Ravel and Villa-Lobos are on the program for tonight’s Arkansas Symphony River Rhapsodies

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Ravel & Villa-LobosThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra continues the 2019-2020 River Rhapsodies Chamber Music season with Ravel and Villa-Lobos, Tuesday, November 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Clinton Presidential Center.

ASO’s Rockefeller String Quartet, along with other musicians are performing Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello, Ives’ Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano, Missy Mazzoli’s Death Valley Junction, and Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5.

River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Concerts are held in the intimate setting of the Clinton Presidential Center’s Great Hall. A cash bar is open before the concert and at intermission, and patrons are invited to carry drinks into the concert. The Media Sponsor for the River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series is UA Little Rock Public Radio.

General Admission tickets are $26; active duty military and student tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSympohny.org; at the Clinton Center beginning 60 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 1.

Artists
Rockefeller String Quartet
-Trisha McGovern Freeney, violin
-Linnaea Brophy, violin
-Katherine Reynolds, viola
-Jacob Wunsch, cello

David Gerstein, cello
Katherine Williamson, violin
Geoffrey Robson, violin
John Krebs, piano
Casey Buck, cello
Rafael Leon, cello
Daniel Cline, cello
Stephen Feldman, cello
Kristin Smith, cello
Hannah Yeo, cello
Maria Fasciano, soprano

Daisy Bates, born 105 years ago on Nov. 11, 1914

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Daisy Lee Gatson Bates and her husband were important figures in the African American community in the capital city of Little Rock.  Realizing her intense involvement and dedication to education and school integration, Daisy was the chosen agent after nine black students were selected to attend and integrate a Little Rock High School.

Bates guided and advised the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they enrolled in 1957 at Little Rock Central High School. President Clinton presented the Little Rock Nine with the Congressional Gold Medal and spoke at the 40th anniversary of the desegregation while he was in office.

Daisy Bates was involved in more than the Little Rock Nine.  In January 1956, she led 27 African American students in their attempt to integrate four Little Rock schools.  While the efforts were not successful, they did serve to put the Little Rock School District on notice that the African American community was expecting action on school integration.

In 1959, she was arrested for refusing to provide City leaders with the membership of the local NAACP chapter. The case ended up going to the US Supreme Court as Daisy BATES et al., Petitioners, v. CITY OF LITTLE ROCK et al.  The decision had far-reaching impact in stopping government entities from requiring membership rolls as a means of intimidation or curbing the right of public assembly.

When Mrs. Bates died, a memorial service was held at Robinson Center on April 27, 2000.  Among the speakers were President Bill Clinton, Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, and Rev. Rufus K. Young, pastor of the Bethel AME Church.  Others in attendance included Lt. Gov. Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, Mayor Jim Dailey, Presidential diarist Janis Kearney, former senator and governor David Pryor, and five members of the Little Rock Nine:  Carlotta Walls Lanier, Ernest Green, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Jefferson Thomas, and Elizabeth Eckford.

It was during his remarks at the service that President Clinton announced he had asked that Bates’ south-central Little Rock home be designated as a national historic landmark.

Adams Field dedication and opening of first permanent LR Airport Building on Nov. 11, 1941

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On November 11, 1941, Adams Field was dedicated in Little Rock.  The ceremony marked the official opening of the airport’s first administration building.  It also marked the official naming of the building in memory of George Geyer Adams.

Adams was captain of the 154th Observation Squadron of the Arkansas National Guard. He also served on the Little Rock City Council from 1927 to 1937.  During that time he helped develop what would become Little Rock’s airport from an airfield first planned in 1929 for military planes to what would become Little Rock’s municipal airport.

Adams left the City Council in April 1937.  Five months later, he was killed in a freak accident when a propeller assembly exploded and sent the propeller careening toward him.

Adams’ family was present at the ceremony on November 11, 1941.  The fact that it was on Armistice Day was no accident.  Little did few realize that US would be plunged into a second world war just a few weeks later.

Top executives from American Airlines came to Little Rock to participate in the festivities.  Others coming to town included members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation.  New Mayor Charles Moyer shared credit for the building with former Mayor J. V. Satterfield who had led the project for most of the time.  (Satterfield would later be the first chairman of the Airport Commission in 1951.) Hundreds turned out for the ceremony.  While they were in town, the congressional delegation and American Airlines executives made the most of interest in them and spoke to various civic clubs and banquets.  They extolled the virtues of airflight and the aircraft industry.

On a personal note:  the terminal building was built by E. J. Carter, a great uncle of the Culture Vulture.

43 years ago, Arkansas Rep opened first show: THE THREEPENNY OPERA

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On November 11, 1976, the curtain went up on the first Arkansas Repertory Theatre production.  It was the Kurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht musical The Threepenny Opera.  Rep founder Cliff Baker directed the show and played the leading role of Macheath aka Mack the Knife.

Others in the cast included local attorney Herb Rule, Jean Lind, Theresa Glasscock, Connie Gordon and Guy Couch.  Byl Harriell was the technical director and production designer while Donia Crofton was the costume designer.

The production took place in the Rep’s home which was the converted former home of Hunter United Methodist Church on the eastern edge of MacArthur Park.  (Harriell’s business Bylites is now in that location.)

Baker had previously worked at the Arkansas Arts Center theatre when it was attached to a degree granting MFA program. He had also directed shows in other parts of Arkansas.  He returned to Little Rock and founded the Arkansas Philharmonic Theatre which performed in Hillcrest.  The Arkansas Repertory Theatre was a step forward with the establishment of a professional repertory company.

The first season of the Rep would include Company, Suddenly Last Summer, Marat/Sade, and Stop the World–I Want to Get Off. Season tickets for a total of seven shows were $30.

Baker served as Artistic Director of Arkansas Rep from 1976 until 1999.

Harry Thomason discusses BROTHER DOG: SOUTHERN TALES & HOLLYWOOD ADVENTURES today

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Producer and native Arkansan Harry Thomason will discuss his new book Brother Dog: Southern Tales & Hollywood Adventures today (November 10) at 3pm at the Clinton Presidential Center Great Hall.  The program is a partnership of the Clinton School of Public Service, Clinton Foundation, and Central Arkansas Library System.

Film and TV-movie producer Harry Thomason has worked with Burt Reynolds, Hal Holbrook, Gregory Peck, and Billy Bob Thornton, among others. His self-effacing stories– both humorous and poignant – are told as only a true raconteur can tell them. Thomason lives in Los Angeles with his wife, creator/writer Linda Bloodworth Thomason (“Designing Women,” “Evening Shade,” “Heart’s Afire”).

A humor-laced episodic memoir, “Brother Dog” is the story of a working-class childhood in the rural South during the 1950s and 60s, striving to become a filmmaker on an ever-expanding stage, helping elect a friend to the presidency, and anecdotal encounters with Chuck Berry, Prime Minister Tony Blair and other luminaries, all rich in imagery, grit, and humor.

Movies in the Parking Lot – RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

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Raiders of the Lost Ark.jpgMovies in the Parking Lot is a FREE EVENT provided by the Arkansas Cinema Society, The Root Cafe and The Downtown Little Rock Partnership.  Foodtrucks are open starting at 5pm tonight, the movie starts at sundown, approximately 6pm.

All the fun takes place in the Root Cafe parking lot.

Steven Spielberg’s 1981 action romance stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davis, Denholm Elliott, and Wolf Kahler,  Alfred Molina made his film debut in this movie.

Nominated for eight Academy Awards, it won four (Art Direction, Film Editing, Sound, and Visual Effects). It also picked up a Special Oscar for Sound Effects Edicting.

Movies in the Parking Lot is a fun way to get to know your neighbors and fellow movie buffs! Bring your folding chair and enjoy the food trucks! Nach’yo Nachos, Dark Side Coffee Co., Lost Forty Brewing, and Ocko’s Hibachi Island