Monthly Archives: October 2013

Cantus in Concert tonight

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Vocal group Cantus will perform in the sanctuary of Christ Episcopal Church on Tuesday, October 8, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, student rate $10. Tickets may be purchased in advance through the Christ Church office, 501-375-2342. Tickets will also be available the night of the performance.

Press_PhotoAcclaimed as “the premier men’s vocal ensemble in the United States” (Fanfare), Cantus is committed to inspiring audiences with music performed at the highest level. The nine members of Cantus, which rehearses and performs without a conductor or music director, are renowned for adventurous programming spanning many periods and genres, including work commissioned specifically for the group.

Recent programs have combined a 15th century French carol, a 16th century secular English tune, choruses and art songs by 19th century composers, and contemporary works. The Washington Post hailed the ensemble’s sound as having both “exalting finesse” and “expressive power,” and referred to their music-making as “spontaneous grace.” Cantus shares its impeccable singing, engaging stage personality, and heartfelt interpretations with audiences across the country as they tour and at home in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The vocalists of Cantus were Artists in Residence for Classical Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media’s Performance Today in 2010-11. They have also been featured on A Prairie Home Companion.

The concert is part of the ongoing Arts at Christ Church series.

Little Rock Look Back: Mayor Warren E. Lenon

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Mayor LenonOn October 8, 1867 in Panora, Iowa, future Little Rock Mayor Warren E. Lenon was born.  He was one of eleven children of John D. and Margaret M. Long Lenon.

Lenon came to LIttle Rock in 1888 after finishing his schooling in Iowa.  He helped set up an abstract company shortly after his arrival.  In 1902 he organized the Peoples Savings Bank.  Among his other business interests were the City Realty Company, the Factory Land Company, the Mountain Park Land Company, and the Pulaski Heights Land Company.

From 1895 to 1903, he was a Little Rock alderman, and in 1903, he was elected Mayor of the city. A progressive Mayor, he championed the construction of a new City Hall which opened in 1908.  At the first meeting of the City Council in that building, Mayor Lenon tendered his resignation.  His duties in his various business interests were taking up too much of his time.

Mayor Lenon had been a champion for the establishment of a municipal auditorium. He had wanted to include one in the new City Hall complex. But a court deemed it not permissible under Arkansas finance laws at the time.  He also worked to help establish the first Carnegie Library in Little Rock which opened in 1912.

In 1889, he married Clara M. Mercer.  The couple had three children, two of whom survived him.  A son W. E. Lenon Jr., and a daughter Vivian Mercer Lenon Brewer.  She was married to Joseph Brewer, a nephew of Joseph Taylor Robinson, after whom the City’s eventual municipal auditorium would be named.

Mayor Lenon died June 25, 1946 and is buried at Roselawn Cemetery.  Lenon Drive just off University Avenue is named after Mayor Lenon.

ArtLinks 2013 continues today

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The Arkansas Arts Council’s ArtLinks 2013 continues today in Central Arkansas.

Storytelling is all the buzz these days. People in businesses, nonprofits, sales, marketing, education
and advocacy are recognizing the value of story in their work.
ArtLinks 2013: What’s Your Story? focuses on the importance of finding and communicating your story to influence policy and increase support. The annualstatewide conference for artists, arts administrators,educators and community leaders is hosted by the Arkansas Arts Council.
Stephanie Garibaldi, Education Director at SpeakeasyDC, Washington’s leader in live story performances and training, will demonstrate the power of a good story told well and explain how storytelling can be used by artists and organizations to strengthen connections, raise funds, improve communications, generate audience engagement and build community.

Argenta Community Theater, 405 Main Street, North Little Rock, AR 72114

Conference Registration
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.

The Why, What and How of Storytelling
9:00 a.m. – Noon
SpeakeasyDC’s Instructor Kevin Boggs leads a three-hour program that includes demonstrations, discussion and small group activities to explore ways to build and sustain the use of storytelling within an organization. Participants will identify and develop stories that reflect the impact and value of their arts programs as tools they can use for fundraising and advocacy.

Box Lunch and Walking Tour
Noon – 2:00 p.m., Argenta Arts District

What’s Their Story?
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Community leaders from around Arkansas share stories of innovative arts programs. Speakers include Sonia Davis Gutierrez with Fayetteville Forward Creative Economy Action Group; Austin Barrow with El Dorado Festivals and Events, Inc.; Jon Chadwell with the Newport Economic Development Commission; and Henry Golatt with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the planned Arts Factory Project on Main Street.

Arkansas Arts Council celebrates 2013 Fellowship Recipients today

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2Nine Arkansas artists will be celebrated today when the Arkansas Arts Council honors the recipients of its Individual Artist Fellowship awards. The artists will be recognized at a reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock.

The Arkansas Arts Council awarded nine artist fellowships in the amount of $4,000 each. Fellowships are awarded annually to artists in Arkansas in recognition of their individual artistic abilities. These fellowships enable artists to set aside time for creating their art and improving their skills. Three artistic disciplines are selected each year as categories for the awards.

The three categories for this year are Literary Arts: Playwriting; Performing Arts: Directing of Narrative and Documentary Films; and Visual Arts: Creating Contemporary and Traditional Crafts.

The fellowship recipients were selected by a jury of out-of-state professional artists, writers, performers and art administrators.

Literary Arts: Playwriting

Kelley Smith Pruitt, Little Rock – In a Year’s Time

Clinnesha D. Sibley, Fayetteville – Tell Martha Not to Moan

Werner Trieschmann, Little Rock – Disfarmer

 

Performing Arts: Directing of Narrative and Documentary Films

Joshua H. Miller, Little Rock – Pillow

Mark Thiedeman, Little Rock – Last Summer

Nathan Willis, Little Rock – “The Van”

 

Visual Arts: Creating Contemporary and Traditional Crafts

Ed Pennebaker, Osage – blown glass, stone and metal work

Timothy LaTourette, Fayetteville – wood, lighting and printmaking

Adam Posnak, West Fork – functional ceramic with stark black, white and red imagery

 

The Arkansas Arts Council is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

DennyWest Music Festival at Wildwood Today

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Wildwood-Park-for-the-Arts-e1352227810968What do Ukulele Bill, REAL Entertaining, Mister Morphis One Man Band, the Hartley Family Bluegrass Band, Posey Hill, the Mulligan Brothers, and BettySoo all have in common? On Saturday, October 5, they’re all playing an outdoor concert at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road in West Little Rock. DennyWest, Wildwood’s one-day outdoor Americana acoustic music festival, features children and family entertainment from 1 to 5 pm. At 6:30 pm, Mister Morphis One Man Band & Reed Balentine, Voice of the Wind, lead off the evening’s entertainment, followed by Posey Hill and the Mulligan Brothers. Austin’s BettySoo and Canadian Doug Cox finish the evening with a duo concert from their “Across the Borderline” album.

Gates open for lunch and free hayrides around the lake at noon. Tickets for the afternoon events are $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under, and free for kids 5 and under. Evening tickets, starting at 5 pm, are $20 for adults, $10 for teens, $5 for children 12 and under.

BettySoo and Doug Cox conducted a free songwriting workshop at UALR on Friday afternoon. The UALR Department of Music co-hosted the workshop. BettySoo’s appearance and the songwriting workshop are sponsored in part by Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA.org), a regional arts organization that supports the arts and touring in Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. All the daytime artists, as well as Posey Hill, are supported by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Bylites is providing sound and lighting for the concerts.

Event Schedule
11 am – Park Gates Open for lunch

1 – 5 pm – Children’s & Family Concert featuring
Ukelele Bill
REAL Entertaining
Mister Morphis One Man Band
Hartley Family Bluegrass Band

6:30 – 10 pm – Evening Concert featuring
Mister Morphis and Reed Balentine: Voice of the Wind
Posey Hill
The Mulligan Brothers
BettySoo and Doug Cox: Across the Borderline

Guitarist Rovshan Mamedkuliev at Artspree today

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Rovshan MamedkulievArtspree continues today at 3pm on the UALR campus.
Rovshan Mamedkuliev was born on 12th May, 1986 in Baku, Azerbaijan, laureate of All-Russia and international competitions. He started his studies in classical guitar at the age of 11. Graduated from school of art №7 and Music College named after M. A. Balakirev in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) as a higher achiever.
In 2004, he entered the Nizhniy Novgorod Conservatoire (academy) named after M.I. Glinka and in 2009, with honours completed his education at the classical guitar for an associate professor, laureate All-Russia competition of Aleksey Petropavlovsky. He also is currently in graduate school. As evaluated by a teacher, R.Mamedkuliev possesses such important for musician qualities, as an “excellent ear, tenacious memory, developed sense of rhythm and form, bright artistry”, which contributed to his rapid professional growth. Since September 2009, a graduate student of Nizhniy Novgorod Conservatoire, he teaches in the Department of folk instruments, as well as in the Arzamas Music College.

Participating from 1999 in the creative contests of All-Russia and international level, Rovshan Mamedkuliev has won more than twenty Awards, including: First Prize on the 6th International competition of the performers on the national instruments «Cup of the North» (Cherepovets, Russia, 2006), Finalist and Special prize for the best interpretation of the compositions of Francisco Tarrega on the 41th International competition of performers on a classic guitar “Francisco Tarrega” (Benicasim, Spain, 2007), First Prize and Special Prize for the best interpretation of the compositions of Leo Brouwer on the 10th International Guitar Competition L. Brouwer (Paris, France, 2009), First Prize, Prize of Public and Special Prize for the best interpretation of the compositions of Heitor Villa-Lobos on the 1st International Guitar Competition “Heitor Villa-Lobos” (Spain, 2011), First Prize on the II International competition of named after A.Frauchi (Moscow, Russia, 2011). In 2012 Rovshan Mamedkuliev won one of the most prestigious classical guitar competitions – XXX Guitar Foundation of America’s International Concert Artist Competition (GFA) (Charleston, USA).

For high achievements in the art of Rovshan Mamedkuliev received an award from the President of Russia (2006), grants the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region and the Mayor of Nizhny Novgorod.

Final Weekend of THE WAITING ROOM at UALR Theatre

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WaitingRoom-400pxwideUALR’s first theatre production of the 2013-14 academic year continues through this weekend.

Performances of The Waiting Room by Lisa Loomer will run until Oct. 6. Thursday and Friday shows are at 8 p.m., Saturday shows are at 7 p.m., and Sunday shows are at 2:30 p.m.

Performances will be at Haislip Arena Theatre in the Center for the Performing Arts at UALR. Ticket prices are $10 for the general public and $5 for UALR students, faculty, and staff, and for seniors.

For more information or tickets call 501.569.3456.

The story involves three women from three different centuries who meet in a modern-day doctor’s waiting room.

The story of the women is wrapped in the sexual and social politics of a male-dominated medical industry. The issues range from cultural aesthetics to breast cancer treatment.

The female characters include an 18th-century Chinese woman whose bound feet are literally falling apart; a 19th-century woman who has been so tightly corseted she is suffering from what was called “hysteria”; and a contemporary American woman suffering the side effects of silicone breast implants.