Tag Archives: Geoffrey Robson

Second 2nd Friday Art Night of 2015

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2nd Friday Art NightForget friggatriskaidekaphobia. Don’t think of today as Friday the 13th. Embrace it as the second 2nd Friday Art Night of the year.  Among the highlights for tonight are:

Butler Center
Three exhibits continue at the Butler Center.  Reflections on Line & Mass: Paintings & Sculpture by Robyn Horn in the Butler Center Galleries (through April 24), Of the Soil: Photography by Geoff Winningham in the Butler Center Loft Gallery (through Febraury 28) and Echoes of the Ancestors: Native American Objects from the University of Arkansas Museum (through March 15).

Historic Arkansas Museum
Two exhibit openings – John Harlan Norris: Public Face opens in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists  and Lisa Krannichfeld: She opens in the Second Floor Gallery.  Live music by Whale Fire and food by The Veg.  As part of the continuing Year of Arkansas Beer, this month features Stones Throw Brewing’s Chocolate Stout.

Old State House Museum
Join violinist Geoff Robson and cellist Felice Farrell for a performance of works for solo strings by J.S. Bach. The performance will begin at 5:00 and last until 6:30. The museum will remain open until 8:00. This is a casual event and guests are welcome to drop in and seat themselves after the music has started.

THE NUTCRACKER this weekend performed by Ballet Arkansas with music by the ASO

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nutcracker_1Celebrate the season with your professional ballet company as we continue a favorite Christmas tradition performing The Nutcracker accompanied by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Geoffrey Robson. The Nutcracker tells the story of Clara and her magical nutcracker doll and their wondrous journey to the Land of Snow and Kingdom of Sweets. Every year this fun filled production creates lifelong memories for hundreds of Arkansas families.

Under the direction of Artistic Director Michael Bearden with choreography by ballet mistress Marla Edwards and choreographers Allison Stodola Wilson, Jana Beard, and Traci Presley, Ballet Arkansas’ Nutcracker will be the highlight of the holiday season. Accompanied by the largest ever cast of local actors and dance students from across Arkansas, this year’s production will feature Ballet Arkansas company members Leslie Dodge, Toby Lewellen, Justin Metcalf-Burton, Lauren McCarty Horak, Paul Tillman, Amanda Sewell, Lauren Bodenheimer, Deanna Karlheim, Megan Hustel, Tony Sewer, Hannah Bradshaw and apprentice Georgia Quinn. This year’s guest artists include audience favorites UALR professor Stephen K. Stone as Herr Drosselmeyer and Eric Harrison as Mother Ginger, Tom Mattingly appearing courtesy of Visceral Dance as Cavalier opposite Leslie Dodge as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Colin Hathaway appearing courtesy of Ballet West as Snow King opposite Megan Hustel and in Arabian.

The Nutcracker is the perfect yuletide gift, the ideal means of introducing children to the power and beauty of classical dance, and a delightful way for the entire family to ring in the holiday season. Make Ballet Arkansas’ Nutcracker part of your holiday celebration this December! To purchase tickets for the December 12th, 13th or 14th public shows to The Nutcracker, visit balletarkansas.org or call 501-666-1761. Tickets range from $20-$52.

Performances began last night and continue today at 2pm and 7:30pm and tomorrow at 2pm.  This year The Nutcracker is being performed at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center.

Death and the Maiden highlights ASO River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series 2014-2015 start

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ASO_revThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the opening concert of the 2014-2015 Landers FIAT River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series: Quartet for the End of Time. ASO musicians present the music of Haydn and Messiaen in the beautiful Grand Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, AR, on October 21st at 7 PM. A cash bar is open at 6 PM and at intermission, and patrons are invited to carry drinks into the hall. Media sponsor for the Landers FIAT River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series is KUAR/KLRE.

Tickets are $23; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at http://www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Clinton Presidential Center box office beginning 60 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.

ARTISTS:
Quapaw Quartet
Eric Hayward, violin
Meredith Maddox Hicks, violin
Kate Weeks, viola
David Gerstein, cello

Rockefeller Quartet
Katherine Williamson, violin
Tricia McGovern, violin
Katherine Reynolds, viola
Daniel Cline, cello

David Renfro, horn
Geoffrey Robson, violin
May Tsao-Lim, piano

 

PROGRAM:

BRIDGE – 3 Idylls
BRAHMS – Trio in Eb for horn, violin and piano
SCHUBERT – String Quartet in D minor “Death and the Maiden”

Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor

ABOUT THE ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA:
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 49th season in 2014-2015, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and 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, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools.

 

Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestras perform “Side by Side” with members of the ASO tonight

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asoyoThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Youth Ensembles presents: Side by Side on May 2rd at 7 p.m. at the Robinson Center Music Hall.  Featuring all four ensembles, the concert culminates with the members of the top Youth Orchestra joining the ASO on stage and performing side by side with ASO professional musicians. Also featured is Stella Boyle Smith Concerto Competition winner, Hannah Cruse, oboe, performing as soloist with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

Adult tickets are $15; K-12 free, all seats are general admission. Tickets available at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; 501-666-1761; at the Robinson Center beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 2nd.

ARTISTS

Hannah Cruse, oboe

Casey Buck, conductor, Preparatory Orchestra

Kiril Laskarov, Andrew Irvin, conductors, Prelude Orchestra

Tom McDonald, conductor, Academy Orchestra

Geoffrey Robson, conductor, Youth Orchestra

Philip Mann, Music Director and conductor, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

 

PROGRAM

Preparatory Orchestra

Casey Buck, conductor

Arr.  Bob Phillips Sword Dance
Arr. Noah Klauss Loch Lomond
Richard Meyer Dragonhunter

 

Prelude Orchestra

Kiril Laskarov, Andrew Irvin, conductors

Eliot Del Borgo Concertino in G
Leopold Mozart/Arr. Rondeau Entrée and Allegro in C

 

Academy Orchestra

Tom McDonald, conductor

F. Handel Concerto Grosso in G op. 6 no. 1

  1.  Tempo giusto
  2.  Allegro
  3.  Allegro
Edward Barnes, Willem Mouw, violins

Eilis Jones, cello

 
Arr. Noah Klauss Concerto for 4 violins and cello in D op. 3 No. 1

  1.  Allegro
  2.  Allegro
Kevin Li, Angela Wang, Alex Small, Jalin Parry, violins

J.D. Hill, Cello

 
Arr. Brubaker Complete Harry Potter

 

INTERMISSION

 

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor

W.A. Mozart Concerto for Oboe, K. 314

  1.  Allegro Aperto
Hannah Cruse, oboe

 

 

Side by Side

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra

Geoffrey Robson, Conductor, Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra

Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

D. Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47

  1.  Allegro non troppo

Beethoven, Wagner, Ghosts and Tangos tonight at Ark Symphony’s River Rhapsodies

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ASO_revTonight at 7pm, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s final 2013-2014 concert of the Parker Lexus River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series will feature ASO Musicians playing Wagner, Beethoven, Theofanidis and Piazzolla. The concert will be held at the Clinton Presidential Center.

The program is an intimate showcase of the ASO’s musicians.

General Admission tickets for River Rhapsodies concerts are $23, and Student tickets are available for $10. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org, over the phone at (501) 666-1761 or at the door.

The program will include:

THEOFANIDIS                    O Vis Aeternitatis for String Quartet and Piano
(Quapaw Quartet, Tatiana Roitman, piano)

BEETHOVEN                      Piano Trio No. 5 in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost”
I.          Allegro vivace e con brio
II.         Largo assai ed espressivo
III.        Presto
(Geoffrey Robson, violin, David Gerstein, cello, Julie Cheek, piano)

INTERMISSION

PIAZZOLLA                         Histoire du Tango
I. Bordello 1900
II.        Café 1930
III.       Night Club 1960
IV. Concert d’Aujourd’hui (Modern Day Concert)
(Kelly Johnson, Karla Fournier, Carina Washington, clarinet; Lyle Wong, bass clarinet)

WAGNER                              Siegfried Idyll
(Diane McVinney, flute; Leanna Booze, oboe; Kelly Johnson, Karla Fournier, clarinet; Susan Bell Leon, bassoon; David Renfro, Brent Shires, French horn; Richard Jorgensen, trumpet; Kiril Laskarov, Andrew Irvin, violin; Katherine Reynolds, viola; Daniel Cline, cello; Barron Weir, contrabass)

 

PROGRAM NOTES
Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio is so-called because of its eerie slow movement. It is speculated that the ghostly sound may have been influenced by Beethoven’s thoughts of  composing a Macbeth opera.

Originally written for flute and guitar, Histoire du Tango is one of Piazzolla’s most famous compositions. It has been arranged for many ensembles and is presented here as a demonstration of the lush sound of a clarinet quartet. The work attempts to demonstrate the evolution of the Tango, and the composer provided these notes:

Bordello, 1900: The tango originated in Buenos Aires in 1882. It was first played on the guitar and flute. Arrangements then came to include the piano, and later, the concertina. This music is full of grace and liveliness. It paints a picture of the good natured chatter of the French, Italian, and Spanish women who peopled those bordellos as they teased the policemen, thieves, sailors, and riffraff who came to see them. This is a high-spirited tango.

Café, 1930: This is another age of the tango. People stopped dancing it as they did in 1900, preferring instead simply to listen to it. It became more musical, and more romantic. This tango has undergone total transformation: the movements are slower, with new and often melancholy harmonies. Tango orchestras come to consist of two violins, two concertinas, a piano, and a bass. The tango is sometimes sung as well.

Night Club, 1960: This is a time of rapidly expanding international exchange, and the tango evolves again as Brazil and Argentina come together in Buenos Aires. The bossa nova and the new tango are moving to the same beat. Audiences rush to the night clubs to listen earnestly to the new tango. This marks a revolution and a profound alteration in some of the original tango forms.

Modern-Day Concert: Certain concepts in tango music become intertwined with modern music. Bartok, Stravinsky, and other composers reminisce to the tune of tango music. This is today’s tango, and the tango of the future as well.

Wagner composed Siegfried Idyll  – in honor of his son – for his wife, Cosima. The piece was very private and filled with references of personal significance to the composer and his wife, many of which went unknown to the public for a long time.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 48th season in 2013-2014.  Under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann, the ASO performs more than thirty concerts each year for more than 42,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series and River Rhapsodies Chamber Series, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 24,000 school children and over 200 schools.

Rescheduled River Rhapsodies tonight – Sonatas for Two

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ASO_revDue to inclement weather earlier this year, the Sonatas for Two Parker Lexus River Rhapsodies Chamber Concert of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra was postponed.  It is fitting that on the last night of winter, the ASO musicians offer a musical adieu to bleakness with a warm offering of three Sonatas.  The concert takes place tonight at 7pm at the Clinton Presidential Center.

The program is an intimate showcase of the ASO’s musicians.

General Admission tickets for River Rhapsodies concerts are $23, and Student tickets are available for $10. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org, over the phone at (501) 666-1761 or at the door.

The program will include:

BEETHOVEN: Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major, “Spring”
Meredith Maddox Hicks, violin and Tatiana Roitman, piano

FAURE: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in A Major, Op. 13
Geoffrey Robson, violin and Neil Rutman, piano
BEACH: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 34
Andrew Irvin, violin and Julie Cheek, piano
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 48th season in 2013-2014.  Under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann, the ASO performs more than thirty concerts each year for more than 42,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series and River Rhapsodies Chamber Series, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 24,000 school children and over 200 schools.

Broadway on Broadway with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

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ASO_revThis weekend, the music of New York City’s Broadway will be heard along Little Rock’s Broadway as the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents the next pop concert of the season — “Best of Broadway.”

Get ready for a walk down the Great White Way in an evening of hits from Broadway’s most beloved show tunes! Join the ASO in a selection of music that crosses all genres and brings a smile to all faces.  The concerts are tonight at 8pm and tomorrow afternoon at 3pm.

The ASO musicians will be under the baton of Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson. One number will be led by special guest conductor Dr. Richard Wheeler.

The soloists for the concerts are Mandy Gonzales and Destan Owens.

Miss Gonzales has recently completed her run as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway.  She was awarded Broadway.com’s Favorite Female Replacement Award for this performance. She created the role of Nina in the musical In the Heights.  She has appeared in Aida, Lennon and Dance of the Vampires (in which she starred opposite Michael Crawford and Max Von Essen).  She is perhaps best known for her Obie winning performance in the Off-Broadway musical Eli’s Comin’.

Mr. Owens is an Oklahoma native with a B.A. in Musical Theater from Oklahoma City University. His stage appearances have included Rent, Chicago, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, The Who’s Tommy, Dreamgirls, Jesus Christ Superstar and Sisterella. He appeared at Arkansas Rep in 2007 in It Happened in Little Rock.  He has been a soloist with several symphony orchestras across the country.