Tag Archives: Naoki Hakutani

The UALR Artspree 2014-15 series concludes tonight with William Bennett, flute

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flutistBennet3The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s final Artspree event of the 2014-15 season will feature a musician regarded as the “greatest flute player alive” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 10, in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall of the Fine Arts Building.

Flutist William Bennett will perform including a rendition of Piano and Flute Sonata in A Minor from opus 64 by Mel Bonis accompanied by pianist Kaeko Suzuki.

General admission is $15 and $10 for non-UALR students. Admission for UALR students, faculty, and staff is free.

By raising the profile of the flute to that of an instrument capable of a wide range of tonal colours, dynamics, and expression, Bennett is considered one of the foremost musical artists performing today.

He studied in London with Geoffrey Gilbert, and in France with Jean-Pierre Rampal and Marcel Moyse.

According to Artspree Director Naoki Hakutani,  Bennett is a legend in the music world and in many circles is considered the greatest flute player alive.

His long list of accomplishments include earning the title of “Flute of Gold” from the Italian “Falaut” Flute society and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (O.B.E) for his distinguished Services to Music from Queen Elizabeth II.

Prior to the April 10th performance, Bennett will host a free master class featuring students from UALR and local high schools at 12:15 pm. Thursday, April 9.

For more information, contact Hakutani at 501.683.7230 or nxhakutani@ualr.edu.

Artspree is funded in part by the UALR Chancellor’s Circle Foundation and KLRE Classical 90.5.

Chamber Music Recital at UALR

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Tonight at UALR, Felice Magendanz-Farrell, Naoki Hakutani and David Renfro will present a chamber music recital.  The program begins at 7:30 in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall on the UALR campus.

Cellist Felice Magendanz-Farrell was born in Utica, N.Y., and educated at Indiana University under artists, Janos Starker, Josef Gingold and Gyorgy Sebok. Chamber music and teaching have been her enduring pursuits throughout her life from Indiana University to Minnesota University, Eastman School of Music, University of Central Arkansas, to concerts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Europe and Eastern Europe.

Japanese American pianist Naoki Hakutani, a native of Kent, Ohio, has performed as a soloist and collaborator across the U.S. as well as Mexico, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Hakutani is currently serving as assistant professor of piano at The University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He received degrees from Northwestern University and Indiana University in Bloomington prior to receiving the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

A native of Kingsport, Tenn., hornist David Renfro received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in horn performance from the Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music. Currently, David resides in Little Rock, where he is in his seventh season with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, currently serving as principal horn. In 2010 he also became the symphony’s Orchestra Personnel and Operations Manager. Prior to that appointment, David taught horn and music at Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University. In addition to his duties with the orchestra, David maintains an active teaching studio and performs regularly as a chamber musician and soloist.