Category Archives: Music

Little Rock Look Back: Christmas songs on Robinson Center front steps

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Today, the Arkansas Symphony wraps up its holiday music concert at Robinson Center.

Similarly, 77 years ago,on December 18, 1939, the sounds of Christmas carols filled the air at Robinson. Only that time it was outside the building, not inside.

That afternoon, 500 school children from elementary schools were joined by the A Capella Choir of Little Rock High School as they sang Christmas carols on the front steps of the auditorium on a weekday afternoon. The singers were accompanied by the Little Rock High School Brass Sextet. The invocation for the event, which was sponsored by the Little Rock Council of Parents and Teachers, was delivered by the Right Reverend Richard Bland Mitchell, the Episcopal Bishop of Arkansas.

A Christmas tree in front of City Hall was lit up as part of the ceremony as well. Media coverage noted that the audience witnessing the program stood on the front steps of the Pulaski County Courthouse, the side lawn of City Hall and in front of the steps of Robinson Auditorium. It was also noted that most windows in the nearby government buildings were filled with people watching the ceremony.

The Little Rock Wind Symphony Christmas Concert is tonight

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‘Tis the season to be jolly and the Little Rock Wind Symphony offers a concert of musical merriment with a twist of folly.

This child-friendly concert includes other holiday favorites featuring the musicians of the Little Rock Wind Symphony joined by Christine Donahue, soprano; McAfferty School of Irish Dance; combined children’s choirs from Roberts Elementary School and Second Presbyterian Church. The concert will conclude with the audience sing-along.  Music Director Israel Getzov conducts.

There will be a silent auction before the concert, offering lots of items to fill those Christmas stockings. The auction opens at 6:30 p.m. and bidding will conclude at the end of the concert intermission.

Tickets are available at the door and are $10 for adults, $8 for adults 65 and over, and free for students.

John Plays Joni tonight at South on Main featuring John Willis and friends

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johnplaysjoniToday is John Willis’ birthday – and we get the present!
“John Plays Joni” is his birthday gift to Little Rock.
Little Rock-based singer/songwriter and founder of Late Romantics band John Willis performs a tribute concert to the music of singer/songwriter legend Joni Mitchell. The program will feature selections from the iconic songwriter’s over 5-decade career in music and give tribute to Mitchell’s genius as a poet and word-painter, a lover, an activist, and as a modern day mystic. Willis will be at the piano and the mic as usual with help from some of Little Rock’s finest musical talents.

Show begins at 8:30 PM with a $10 cover. Call (501) 244-9660 to reserve a table for the show.

John Willis is a singer/songwriter based in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. He writes and performs on piano with insightful lyrics, sensitive arrangements, and lush harmonies that derive from in part from the gospel music of his minister father, Motown groups that were his mother’s favorites, and his classical training at the piano.

Willis has been a featured songwriter in the UALR Songwriter’s Showcase (2011) and on local PBS affiliate AETN’s “On the Front Row” television series (2013). He was a finalist in the 2014 Arkansas Times Musician’s Showcase and has released two EPs, “King of the Cocktail Party” in 2013 and “Bad Boyfriend” with his band Late Romantics in 2015. Willis is an Artist, Inc. Fellow with the Mid-America Arts Alliance and has taught on faculty at the Wildwood Academy of Music and the Arts teaching yoga for young musicians.

Sessions at South on Main is a series of concerts featuring Arkansas artists, curated by one of their own. He is curating the December Sessions. His birthday show will kick off the month; watch the South on Main website and social media for updates on the rest of December.

Little Rock Look Back: AETN goes on the air

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Happy 50th Birthday to AETN!

On December 4, 1966, AETN officially went on the air and launched what has been 50 years of arts, history, and educational programming.

KETS, the flagship station, broadcast only in black and white from 1966 until 1972. The focus was only in Central Arkansas until other stations started going on the air in 1976. Today there are a total of six PBS affiliate stations in Arkansas covering not only the entire state, but also portions of the surrounding states.

In the early days, the programming was focused in instructional supplements to teachers.  From 1966 to 1970, AETN was affiliated with the National Educational Television network.  With the advent of PBS, AETN’s programming expanded as many other public television offerings were available.

AETN has brought the best of Broadway, opera houses, ballet, and symphonic halls into houses in Arkansas.  It has broadcast sweeping historical programs which have educated, enlightened and entertained audiences.  The educational programming has nurtured creativity in budding artists.

Quite simply, without AETN, the cultural landscape of Arkansas would be vastly different.

Thank You Little Rock concert by Arkansas Symphony tonight

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aso-thankyou_ticketOn November 1, 2016, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra distributed free tickets to tonight’s “Thank You, Little Rock” concert.  In 39 minutes, they were all given away.

But for those without tickets, there is still an opportunity to see this concert from the stage of Robinson Center Performance Hall.  A livestream will be available at the ASO website .

The program for tonight’s concert (under the direction of Maestro Philip Mann) consists of:

  • arr. Toscanini – Star Spangled Banner
  • DVORAK – Carnival Overture
  • BERG, Stephanie – Breathe **WORLD PREMIERE feat. ASO with Youth Strings**
  • MUSSORGSKY – Pictures at an Exhibition

The concert is sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust and the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.

 

RobinsoNovember: The Ten Tenors in concert tonight

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ten-tenors-rcmhTonight is the first vocal event at the new Robinson Center.  And what better way to test the new acoustics than the vocal stylings of ten tenors?

Home for the Holidays is a magical experience for the whole family that will dazzle, delight and captivate audiences. Join Australia’s rockstars of the opera as they amaze and enthrall with their unique selection of traditional and contemporary seasonal favorites. With soaring versions of Joy to the World, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, Amazing Grace, Winter Wonderland, Feliz Navidad and many more, Home for the Holidays is the perfect way to celebrate the spirit of the season.

The TEN Tenors are undoubtedly one of Australia’s most successful touring entertainment groups of all time, with more than 90 million people worldwide witnessing their unmistakable charm, camaraderie and vocal power.  Following 17 years of sell-out performances across the globe, including more than 2000 of their own headline concerts, THE TEN TENORS have cemented their place as one of the world’s most loved classically based contemporary music groups.

Tickets are available at Celebrity Attractions’ website.

RobinsoNovember: Art Porter Jr.

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bhm art jr.Like his father, Art Porter Jr. is recognized with a space named in his memory in the new Robinson Center.  Today marks the 20th anniversary of his tragic death.

Arthur Lee (Art) Porter Jr. was born in Little Rock on August 3, 1961. Porter began his music career under the tutelage of his father, legendary jazz musician, Arthur Porter, Sr. who surrounded him with everything musical. He performed proficiently on drums, saxophone and piano. He was classically trained but his performances ranged across jazz, rhythm and blues, funk, and ballads.

During high school, under the supervision of Sterling Ingram, private teacher and band director at Parkview High School, Art Jr. was selected to be a member of the Arkansas All-State Band for three consecutive years.  At age 16, he was awarded the “Most Talented Young Jazz Artist in America” by the National Association for Jazz Education.

During Porter’s youth, his playing while underage in venues where liquor was sold proved controversial. Bill Clinton, then attorney general, established a framework for the legislature that would allow minors to work in such venues with parental supervision. Act 321 known as The “Art Porter Bill” became Arkansas law.

Porter graduated from Northeastern University in Chicago, Illinois, in 1986 with a BA degree in music education and performance.

Art burst on the music scene with his debut album, Pocket City (1992), followed by Straight to the Point (1993). In 1994, his third album, Undercover, placed Porter solidly on the “wave” radio charts with R&B artists as well as “cool jazz” artists. During this same year, he performed at Carnegie Hall for the Polygram Anniversary Celebration. His final album, Lay Your Hands on Me (1996), contained the radio favorite “Lake Shore Drive.”

Porter traveled the world with performances but no matter where his music would carry him, he always returned to his beloved hometown of Little Rock. He conducted workshops for music students at his alma maters, Dunbar Magnet Junior High School and Parkview Arts and Science Magnet School. Porter died on November 23, 1996, in a boating accident in Thailand. He had just completed a performance at the Thailand International Golden Jubilee Jazz Festival commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s reign.  In 2013, he was posthumously inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.