Tag Archives: Little Rock Musical Coterie

2015 In Memoriam – Helen Caruthers

Posted on by

1515 CaruthersHelen Caruthers loved classical music. It was one of her life’s callings. (Another was being devoted to her family.)  After graduating with a degree in Music Education from Mississippi State College for Women, she was a music educator the rest of her life.

She was involved in music teaching and performing in Tennessee, Georgia and Colorado before arriving in Little Rock in 1977.  Once she arrived in Arkansas, she made her mark here. As someone who had served as a church organist and sung in many church choirs, it was no surprise that she created and led the children’s choir at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

But liturgical music was not her only interest.  She was interested in many kinds of music, but especially classical.  She taught piano to several generations of students. Along the way, she instilled other lessons into the students such as the value of practice, concentration, diligence and doing your best.

Helen was a tireless volunteer for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Chamber Singers, the Little Rock Musical Coterie, and countless other musical organizations. She was also a member of the Aesthetic Club. She pursued all these endeavors with a gentle voice and a graceful poise that charmed all who knew her.  Even as she endured a six year battle with ovarian cancer, she would attend as many musical events as possible to show support for the musicians and to enjoy the music.

The photo on the right (which was used for her obituary) captures the essence of Helen Caruthers. She holds a musical score in her hands, while pausing by the door with purse and keys. She is either on her way out or on her way back, but in either case – you can tell she was a woman on a mission. But she also is glad to pause for a second to smile graciously and gracefully for the camera. It is helpful to remember to take those pauses in life.  Much like in a musical score, rests are essential to help us enjoy the rest of the music.

Women’s History Month Throwback Thursday: The Little Rock Musical Coterie

Posted on by



In 1893 Mrs. Elizabeth Pierce Lyman (pictured at left), Mrs. Susie Pierce Stephens, and Mrs. Effie Miller Williams were invited to the home of Mrs. Cora Cross Marshall for tea and the express purpose of forming a music club. From this grew the organization now known as the Little Rock Musical Coterie.

Meetings of the Little Rock Musical Coterie were first held in members’ homes, and by January 1904, the organization had become well enough established to be featured in Arkansas Life magazine in an article marking its first decade as `a notable institution for the promotion of musical talent and higher culture * * * the leading organization of its kind in the Southeast.’

Meetings, with concerts, were held monthly from September through May, and from members’ homes moved to various city locations, including the Masonic Temple, the Christian Temple at Tenth and Louisiana, the Hotel Marion, Robinson Auditorium, and the Arkansas Arts Center.

From its modest beginnings, the coterie was more than just an opportunity for like-minded individuals to get together to make music. Perhaps because the membership has always included a good percentage of music teachers, the main interest and concern has been to foster musical talent in the young and provide financial support wherever possible.

In 1898 similar music clubs around the Nation formed the National Federation of Music Clubs [NFMC], which Arkansas joined in 1915, becoming one of the first States to affiliate with the national organization.

In 1904 the coterie voted to send $25 to the NFMC convention toward prize money for an American composition contest, the first such contribution recorded in the history of American music clubs.

In 1973 the coterie was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation and received tax-exempt status. Over the years, the Little Rock Musical Coterie has been in the forefront of movements that later resulted in the formation of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Choral Society, the Arkansas Opera Theatre, and the Community Concerts organization.

Annually, the coterie sponsors or promotes competitions and awards designed to encourage young musicians. The Hildegard Smith Award, in the amount of $1,000, is given each year to a university student. The Crusade for Strings competition, part of a national program of the same name, is open to elementary and secondary school students, winners receiving cash prizes and an opportunity to perform on a coterie program.

Programs for young musicians are organized and promoted through 11 junior music clubs and junior festivals are held in February.

The coterie contributes to the Butterfield Endowment Fund, which provides scholarships to the opera workshop and festival at Inspiration Point in Eureka Springs, presents the Stillman-Kelly Scholarship quadrennially, and the Wendell Irish Viola Award.

In the of cutbacks and budget constraints, organizations like the Little Rock Musical Coterie fill the void in school music curricula, as well as touch many other areas of the community through its actions in the cause of music.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary, Senator Dale Bumpers delivered an address on the floor of the Senate extolling the virtues of the LR Musical Coterie. 

LR Cultural Touchstone: Ann Nicholson

Posted on by

ann_nicholsonAnn Nicholson has been in Little Rock since the 1970s. She maintains the distinctive accent of her native Great Britain, which she puts to use as the “voice of UALR Public Radio” and the host of the weekly interview show “Art Scene.”

For more than 25 years, Ann Nicholson has shared the news and promoted cultural events in Central Arkansas via the KLRE/KUAR airwaves.  Host of “The Arts Scene,” an in-depth interview program that features local and international artists in all genres and a weekly arts calendar, Nicholson has loyal listeners who have enjoyed her interviews, her soothing and inviting British accent and her tireless enthusiasm for the arts. Those at KLRE/KUAR often refer to her as “the heart of Little Rock public radio.”

Being featured on Arts Scene has been a boon to many emerging organizations and institutions.  But more than that, her insightful and engaging interview style allows listeners to learn more about the artists and the artistic process.  The program feels less like an interview and more like a chance to eavesdrop on an entertaining conversation.

In addition to hosting the weekly interview program, she has been an active supporter of Little Rock’s arts community since her arrival.  She has been on the Board of Ballet Arkansas and UALR Friends of the Arts. She is often in the opening night audience at the Arkansas Rep.  She also rarely misses a performance of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.  Ann was a longtime member of the Little Rock Arts and Humanities Promotion Commission. She is a supporter of the Little Rock Musical Coterie and the National Federation of Music Clubs. When that organization’s national meeting was in Little Rock in 2002, she was involved in the planning of the meeting.