Category Archives: Music

The Thea Foundation honored as 2018 Outstanding Foundation by AFP

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The Arkansas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals honored the Thea Foundation as the 2018 Outstanding Foundation.

The Thea Foundation’s mission is to advocate for the importance of the arts in the development of youth. This statewide organization awards 36 scholarships to Arkansas high school seniors annually. It also provides grants of $50,000 each year for creative material and artistic supplies to teachers across the state through Thea’s Art Closet.

Through its Art Reconstruction Program, the Thea Foundation creates new and augments existing arts programs in schools.  The Thea Foundation also sponsors the Thea Paves the Way event, student and community art exhibitions in their gallery, and hosts the quarterly Thea Art Department which showcases emerging Arkansas artists.

All of this work is undertaken by a staff of five full-time staff members, an active board, and ardent volunteer base.

Little Rock Look Back: The City says HELLO, DOLLY! to Carol Channing

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52 years ago tonight, on November 15, 1966, Carol Channing opened a six day stint in HELLO, DOLLY! at Robinson Auditorium.  She would play 8 sold out shows over those six days.

Channing, who had won the 1964 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in this show, had recently returned to the national tour.  She had just wrapped filming THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (for which she would receive an Oscar nomination). She had specifically requested that Little Rock be added to the tour.

Her breakout role was in 1949’s GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDS. In that show she introduced the song “Little Girl from Little Rock.”  Since it had helped make her a star, she had long felt an affinity for the Arkansas capital.  Therefore when she rejoined the tour, she required that LR be one of her stops before she left the tour.

While in Little Rock, Channing was entertained at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion and feted at parties.  She was made an honorary citizen of Little Rock, as well.

But she was here to perform. And perform she did. She was rarely known to miss a performance and always gave her utmost.  Bill Lewis, in his review in the ARKANSAS GAZETTE, stated “To hear Channing sing ‘Hello, Dolly!’ Is one of the great experiences of all musical theater to date…”

In assessing the show’s run in Little Rock (which would be seen by more than 20,000 people), Lewis summed up what many felt at the time — and to hear the reminiscences from a half century later, it still is a heartfelt sentiment — “A week’s too little.”

A Full Fall Weekend with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

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Tonight (11/10) and tomorrow, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has a full slate of activities, perfect for enjoying the autumnal weather.

While the centerpiece is the concert (7:30 pm on Saturday and 3:00 pm on Sunday), things kick off with a new festival celebrating local community organizations, arts and crafts, food trucks, and brews!

Symphony Local will celebrate local community organizations, including Arkansas Foodbank, and local arts and crafts vendors. Food trucks and drink vendors include Lost 40 Brewing, Say Cheese, Adobo-to-Go, Arkansas Heart Hospital Food Truck ‘Food from the Heart,’ Adams Mobile BBQ and more.

The festival takes place on Markham Street in front of Robinson Center prior to the concert from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and admission is free with a concert ticket to Elgar’s Enigma.

Once again, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is partnering with Arkansas Foodbank to help provide food to those in need. Arkansas Symphony patrons can help by bringing non-perishable food items to the Symphony Local festival. Anyone who brings 10 or more non-perishable food items will receive a voucher good for one pair of tickets to any upcoming ASO concert in the 2018-2019 season.

Also prior to the concert is the Concert Conversation.  All concert ticket holders are invited to a pre-concert lecture an hour before each Masterworks concert. These talks feature insights from the Maestro and guest artists, and feature musical examples to enrich the concert experience.

The talks are one hour before each Masterworks concert, 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays. The talks are in the Robinson Performance Hall’s Upper Tier Lobby. Take the elevators on the East (Doubletree) side of the building to the Upper Tier level. Exit the elevators and walk forward to the lobby.

The concerts begin at 7:30 p.m on Saturday , November 10th and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 11th. Guest conductor Sara Ioannides will begin the concert with Joan Tower’s Made in America. The program continues with Smetana’s The Moldau and Šárka from his set of symphonic poems entitled Má Vlast, and concludes with Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The Masterworks Series is sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust. Elgar’s Enigma is sponsored by Doubletree Hotel.

 

This weekend’s ASO guest conductor Sarah Ionnides speaks today at the Clinton School

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This weekend, Sarah Ioannides is guest conductor with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.  Today at noon, she is featured at the Clinton School Speaker Series.

Sarah Ioannides has received international acclaim for her work as a conductor. She has been listed as one of the top twenty female conductors worldwide by Lebrecht’s “Woman Conductors: The Power List,” and described by the LA Times as “one of the six female conductors breaking the glass podium.” Ioannides is a recipient of the Joann Falletta award for the most promising female conductor.

She is now in her 5th season as Music Director of the Symphony Tacoma. Previously she was Music Director with the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra from 2005-17 and the El Paso Symphony between 2005-11. Under her leadership both Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphony Tacoma have received ArtWorks grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for creativity in collaboration, community, and commissioning projects and is now well recognized for her skills as a musical curator and adventurous programming.

In her career, Ioannides has had guest engagement spanning 6 continents. She has conducted the Tonkünstler Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Nationale de Lyon, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Flemish Radio Orchestra, National Symphony of Colombia, Daejeon Philharmonic, Translyvannia Philharmonic Orchestra, Wuttenbergisches Kammerorchester, and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra.

Ioannides has also led orchestras extensively in the United States including the Buffalo Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, Hawai’i Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, New Haven Symphony, New West Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony, and Tulsa Symphony with numerous return engagements. Ioannides has also appeared in special engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New World Symphony and the London Symphony Orchestra.

First Arkansas Arts Advocacy Day

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On Wednesday, November 7 at the Arkansas State Capitol, Arkansans for the Arts and the new Arkansas General Assembly Legislative Arts Caucus will be participating in the first Arkansas Arts Advocacy Day.

The day starts from 9am to 11am with sessions on Creative Economy 101 (Dr. Lenore Shoults of the Arts & Science Center for SE Arkansas), Arts Education Advocacy (Steve Holder, Vice President of Arkansans for the Arts), and Arts Funding Opportunities 101 (Dr. Gayle Seymour of the University of Central Arkansas).

From 11am to 11:30am, there will be a Creative Economy Networking Business Exchange.

From 11:30am to 12:00pm, the Legislative Arts Caucus will be introduced.  The inaugural members of the caucus come from each of the Arkansas Arts Council’s eight districts. The members are: Senators Ron Caldwell, Eddie Cheatham, Breanne Davis, Joyce Elliott, Scott Flippo, Missy Thomas Irvin, Matt Pitsch, and Larry Teague. The House members are Representatives Sarah Capp, Carol Dalby, Janna Della Rosa, Deborah Ferguson, Vivian Flowers, Michael John Gray, Monte Hodges, Reginald Murdock, and Les Warren.

In addition to the sessions, there will be an Arts Talent Showcase.  On the front steps of the Capitol building the following groups will perform:

  • Conway Junior High Choir – 9am
  • Dover High School Jazz Ensemble – 9:30am
  • Earle High School Band – 10:00am
  • Alma Intermediate School Choir I – 10:30am
  • Alma Intermediate School Choir II – 11:00am
  • (Break for Legislative Caucus introduction at 11:30am)
  • Conway High School Chamber Orchestra – 12:00pm
  • Hot Springs High School Dance Troupe – 12:30pm
  • LRSD Washington Elementary Dynamic Drummers – 1:00pm

In the rotunda of the Capitol building the following groups will perform:

  • Jacksonville Lester Elementary Choir – 9am
  • Searcy Community Youth Choir – 9:15am
  • LRSD Parkview Dance Troupe – 9:30am
  • (Break at 9:45am)
  • Dover Schools Musical Theatre – 10:00am
  • Walnut Ridge High School Choir – 10:15am
  • Ashdown High School Drama Department – 10:30am
  • Hamburg Middle School – 10:45am
  • Lakeside Middle School Girls Choir – 11:00am
  • (Break for Legislative Caucus introduction at 11:30am)
  • Russellfille High School Thespians – 12:00pm
  • Van Buren High School – 12:15pm
  • (Break at 12:30pm)
  • Hot Springs High School Choir – 12:45pm
  • Morrilton High School Show Choir – 1:00pm

RIP Donna Axum

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News outlets are reporting that Arkansas’ first Miss America, Donna Axum, has died.

A native of El Dorado and a student at the University of Arkansas, during her reign as Miss America Miss Axum (or simply Donna as the newspaper headlines referred to her) made four public visits to Little Rock.  As the first Miss Arkansas to become Miss America, the state’s Capitol City was very interested in giving her a warm welcome.

After being crowned on September 7, 1963, Axum’s first official visit to Arkansas was November 1 through 3.  In addition to stops in Hot Springs and El Dorado, she appeared in Little Rock to attend events including an Arkansas Razorback football game at War Memorial Stadium.  Her entourage included the top four runners up from the Miss America pageant.

In February 1964, she made a brief appearance in Little Rock which included a press conference.

Donna Axum spent nearly two weeks in Arkansas in May 1964 attending several pageants as well as spending time with family.  During that visit she appeared in Little Rock twice.  The second time she headlined a concert with the Arkansas Symphony (not related to the current Arkansas Symphony Orchestra) and the Arkansas Choral Society. It took place at Robinson Auditorium.

Little Rock Look Back: Dedication of LR High School Auditorium

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On October 31, 1927, a recital took place in the auditorium of the new Little Rock High School which served as a dedication ceremony for the new high school auditorium.  The school had been serving students for several weeks by the time the recital took place.  The first day of school was Wednesday, September 14, 1927.

The star of the recital was Mary Lewis, a Little Rock High School graduate (from the previous location on Scott Street) who had made her Metropolitan Opera debut and become a toast of New York City.

The evening started with remarks from former Arkansas Governor Charles Brough, who had made a name for himself as an advocate for education before, during and after his stint in the statehouse.  He was followed by Miss Lewis, who sang over a dozen arias and musical selections.  For her first encore, Miss Lewis sang “Dixie.”  Her second encore was supposed to be “Home Sweet Home.”  After several attempts to sing it, she was so overcome with emotion that she had to abandon the effort.

For more on the opening event, read Jay Jennings’ excellent book Carry the Rock: Race, Football, and the Soul of an American City.

The 1927 schoolbuilding replaced one built in 1905 at 14th and Scott Streets (with an auditorium completed a few years later at 14th and Cumberland).  This new building was located in the western edges of Little Rock on what had been city parkland.  The former West End Park was now site to Little Rock High School.  The adjoining Kavanaugh Field was a baseball field on which Earl Quigley’s football Tigers also played their games.

Architects John Parks Almand, Lawson L. Delony, George R. Mann, Eugene John Stern, and George H. Wittenberg (virtually all of Little Rock’s full-time working architects at the time) designed the $1.5 million structure, which the New York Times dubbed the most expensive school ever built in the United States at that time.

Featuring a combination of Collegiate Gothic and Art Deco architecture, Central High spans two city blocks, comprising over 150,000 square feet of floor space, upon its completion. Requiring 36 million pounds of concrete and 370 tons of steel, the finished product consisted of 100 classrooms (accommodating over 1,800 students), a fireproof 2,000-seat auditorium, a gymnasium, and a greenhouse.

The six-story structure (counting the bell tower and basement) features a middle section containing the auditorium with four classroom wings (two per side) flanking a reflection pool in the foreground of the building. Faced with brick, the building’s highlights include pilasters and colonnades of cut stone, double-hung window frames with twelve lights per sash, and a main entry terrace supported by a colonnade of five masonry arches rising above Corinthian columns of stone.