Director of Music & Arts/Organist at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX. In addition to these duties, he performs approximately 20 concerts annually under the exclusive artistic management of Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, Hartford, CT.

Chamber Music Society of LR presents Rachel Barton Pine

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The Chamber Music Society of Little Rock presents Rachel Barton Pine in recital tonight at the Clinton Presidential Center.

Rachel Barton Pine’s classical music biography leads with the cities whose orchestras she’s soloed with, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis, Dallas, Montreal, Vienna, New Zealand and Budapest, among others. She was a child prodigy who made her solo debut at age seven and has worked with numerous famous conductors — Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Placido Domingo and Charles Dutoit to name a few.

Hailed as “the most charismatic, the most virtuosic, and the most compelling American violinist of her generation,” her instrument is one of the most important in the world, the “ex-Soldat” violin made in 1742 by Guarneri del Gesu.

Yet like any young woman who came of age in the Nineties, violinist Rachel Barton Pine is equally inclined to talk about the musical loves of her life far from the sonatas and concertos she practices and which constitute her current professional life. She may have intensely researched the musical relationship between Johannes Brahms and violinist Joseph Joachim for her GRAMMY-nominated 2003 Cedille recording “Brahms and Joachim Violin Concertos,” but when she says, “They jammed together all the time,” we can see her rock sensibility shine through. She can reel off a list of her favorite rock bands — AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Anthrax, Metallica, Pantera, Van Halen, Slayer and Megadeth — as readily as she can talk about these 19th-century composers.

Support for Chamber Music Society of Little Rock is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

To purchase tickets, visit the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock’s website.

Reception on Feb 15 for New Exhibit at MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History

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macmuseLast April, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History launched a new temporary exhibit program entitled “American Heroes” to recognize individuals from our city and state for their military service.

On Friday, February 15, there will be a public reception for the next unveiling of “Arkansas Heroes.”

The exhibit, entitled “Veteran’s Photo Voice,” places cameras in the hands of veterans and gives them an opportunity to express their feelings and thoughts through photography. Displayed photos are accompanied by a brief narrative.

During the process, veterans document in pictures and words their own perceptions of their experiences and values. It is amazing to watch participants grow in confidence as they become adept at shooting photos expressive of their own lived experience.

The exhibit was developed by the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Museum is hosting the reception for its opening.

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History was created to interpret our state’s military heritage from its territorial period to the present.

Located in the historic Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal–the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur–the museum preserves the contributions of Arkansas men and women who served in the armed forces.

Exhibits feature artifacts, photographs, weapons, documents, uniforms and other military items that vividly portray Arkansas’s military history at home and abroad.

Reed Kroloff: CHANGING THE WORLD: ONE INSTALLATION AT A TIME

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kroloffTonight at 6pm, architect Reed Kroloff will give a presentation entitled “Changing the World: One Installation at a Time.” This is part of the ongoing lecture series by the Architecture and Design Network.

Since 2007, architect Reed Kroloff has been the director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Museum, a graduate school of arts and design which prides itself on being a community. Cranbrook has been home to such luminaries as Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, Daniel Libeskind. Florence Knoll, Tod Williams and Toshiko Takiezu – to name a few.

This past year Kroloff served as a member and chair of the jury that selected the prize winners of the 2012 design competition sponsored by the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects

Supporters of the lecture series include the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, The Fay Jones School of Architecture and the Arkansas Arts Center.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information e-mail Projects4pi@mac.com.
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013
Time: 6 p.m., preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.
Place: Arkansas Arts Center lecture hall

Lard and the Bard, or Shakespeare in the South Part II

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schedule~~element27Following the success of last year’s special Shakespeare in the South at Tales from the South, the second edition returns tomorrow night, February 12. (It is Lincoln’s birthday – and he was a fan of Shakespeare, so you can celebrate the 16th President’s birthday by attending.)

Authors Jay Jennings, Hope Coulter and Greg Brownderville will regale the audience with stories centered around finding themselves, others, and even the South in the Bard. The live taping of the radio series will be at Starving Artist Café in the Argenta Arts District. Live music by Shelley King and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.

Doors open at 5pm, dinner is served 5pm-6:30pm and the show starts at 7pm. Tickets are $5 for the show, plus the cost of dinner. Seating is very limited. Tickets can be purchased online at www.talesfromthesouth.com.

“Tales from the South” is recorded on Tuesdays during “Dinner and a Show” at Starving Artist Café. The show airs locally on KUAR Thursdays at 7pm and is syndicated by World Radio Network, a satellite radio distribution service, available to more than 130 million listeners worldwide.

Shows are also distributed nationwide to multiple public radio stations by PRX (Public Radio Exchange). Podcasts are available on ITunes, the NPR website, the KUAR website, the PRX website, and the “Tales from the South” website.

There is still time to ENVISION Little Rock

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envisinolrIn honor of the 100 year anniversary of John Nolan’s 1913 document Report on a Park System for Little Rock, THE 2013 ENVISION Competition seeks to challenge design professionals and the public to generate imaginative ideas about a new gateway into the City.

“I’m so excited about this project, I’ve been dreaming about it for 25 years,” said Keep Little Rock Beautiful Commissioner Bob Callans. “The partnership we’ve formed with the City of Little Rock and studio MAIN is making this historically significant event possible.”

The competition site lies at the eastern terminus and intersection of Capitol Avenue and I-30 in Ward 1.  Nolan’s plan envisioned Capitol Avenue as a ceremonial boulevard and this site as an iconic gateway to the City with the capitol building forming the western terminus.

“Right now Capitol Avenue ends on I-30 and it just kind of falls apart in terms of any design significance,” said studio MAIN spokesman James Meyer. “The inherent question is how do we build a structure that forms a gateway that makes it important for Little Rock residents and all the people who drive through the City on I-30.”

A jury panel will award a $1500.00 prize to the winners in the Professional, Public and Student categories.  Also, the public will vote for Best Iconic Design, Best Thorough Plan and an anything goes category called Wildcard. These winners will each receive $250.00 in prize money. ENVISION ideas competition is open to all students, design professionals, artists and anyone with a strong affinity for the future of Little Rock’s urban agenda.

“I’m excited to see what’s going to happen with the ideas and having been a part of an exercise of this with the Broadway Bridge, I’m particularly pleased to see these partners coming up with some competition and money that people can win by virtue of being selected,” said Mayor Mark Stodola. “This is a great opportunity to stimulate a lot of different ideas. Participants will have a nice window of time to think about this and look at what can be created.”

Participants can go to http://envisioinlittlerock2013.tumblr.com to register.

A Night at the Movies courtesy of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

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20121020-054530.jpgFilm music is iconic. Imagine Jaws, Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, Lawrence of Arabia, Harry Potter, or The Sting without their scores.

This weekend the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents “A Night at the Movies” to pay tribute to the wide range of film scores which have enhanced our movie going experience.  Since the Oscars are later this month, it seems an incredibly appropriate time to do it.

The musicians of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Music Director Philip Mann will perform selections from favorite motion pictures such as The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story, Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, The Pink Panther and much, much more.

The concerts take place this evening at 8pm and tomorrow at 3pm at Robinson Center Music Hall.

All kids in Arkansas from Kindergarten through 12th grade can attend all Sunday performances for free using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket. Kids must be accompanied by an adult with a ticket.