Category Archives: Music

Chamber Music Society of LR hosts Sebastian Bäverstam

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sebastian-baverstamThe Chamber Music Society of Little Rock (CMSLR) presents internationally acclaimed young cellist Sebastian Bäverstam in recital at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Thursday, April 4 at 7:30 pm.

Accompanied by pianist Yannick Rafalimanana, Bäverstam will present a recital featuring the works of Janacek, Shubert, Debussy and Barber.  Tickets are $25 online or at the door.  Praised by The Strad for his “…powerfully expressive style,” cellist Sebastian Bäverstam is a winner of the 2009

Concert Artists Guild International Competition. His recent performance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall was noted in The Strad for its “consummate instrumental mastery,” This remarkable recital led to Mr. Bäverstam’s subsequent selection by Musical America as its “New Artist of the Month” for June 2011.

Highlights of 2012-13 include his season-opening recital for the Rising Stars series at the Ravinia Festival, where he also spent the summer of 2012 as a member of Ravinia’s renowned Steans Institute. His cross-country recital tours encompass eighteen concerts in thirteen different states.

Sebastian Bäverstam, age twenty-three, has appeared multiple times on the nationally syndicated radio show From the Top, and has also been heard on international radio broadcasts of Voice of America. On television, he was featured on the PBS TV version of From the Top and participated in a PBS documentary filmed at Carnegie Hall, as well as a film by the Masterclass Media Foundation of Great Britain and a nationally televised commercial for Bose speakers.

Celebrating its 59th Season, The Chamber Music Society of Little Rock (CMSLR) is one of Central Arkansas’ premiere performing arts organizations. Through its annual concert series and educational events, the Society offers unique chamber music experiences to listeners ranging from connoisseurs to chamber music newcomers of all ages.  Each year CMSLR presents four concerts by award-winning solo and ensemble performers.   For more information, visit CMSLR on the web at www.chambermusiclr.com

Running on a Tin Roof

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talesfromsouthThe first week of each month, Tales from the South features one person sharing their life story. They call it Tin Roof Project.  April features elite runner Leah Thorvilson.

In 2012, Thorvilson qualified to run in the US Olympic Team Marathon Trials where she finished with a time of 2:42:09.

On March 4, 2012, Thorvilson won the Little Rock Marathon for the fourth year in a row with a personal best time of 2:37:26. On April 28, 2012 Thorvilson won the Frisco Railroad Run 50 Mile Race in Willard, Missouri with a time of 6:00:31. This is the fourth fastest 50 miler by a female ever.

Music is by the Salty Dogs and blues guitarist Mark Simpson

Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

The program takes place at Starving Artist Café.  Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm.  Admission is $5, not including dinner.

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.

Free ASO Concert Tonight

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20121020-054530.jpgMany have asked what the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will do when Robinson Center Music Hall is closed for renovations starting in 2014. Currently, a task force of board members, ASO staff, and musicians is researching and visiting venues throughout Central Arkansas that might serve as suitable performance spaces.

This is where the public has a part to play.

The ASO is hosting an open rehearsal tonight at 7:15 p.m. at the Wally Allen Ballroom in the Statehouse Convention Center. This rehearsal will be open to the public and FREE—so bring your friends and family. The ASO need hundreds of people to come and fill the room so that it can hear what the sound quality is like. The ASO also need your feedback. Will this be a suitable “second home” for the ASO while it is out of Robinson?

There is limited seating for this event, so please RSVP to Kelly Parker at (501) 666-1761, ext. 114 or kparker@ArkansasSymphony.org if you would like to attend.

The music to be played includes:

GIOACHINO ANTONIO ROSSINI: The Barber of Seville Overture
KLAUS BADELT/Ted Ricketts: Pirates of the Caribbean
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER/Calvin Custer: The Phantom of the Opera: Selections
JOHANN STRAUSS II: The Blue Danube
HANS ZIMMER/John Wasson: Music from Gladiator
IGOR STRAVINSKY: The Firebird Suite
CHARLES ROMAULD GARDES nee CARLOS GARDEL/John Williams: Tango (Por Una Cabeza)—Kiril Laskarov,violin

Riverfest 2013 Lineup Announced

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rvrfstlogoSugar Ray, Daughtry, Cody Belew, Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Peter Frampton among headliners

Verizon will again serve as the presenting sponsor for Riverfest 2013 – Arkansas’s largest and most popular music, arts and food festival.

The following musical headliners will perform at the main stages:
Bud Light Stage: Friday – Daughtry; Saturday – Sugar Ray, Blackstone Cherry, Bush; Sunday – Cody Belew, Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley.
Miller Lite/Arkansas Federal Credit Union Stage: Friday – Rodney Atkins, Jana Kramer, Darius Rucker; Saturday – Lupe Fiasco, Kelly Rowland; Sunday – Drive By Truckers, Peter Frampton

The festival is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26, and will feature music and activities in Julius Breckling Riverfront Park, Clinton Center Park, Heifer International Campus and the vibrant River Market District in downtown Little Rock. Children 6 and younger are free. Local and regional entertainers will be announced over the next weeks.

Advance tickets go on sale Monday, April 1, at Walgreens stores throughout Arkansas. These tickets are $17.50 for three days’ admission – half the cost of the $35 gate admission.

The advance ticket will be exchanged at any festival gateway for an IBERIABANK wristband that can be used for admission into all three days of food, fun and entertainment along the Arkansas River.

Quantities are limited for half-price tickets, so the public is encouraged to act fast. Visit www.riverfestarkansas.com for a list of store locations selling tickets.

Three-day passes sold at the gate will be $35. Tickets are now on sale online at www.riverfestarkansas.com for $30

ASO at Capital Hotel Tonight

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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 5:00 pm and will feature the Quapaw Quartet.

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.

The concert will feature short, accessible pieces along with commentary from the musicians.

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.

This concert is part of the ASO’s ongoing efforts to play throughout the community under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann and Executive Director Christina Littlejohn.  In addition to the Capital Hotel concerts, they offer occasional free concerts at UAMS and have recently started the INC (Intimate Neighborhood Concerts) subscription series.

Free ASO concert today at UAMS

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The Ruth Allen UAMS Series takes place from time to time at UAMS and is free. This afternoon at 4:30pm the concert will feature DDG Trio, a double reed trio. DDG Trio is composed of Leanna Booze, Lorraine Duso Kitts and Beth Wheeler.

20130325-192514.jpgThe program includes:

Steinmetz – Common Ground
I. Mending Dance
II. Lament
III. Song (after Landini)
IV. All Together Now

Quayle – A News Cycle
I. Impending Doom
II. Mass Hysteria
III. Class Warfare
Iv. A Heartwarmer

Boury – Flight of the Monarch
I. Out of the Cocoon
II. At the Flower
III. On the Path

Oeste – Variations on Variations on a Theme by Paganini

Directions

From Markham, turn south onto Hooper St.
Follow signs to Parking Lot 1.
Enter the lot, which goes underground.
Take the elevator to the “top” of the parking Lot 1, which immediately adjoins the back side of the lobby.
The Music Room is at the west end of the lobby, behind the grand piano.

Fireflies and Shooting Stars at Wildwood

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firefliesandshootingstars_coverFireflies and Shooting Stars, a children’s book written by Ed Raarup, will have a special presentation at Wildwood with selected readings and song performances from the book featuring Michael Rice, Raarup, Scott Eck and Little Rock’s own Vivian Norman.

There will also be an inspiring presentation by Scott Eck, singer/actor and original designer of Firefly Field, an all-accessible playground for children.

The event will take place today at 2pm at Wildwood Park for the Arts.  There is no admission charge.

The book and songs were written by Raarup and illustrated by Lindsay D. Nery.  This story book has ten chapters, over 80 colorful illustrations and an original soundtrack CD with 12 Songs.  It has been described as “a starlit, magical ride of courage, truth and hope for children of all ages!”

The book was inspired by the song “Fireflies and Shoooting Stars” by Little Rock native Michael Rice.

The book/CD will be available for purchase. A portion of sales will be donated to help fund the development of Firefly Field – an all-accessible playground in Little Rock for kids of all abilities.