Tag Archives: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

Free ASO Concert at UAMS this afternoon

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Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the Spring concert in the Dr. Ruth Marie Allen Concert Series at UAMS.

Musicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra are featured in the UAMS Hospital Lobby Gallery on Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. The free-to-the-public performance includes ASO musicians performing Piazzolla’s Histoire du Tango, along with works from Haydn and Ibert.

“It is my hope that these concerts will promote the beautiful music of the ASO,” said series founder Dr. Ruth Marie Allen.” The concerts also aim to provide the opportunity for celebration and renewal to hardworking UAMS students, staff, and faculty, according to Allen.

Concerts in the Dr. Ruth Marie Allen Concert Series at UAMS are free and open to the public. Parking is available for a fee in Parking Deck 1. For more information please contact the ASO Box Office at (501) 666-1761, ext. 1.

Program
HADYN  — Trio in D Major, Hob. XV, No. 16 arr. for Harp, Flute, and Cello
IBERT — Trio for Harp, Violin, and Cello
PIAZZOLLA  — Histoire du Tango

Artists
Alisa Coffey, harp
Carolyn Brown, flute
Katherine Williamson, violin
David Gerstein, cello

ARmusica in concert at 7pm tonight

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ArMusicaFestival of the Senses, the free performing arts series sponsored by Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church at 4106 JFK Boulevard, again presents the ARmusica duo of Julie Cheek on piano and Andrew Irvin Tuesday, April 2, at 7:00 p.m. in a program of “Spring Surprises”: music by composers Arvo Pärt and Ludwig von Beethoven, plus a selection of beloved musical themes from the movies by Ennio Morricone and John Williams.

Julie Cheek, a Little Rock native who made her professional debut at age 14 as a soloist with the Arkansas Chamber Orchestra, has performed and held master classes with orchestras across America and Europe and has traveled around the world as a popular entertainer on several cruise lines. She continues to teach at Interlochen and elsewhere and to concertize throughout the U.S.

Violinist Andrew Irvin, concertmaster of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), has played his 1765 Gagliano violin in concerts throughout North America and Europe. In addition to being a cofounder of ARmusica in 2012, he is a member of the Irvin/Christopher Duo and the Camino Trio and has recorded on the Potenza and Naxos labels.

This season marks the eighth year of Festival of the Senses, with nine events spotlighting some of the region’s most distinguished and dedicated musicians and artists. Designed as a gift of the arts to the community to entertain, enlighten, and inspire, all events are free and open to the public. The performance will be followed by a reception in the parish hall for attendees to meet and greet the performers.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra launches 2019 Intimate Neighborhood Concerts tonight

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, opens the 2019-2020 Intimate Neighborhood Concerts (INC) series with Songs from the Heart, Thursday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (310 W 17th St, Little Rock).

Michael Underwood (ASO principal trombone) and Susan Bell León (ASO principal bassoon) perform music from Albrechtsberger and Lars-Erik Larsson, respectively. The program concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings.

ASO, I.N.C.: Intimate Neighborhood Concerts are presented in acoustically unique venues around Little Rock. The programs feature works suited to the acoustic and aesthetic space of each venue, giving patrons the opportunity to hear these works as the composers imagined them.

General Admission tickets are $29; active duty military and student tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the venue beginning 60 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 1.

Program
LARSSON, Lars-Erik — Concertino for Bassoon and String Orchestra, Op. 45, No. 4
Susan Bell León, bassoon

ALBRECHTSBERGER — Trombone Concerto in B-flat Major
Michael Underwood, trombone

TCHAIKOVSKY — Serenade for Strings, Op. 48

About Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 53rd full season in 2018-2019, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, to which the ASO returned in November of 2016 after a two-year renovation of the historic structure. ASO performs more than sixty concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series, River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, Intimate Neighborhood Concerts, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools. ASO is a member of the League of American Orchestras.

The 2019-2020 Arkansas Symphony Orchestra MasterWorks season is announced

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO) announced its 2019-2020 Masterworks which includes guest conductors and a concert conducted by Geoffrey Robson, ASO’s Associate Conductor who has been named Interim Artistic Director.

The Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series opens Sep. 28-29, 2019, with a concert presented in partnership with ACANSA Arts Festival of the South. Luminary conductor JoAnn Falletta is the first featured guest conductor, and American trio Time for Three is featured in work written for them by former ASO Conductor in Residence Jennifer Higdon. The program also features Ravel’s La Valse and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

ASO’s casual concert and street party, Beethoven and Blue Jeans, returns Nov. 9-10 and features works by two Arkansas composers: William Grant Still’s Festive Overture and Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement. Karen Walwyn, a specialist in the piano works of Price, is the featured soloist, and Andrew Grams will conduct the concert.

The Masterworks series ends May 2-3, 2020, featuring music from Fanny Mendelssohn and Schubert along with the return of prestigious cellist, Zuill Bailey, performing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto.

The 2019-2020 season coincides with the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote. ASO is celebrating by featuring two outstanding women conductors, JoAnn Falletta and Carolyn Kuan, two women soloists, pianist Karen Walwyn and violinist Simone Porter, and by performing works from four women composers: Pulitzer Prize-winner and former ASO Composer in Residence, Jennifer Higdon, an active and popular composer today, Little Rock’s own Florence Price, Lili Boulanger, and Fanny Mendelssohn.

The full Masterworks series includes:

  • JoAnn Falletta and Time for Three, Sep. 28 & 29, 219, with music from Higdon, Ravel, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.
  • Beethoven & Blue Jeans, Nov. 9 & 10, 2019, ASO’s annual casual concert, featuring works from Arkansas composers Florence Price and William Grant Still and guest conductor Andrew Grams.
  • Copland’s Rodeo, Jan. 25-26, 2020, with guest conductor Carolyn Kuan, and music from Ginastera and Bartok;
  • Sibelius & Debussy, Feb. 29 – Mar. 1, 2020, conducted by Geoffrey Robson, and featuring a multimedia work: In Seven Days: A Concerto for Piano and Moving Image, with pianist Andrius Zlabys.
  • Symphonie Fantastique, Apr. 18-19, 2020, with guest conductor Eric Jacobsen, and violinist Simone Porter performing the Saint-Saens Violin Concerto No. 3 in addition to the titular orchestral showpiece by Berlioz.
  • Zuill Bailey Plays Dvorak, May 2 & 3, 2020, with guest conductor Vladimir Kulenovic.

The concerts will be at Robinson Center Performance Hall.

Women Making History – Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton

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Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton made history as the first African American student to attend each high school year at and graduate from Little Rock Central High School.  But her impact on history exceeds that and extends into classrooms throughout Arkansas.

After a career which took her from elementary classrooms to corporate boardrooms, Dr. Hampton returned to Little Rock in 1996 to become the President of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.  In that capacity, she oversaw many opportunities to broaden the ways the arts and humanities were used in classrooms and outside of classrooms.  Dr. Hampton led the WRF until her retirement in 2006.  Through her vision and leadership, many tens of thousands of dollars of support went to cultural institutions and organizations during her decade at the helm.

In the mid-2000s, following the unexpected death of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s executive director, Dr. Hampton served as acting executive director of the ASO while a national search could be conducted.  She had long been a supporter of the ASO and other cultural institutions as a patron.

During the Central High Integration 60th Anniversary, Dr. Hampton served as emcee of the Commemoration Ceremony.  A few months later, she received one of the LRCH Tiger Foundation’s first Award of Excellence. She has also been honored by inclusion in the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail and the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.

She continues to be involved with Little Rock’s cultural life through her involvement in the Mount Holly Cemetery Association. She is a tireless advocate for this living museum of Little Rock’s past.

Last year, she was was interviewed by The HistoryMakers.  Recently, she was featured at Robinson Center when the public radio program “The Moth” recorded a show there.  L

 

Linda Newbern honored by ACANSA tonight in evening featuring Jeremy Stolle and ASO Youth Jazz Orchestra

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Linda NewbernTonight (March 15), Linda Newbern is being honored with the second Charlotte Gadberry Award by ACANSA Arts Festival.  Newbern is being recognized for her vision and dedication to expanding access to world-class arts which has made a significant difference

The program is at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater. Doors open at 6pm with the presentation beginning at 7pm.

In addition to the award presentation, the evening will feature performances by Broadway performer Jeremy Stolle and the ASO Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Stolle is a recording artist and concert singer currently in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera. He recently finished the brand new Disney theatricals pre-Broadway Production of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. He has traveled the world singing concerts and symphonies including A Yuletide Celebration with Sylvia McNair, the Indianapolis Symphony, Broadway Stars concert in Taiwan, and Modesto Symphony Pops.  Stolle appeared at 54 Below, Birdland and  Broadway.com’s National Showcase for Blockbuster Musicals and Broadway in Bryant Park.

The Arkansas Symphony Youth Jazz Ensemble was founded in 2018 after several musicians from Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s top youth ensemble asked for opportunities to play jazz. Initially, the group was planned to be a trio, and quickly expanded to a dozen youth musicians before the first rehearsal. Local jazz musician, Brandon Dorris, was asked to coach the ensemble, which has a non-traditional instrumentation. The ensemble’s focus is learning historically accurate style and improvisation, and has repertoire spanning the entire history of jazz through the 1960’s.

Haydn’s CREATION MASS to be performed tonight by Arkansas Chamber Singers

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On Thursday, March 14, 2019, the Chamber Singers with members from Arkansas Symphony will perform one of the most important works of late classical choral/orchestral repertoire, Haydn’s magnificent “Creation Mass.”

The performance will take place at 7:30 pm at St. James United Methodist Church.  Tickets can be purchased in advance for $22 for adults and $15 for students.  Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $18 for students.

Arkansas Chamber Singers is a performing arts organization dedicated to presenting and promoting the art of choral singing to audiences throughout the state. Since its founding in 1979, the group has developed a stellar reputation for its interpretation and delivery of a wide-ranging repertoire of choral literature.

There are presently 65 auditioned members, all of whom are volunteers who perform four to five times each year. The typical range of singers and audience members are from a 150 mile radius of Little Rock.  The Choir has performed in Conway, Hot Springs, Helena, Harrison, and Hot Springs. Singers and audiences hail from all across Arkansas including Arkadelphia, Austin, Bauxite, Benton, Clarksville, Greenbrier, Pine Bluff, Roland and Searcy.

The Chamber Singers are committed to continuing a tradition of excellence in all that is performed and working together to increase cultural understanding and creativity through a variety of compositions and performances.