Category Archives: Music

Music of the Night this weekend in Little Rock presented by Arkansas Chamber Singers

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acs nightThis weekend the Arkansas Chamber Singers present their first concerts of the season.  Entitled “Music of the Night,” they will take place at St. Edward’s Catholic Church on Friday evening at 7:30pm and at St. James United Methodist Church on Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm.

Under the leadership of John Erwin, artistic director and conductor, the concert features excerpts from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “All Night Vigil”, “Sure On This Shining Night” by Morten Lauridsen and “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine” by Eric Whitacre. The choir will also perform “Dark Night of the Soul” by Ola Gjeilo and “Abendlied”, “O Schne Nacht” and “Sehnsucht” by Johannes Brahms.

Lynn Bauman is the accompanist, and Lisette Christensen is the executive director.

 

Tickets purchased in advance are $15 Adult and $10 Student; at the door they are $18 Adults, $12 Students.

Miller-Porfiris Duo tonight are first Chamber Music Society of LR concert of season

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CMSL MP DupTonight, the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock presents the Miller-Porfiris Duo on it’s season-opening concert. The violin-viola duo will perform a program entitled “Return to the Old Country.” The concert starts at 7:30pm at St. Mark’s Episcopal at the corner of Mississippi and Evergreen.

The program consists of:

  • FRANZ SCHUBERT -Six lieder from “Die Winterreise” and “Die Schöne Müllerin”
  • REINHOLD GLIERE – Eight Pieces for Violin and Viola Op. 39
  • WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART – Duo in Bb Major K. 424
  • ROBERT FUCHS – Five Duets Op. 60
  • VOTTORIO MONTI – Czardas

Praised by the press for their “haunting and picturesque” musical interpretations, the Miller-Porfiris Duo has been delighting audiences in the United States, Great Britain, and Central America since 2005. Anton Miller (violin) and Rita Porfiris (viola) first met over 20 years ago while studying at the Juilliard School. Their musical lineage can be traced back to famed pedagogues and musicians Ivan Galamian. Leopold Auer, Franz Kneisel, Joseph Joachim, and Josef Bohm, close friend and collaborator of Ludwig van Beethoven. In keeping with this distinguished pedigree, the duo has given seminars and masterclasses at festivals and institutions worldwide, and are Associate Professors of Violin and Viola respectively at the Hartt School in Connecticut.

Adult admission is $30 and FREE for students (K-College). Tickets available at the door or at www.ChamberMusicLR.com

Documentary on LR native Florence Price screened tonight at Mosaic Templars

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Florence-PriceTonight at 6 p.m. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will play host to the premiere of the new documentary, The Caged Bird. Produced, written and edited by Dr. James Greeson, professor emeritus of music composition at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, The Caged Bird presents an in-depth look at the life and music of Florence Price, the first African American woman to have her music performed by a major symphony.

Born in Little Rock in 1887, Price and her family were the elite of black society or as historian Willard Gatewood referred to them, “Aristocrats of Color.” Through her travels, Price came into contact with some of the most influential African Americans in our nation’s history, including abolitionist Frederick Douglass, writer W.E.B. DuBois,one of the founders of the NAACP, author Langston Hughes and dancer Katherine Dunham. Price became a favorite composer of the great soprano Marian Anderson, whose 1939 concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was a seminal moment in the civil rights movement.

In 1933, the world-famous Chicago Symphony, consisting entirely of white men, premiered Price’s “Symphony in E minor” at the Chicago World’s Fair. Even today this would be a huge achievement for any composer; but during the era of segregation it was a unprecedented feat for a women, in particular an African American woman, to have her music presented on the world stage by a prestigious orchestra. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Dr. Greeson.

The Caged Bird is free and open to the public.

Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is a program of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Final Wildwood House Concert of Season tonight – Dreaming Sophia

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WW dreamingDreaming Sophia will close out the Wildwood House Concert series tonight under the Pavilion on October 8 at 7 pm.

Dreaming Sophia came into being around six years ago.  Ted Williams had been a percussionist and flutist for many years when he picked up a guitar and transferred his knowledge and experience with world rhythms to a new chordal medium.  His wife Sonja would hear him combining chord with time, and inspired, began writing lyrics and melody lines to accompany his rhythm guitar.

The husband and wife song-writing team soon joined with violinist, Jason Choate, and proceeded to create an extensive repertoire of songs with gypsy, folk, jazz and alternative rock roots.   Drawing on universal themes with an Ozark twist, the song list expanded, as did the band.  Marvin Schwartz added mandolin, David Alexander brought in bass and, most recently, the band added Rand Retzloff’s drumming and percussion.

The songs of Dreaming Sophia are eclectic.  They are philosophically lyrical, yet as down to earth as an Arkansas morning.  Whether illustrating rekindled romance, the excitement of a child at a Southern fair, or coming back home, the songs pay tribute to longing, love, remembrance and compassion.

Admissions is a $15 suggested donation; doors open at 6:30 pm.  There will be beer, wine and snacks available for purchase.

Tonight at South on Main – Dana Falconberry headlines Oxford American Local Live

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llsom dana gTonight at 7:30 at South on Main, this week’s installment of the Local Live concert series features Dana Falconberry!

Presented by the Oxford American magazine, Local Live showcases the best of local and regional music talent and is always free and open to the public. Call ahead to South on Main to make your reservations and ensure a table: (501) 244-9660.

Dana Falconberry, an Austin songwriter and Michigan native, is best known for her eloquent interpretations of nature and wildlife in her music. Her 2012 album Leelanau, written as an ode to her childhood visits to the Michigan peninsula of the same name, is a more direct example of such inspiration. Leelanau was heralded by critics for it’s gentle but complex orchestration and garnered Falconberry widespread recognition which grew steadily over 2013.

Backed by her five-piece band, Falconberry proceeded to travel all over the United States, touring as support for other acts and blazing their own paths into unforeseen house shows and DIY spaces. The group was also presented with great opportunities to play festivals like ACL Fest, SXSW, and Noise Pop Festival. The critical recognition only grows further as music writers and radio programmers encounter the well-crafted sound of their live show.

Arkansas Sounds Gone By – a special Butler Center Legacies and Lunch today at noon

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arkansas_swingerToday at noon in the CALS Darragh Center, “Arkansas Sounds Gone By” will be a special musical Legacies & Lunch program.  It will showcase songs about Arkansas or written by people from the state, drawn from the Butler Center’s Ron Robinson Sheet Music Collection.

Musical guests – including David Austin, Bob Boyd, Susan Gele, Dent Gitchel, Richard Hunter, Herb Rule, Stephanie Smittle, George West, and others – will perform songs from the famous fiddle tune “Arkansas Traveler” to Arkansas native Floyd Cramer’s big hit “Last Date.” Vocalists will be accompanied by piano and fiddle.

Learn about the remarkable variety of songs from or about Arkansas, about the extraordinary music collection donated by Ron Robinson, and about the Tin Pan Alley songwriters who created songs about Arkansas without ever visiting the state.

Legacies & Lunch, the Butler Center’s monthly lecture series, is free, open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Programs are held from noon-1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. For more information, contact 918-3033.

First UALR Artspree of the season features Saint Louis Brass Quintet

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SLBQNewSmall-825x510The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s first Artspree event of the 2015-16 season will feature one of America’s longest standing brass quintets, Saint Louis Brass Quintet, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall.

Originally formed by members of the St. Louis Symphony, the Saint Louis Brass Quintet has performed more than 2,500 engagements throughout the world during its 40 years.  Current members of the Quintet are Allan Dean, trumpet; Ray Sasaki, trumpet;  Jeff Nelsen, horn; Melvyn Jernigan, trombone; and Daniel Perantoni, tuba. Jernigan is the only original member still with the group.

General admission for the concert is $15 and $10 for non-UALR students. Admission for UALR students, faculty, and staff is free. For tickets call 501.569.8993 or order online at ualr.tix.com.

Artspree is a performing arts series funded in part by the UALR Chancellor’s Circle Foundation and supported by KLRE Classical 90.5.

Artspree aims to bring unique musical and cultural performances to central Arkansas. In addition to the opening concert by the Saint Louis Brass Quintet, the series will feature an award-winning mime who has appeared on Broadway and two trios — one jazz and another that specializes in a wide array of musical periods.

Thanks to a partnership with the Little Rock School District, Artspree also is steeped in its commitment to educational outreach to young students.

For more information, contact Dr. Naoki Hakutani, Artspree director at 501.683.7230 or nxhakutani@ualr.edu.