Category Archives: Arts & Humanities Month

Free ASO concert at Capital Hotel tonight with Quapaw Quartet

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ASO at CHMusicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will be performing this evening in the lobby of the historic Capital Hotel. The music will start at 5:15 pm.

The concert will feature the Quapaw Quartet.  Members of the quartet will introduce the pieces to be performed: “A Little Night Music” featuring music from Mozart, Bernstein, and Debussy.

  • MOZART – Allegro from String Quartet K. 525
  • LLOYD WEBBER arr. Naughtin – The Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera
  • MOZART – Romanza from String Quartet K. 525
  • DEBUSSY – Clair de Lune
  • MOZART – Menuetto and Trio from String Quartet K. 525
  • BERNSTEIN – Tonight from West Side Story
  • MOZART – Rondo from String Quartet K. 525

The members of the Quapaw Quartet are: Meredith Maddox Hicks, violin; Eric Hayward, violin; Ryan Mooney, viola; Ethan Young, cello.

Unlike concerts in music halls, guests here are encouraged to bring drinks to their seats or to stand and move around while the musicians are playing.  It is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where the audience and musicians alike are able to interact with each other.

In 2011, the ASO started these free concerts in the lobby of the Capital Hotel.  The marble and tile of this historic lobby provide a wonderful acoustic backdrop for the musicians.

Creative Class of 2015: Eliza Borné

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Eliza BorneEliza Borné was named Interim Editor of Oxford American magazine earlier this year.  She had been the Managing Editor of the magazine.  Currently, she is at work on the annual OA music issue, which this year will feature Georgia.

A Little Rock native and graduate of Central High School, she wrote Children’s Theatre reviews for the Arkansas Times while in high school.  While a student at Wellesley College, she interned for OA.  After graduation, she was an associate editor at BookPage.  In February 2013, she joined the OA as an editor.  When he was in Little Rock earlier this year, author Harrison Scott Key praised Borné’s skills as an editor.  At that appearance, he also lauded her skills as an interviewer. She has also used these skills serving as a moderator for the Arkansas Literary Festival.

 

While her talents as a writer and editor have been honed through hard work, she is also carrying on a family tradition in promoting Little Rock’s cultural life. A great-grandmother, Adolphine Fletcher Terry, was a member of the Little Rock Public Library Board (a forerunner of CALS) for decades.  Much could be written about what various ancestors have done to help Little Rock, but Borné is not one to rely on the family name as she forges her own career.  Instead, she uses her skills and love of Little Rock to promote good writing, good music and good living.

Monday Musings: Kelly Kinard Fleming

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Kelly FlemingToday launches a new feature on the Little Rock Culture Vulture: Monday Musings.

Little Rock cultural personalities will be asked nine questions (there were nine muses).

Up first is Kelly Kinard Fleming. A member of Little Rock’s Arts & Culture Commission, she is also Development Director at the Arkansas Arts Center. A graduate of the Clinton School of Public Service, she has previously worked at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in development and marketing.

Monday Musings

-My earliest memory was (age and incident)

From birth to age 5 I lived in the booming metropolis of Sikes, Louisiana. The post office was in the general store. My dad was principal of the K-12 school and our house was on the edge of the school’s playground. I remember walking next door for a fresh cookie and carton of cold milk from the sweet lunchroom ladies. Oh, and the water in town was brown. I remember taking baths in clean, but brown, water.

-When I was in high school and imagined my adulthood, I thought I would be

…a novelist, a lawyer or both. Surprise! I’m neither.

-Star Wars, Star Trek, Battle of the Network Stars, or Dancing with the Stars?

If I MUST, Dancing with the Stars.

-I most identify with the Winnie the Pooh character of…

…there’s something in all of them we identify with, don’t you think? Much like the Wizard of Oz characters. But I’ll say Christopher Robin because he is cheerful and gets along well with others.

-The performer I’d drop everything to see is

…Bette Midler.

-My first paying job was

…babysitting. Swore I’d never have kids.

-A book I think everyone should read is

….Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

-My favorite season is…

….Spring. Great convertible weather.

-We are all geeks (or experts) about something. My field is

….shopping on the cheap.

First Monday in October = New U.S. Supreme Court Session. See what to expect in Clinton School Video

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us supreme courtToday is the First Monday in October. That means a new U.S. Supreme Court session starts.

Last week, the Clinton School for Public Service Speaker Series featured a preview of the Court’s session.  It included remarks and insight from Associate Dean Theresa Beiner and Dean Emeritus John DiPippa at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law.  The pair looked ahead to this year’s session as well as reflected on the 2014-2015 session of SCOTUS.

A video of the program is available online.  All previous Clinton School Speaker Series programs are available for viewing at the website.

2016 season for Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre announced

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AST 2016Last week, the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre announced the four titles for the 2016 season, their 10th season of bringing the Bard and more to Central Arkansas.

Actual performance dates and casting will be announced later.

The 2016 outdoor Shakespeare: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Directed by Robert Quinlan
A comic romp of epic proportions, this magical comedy and its lovers, fairies, and oh-so-Rude Mechanicals are the perfect company for an Arkansas midsummer night.

The 2016 tragedy: ROMEO AND JULIET
Directed by AST Producing Artistic Director Rebekah Scallet
Romance, intrigue, and adventure abound in Shakespeare’s timeless tale of the original
star-crossed lovers caught between their
warring families.

The 2016 musical: WEST SIDE STORY
Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein , Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed and Choreographed by Jeremy Williams
This beloved musical transplants the story of Romeo and Juliet to 1950s New York City, where the warring Jets and Sharks stand in the way of true love.

The 2016 Family Shakespeare: TWELFTH NIGHT
This one-hour Family Shakespeare adaptation takes us to the island of Illyria, where shipwrecked Viola must disguise herself as a boy—causing complications in her love life.

Creative Class of 2015: Rodney Block

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Rodney BlockRodney Block is a Dumas native who has been thriving in the local music scene for the past four years.  He is much sought after to appear at special events and parties. He is also a fixture on the live music scene at many venues around Little Rock.

Block released his smooth jazz album, STEEL, in October 2012 and his hip hop collaboration  record, THE LAST ACTION HEROES in 2014. A trumpeter who has been featured and performed in various venues across the globe ranging from corporate to social, he has built a niche in the genres of jazz and hip hop.

Notable artists he has shared the stage with include Earth, Wind, and Fire, Joe, Whoodini, Conya Doss, Johnny Gill, Dwele, Jonathan Butler, Dave Hollister, Ellis and Delfayo Marsalis, Kirk Whalum, Layla Hathaway, Eric Roberson, Anthony David, Marsha Ambrosius and The Yellowjackets.

In 2007, Block’s televised jazz feature, AETN Presents: Front Row with Rodney Block, was nominated for a Regional Emmy. In 2014, the band was honored with the Aurora Award and Telly Award, for its concert feature on AETN television network.

Little Rock Look Back: Pre-Opening Dance at Robinson Auditorium

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RC-pre-opening-signIn October 1939, it looked as if Robinson Auditorium would never open.  The construction had run out of money.  But in an effort to generate a little revenue and give the public the chance to see the building, a few events were booked in the lower level.

At the time, the entrance to the lower level was off of Garland Street which ran to the north of the structure.

While Mayor J. V. Satterfield and other leaders were in Washington seeking additional funding, the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium hosted its first event.  On October 4, 1939, the convention hall on the lower level was the site of a preview dance.  The pecan block flooring had been installed just the week before.

RC-dance-orchestraThe first four people to enter the building as paying guests were Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Wilheim, Frances Frazier and Bill Christian.  Reports estimated 3,200 people attended and danced to the music of Jan Garber and His Orchestra.  By happenstance, Garber and his musicians had also played in Little Rock on January 26, 1937, the date of the election which approved the auditorium bonds.  Since Little Rock then did not have a suitable space, that appearance had been on the stage of the high school auditorium.

The event was a success.  But as the building had no heating or cooling mechanism at the time, there were limits as to how long even the lower level could be in use.  After a few weeks, the PWA, which was still in charge of the construction site, halted all future bookings.