Tag Archives: Philip Mann

Arkansas Symphony: Truth and Triumph this weekend

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20121020-054530.jpgThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra returns with another MasterWorks concert.  Under the baton of Music Director Philip Mann, the program features Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony as well as ASO Composer of the Year Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto for Orchestra.

In a season highlight, hear the ASO fill the Robinson stage with its full orchestral forces in a program of breathtaking power and expressive range.

Shostakovich’s awe-inspiring Tenth Symphony provides an opportunity for the talents, energy, and artistry of your ASO musicians to be showcased to their fullest. Premiered shortly after Stalin’s death in the USSR, this work is a product of its time, but is also imbued with timeless themes seemingly even more evocative today. Shostakovich the man is found in the very notes of the score and the transcendent power of music is displayed as he prevails in a popular masterpiece that begins with tragedy, terror, and violence but leads to an explosive and unforgettably triumphant conclusion.

ASO Composer of the Year, Jennifer Higdon, is highlighted in her Concerto for Orchestra, and the penchant for writing absorbing and compelling melodies that has endeared her to audiences worldwide is on display. Her virtuosity and range as a composer is explored fully in a work of creative contrast, Technicolor orchestration, propulsive rhythms, and an infectious vitality. The Concerto helped to cement Higdon’s position as one of the greatest living composers and in adding to the concerto tradition, she goes beyond highlighting principal musicians, and showcases entire sections, including the percussion with fresh and innovative sounds.

The concert takes place Saturday night at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm at Robinson Center Music Hall.

As always, kids can get in free on Sunday when accompanied by a paying adult as part of the Entergy Kids’ Ticket program.

A Night at the Movies courtesy of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

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20121020-054530.jpgFilm music is iconic. Imagine Jaws, Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, Lawrence of Arabia, Harry Potter, or The Sting without their scores.

This weekend the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents “A Night at the Movies” to pay tribute to the wide range of film scores which have enhanced our movie going experience.  Since the Oscars are later this month, it seems an incredibly appropriate time to do it.

The musicians of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Music Director Philip Mann will perform selections from favorite motion pictures such as The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story, Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, The Pink Panther and much, much more.

The concerts take place this evening at 8pm and tomorrow at 3pm at Robinson Center Music Hall.

All kids in Arkansas from Kindergarten through 12th grade can attend all Sunday performances for free using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket. Kids must be accompanied by an adult with a ticket.

ASO River Rhapsodies tonight: The Rockefeller String Quartet

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Rockefeller Quartet

Baker, Reynolds, BeDell, Cline

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra River Rhapsodies concert series continues tonight with a program to celebrate the Rockefeller String Quartet’s 10th anniversary.

They will perform Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1; Glass’s String Quartet No. 3 (Mishima) and Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 in D Major.

The concert takes place at 7pm at the Clinton Presidential Center. A limited number of tickets are available at the door. But the concerts usually sell out.

The Rockefeller String Quartet consists of Christian Baker, violin; Darby BeDell, violin; Katherine Reynolds, viola; and Daniel Cline, cello.

Christian M. Baker joined the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and the Rockefeller Quartet in September 2004. Chris’s doctoral research resulted in the publication of a book: “Violin Artists & Pedagogues: Their Schools and Pedagogical Influences in Historical Perspective (VDM Publishing House, 2009).

Darby BeDell, a native of Illinois, is in his fifth season as a member of the Rockefeller Quartet, and he has regularly participated in summer festivals including, Aspen, Steamboat Springs, Weathersfield, and Vermont.

Katherine Reynolds joined the ASO as principal violist and a member of the Rockefeller Quartet in 2000. Katherine also holds principal positions in the Conway Symphony and the Pine Bluff Symphony.

Daniel Cline is currently a member of the Rockefeller Quartet, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and the faculty at Hendrix College. He is also a pilot, skydiving enthusiast, and runner – having completed six marathons.

Philip Mann is the music director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

ASO Musicians Play at Capital Hotel This Evening

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ASO at CH

Scene from a previous ASO concert in the Capital Hotel lobby

Musicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will be performing this evening in the lobby of the historic Capital Hotel.

In 2011, the ASO started these free concerts in the lobby of the Capital Hotel.  The marble and tile of this historic lobby provide a wonderful acoustic backdrop for the musicians.

The concert will feature short, accessible pieces along with commentary from the musicians.

Unlike concerts in music halls, guests here are encouraged to bring drinks to their seats or to stand and move around while the musicians are playing.  It is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where the audience and musicians alike are able to interact with each other.

This concert is part of the ASO’s ongoing efforts to play throughout the community under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann and Executive Director Christina Littlejohn.  In addition to the Capital Hotel concerts, they offer occasional free concerts at UAMS and have recently started the INC (Intimate Neighborhood Concerts) subscription series.

25th Arkansas Business of the Year finalists include cultural institutions

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Arkansas Business earlier this week announced the finalists for the 25th Arkansas Business of the Year.  The winners will be announced at a ceremony presented by Centennial Bank and Arkansas Business on Tuesday, February 26 at the Statehouse Convention Center.

As is often the case several of the finalists in the business and business leader categories are supporters of cultural life in their communities.  In addition, two of the finalists in the Non-Profit categories are connected to Little Rock’s cultural scene.

christinalittlejohnChristina Littlejohn is a finalist for Non-Profit Executive of the Year.  Since 2009 she has been Executive Director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.  Since coming to the ASO, she has not only led it through the current recession, she also worked with the selection of Philip Mann as the Music Director.  Whereas many symphony orchestras are cutting musicians, concerts and series, the ASO has been embarking on new outreach concerts including the new Intimate Neighborhood Concert series..

Prior to joining ASO, she served as Executive Director of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Director of Residencies for the Cleveland Orchestra, and Executive Director of the Mobile Symphony.  She is also a cellist.

The Museum of Discovery is a finalist for Non-Profit of the Year. Established in 1927 as the Museum of Natural History and Antiquities, the Museum of Discovery is the oldest museum in Little Rock.  It has been housed in a storefront, the third floor of Little Rock City Hall, the Arsenal Tower in MacArthur Park, and since 1998 has called the Museum Center in the River Market its home.

The new facility provided more hands-on, interactive exhibits and programs, and the museum began to focus more intensely on science, technology, engineering and math. In 2003, the museum merged with the Children’s Museum of Arkansas and assumed responsibility for addressing the needs of preschool children. Also in 2003, the museum became a Smithsonian Affiliate.

In 2011, the museum closed for nine months in order to add a new entrance and undergo a total renovation. This project, funded by a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, also provided funding for new, interactive science exhibits, completing the museum’s transformation from a collecting museum to a science center.  Nan Selz led the Museum as Executive Director from 2004 through 2012.  Kelley Bass, a former member of the museum’s board, became the Museum’s CEO earlier this month.

ASO Inaugural INC Tonight featuring Justin Bischof

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Bischof

The Stella Boyle Smith Intimate Neighborhood Concert Series is a new concert series by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, featuring fantastic music in gorgeous, acoustically unique venues around Little Rock.

The three concerts—each about an hour long—offer a special, intimate performance and the opportunity to get up-close and personal with musicians in chamber orchestra ensembles performing pieces in perfect settings. In addition to hearing these beautiful works, you are invited to mingle with the musicians after the concerts.

Organ virtuoso Justin Bischof joins Philip Mann and the ASO at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church on Thursday January 17 at 7pm.

ROSSINI: Barber of Seville: Overture
POULENC: Concerto for Organ
BISCHOF: Improvisation
IVES: The Unanswered Question
MOZART: Symphony No. 35 in D, “Haffner”

Tickets may be purchased on the ASO website or at the door.  But seating is limited.

ASO Launches Neighborhood Concert Series

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ASO_revThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra introduces a new three-concert chamber orchestra series in Little Rock in 2013.

ASO’s Stella Boyle Smith Intimate Neighborhood Concert Series features an opportunity for concertgoers to hear works in unique acoustical settings just like the composers intended.

“We are very excited to be able launch the new Stella Boyle Smith I.N.C. Intimate Neighborhood Concert Series. Our mission is to engage, inspire, connect, and advance Arkansas through the power of music. These concerts achieve each point. Performing in churches will allow the audience to hear the music of Mozart, Rossini and Vaughan Williams in intimate spaces that allow the music to be felt, absorbed, and experienced. To accommodate busy work weeks, these concerts will be short. For those that want to socialize, the musicians will stay after the performance to connect with the audience over refreshments,” said Christina Littlejohn, Executive Director.

Capacity is limited. There will be two general admission seating sections. Premium section subscriptions are $52.50 and Regular section subscriptions are $37.50 for all three concerts. Single tickets are $35 and $25. Tickets for students and active military are $10. Tickets can be purchased online  at www.ArkansasSymphony.org, over the phone at (501) 666-1761, or at the door.

 

2013 Stella Boyle Smith Intimate Neighborhood Concert Series

January 17, 2013 at 7 p.m. Pulaski Heights Methodist Church

Featuring Justin Bischof, organ

ROSSINI: Barber of Seville: Overture

POULENC: Concerto for Organ

IVES: The Unanswered Question

MOZART: Symphony No. 35 in D, “Haffner”

 

March 14, 2013 at 7 p.m. Christ Church

Featuring Quapaw Quartet, Rockefeller Quartet, and Beth Wheeler, English horn

ELGAR: Introduction and Allegro, op. 47

HIGDON: Soliloquy

VAUGHN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

BARTOK: Romanian Folk Dances

 

Mozart Requiem with Arkansas Chamber Singers: May 16, 2013 at 7 p.m. First United Methodist Church

Featuring Arkansas Chamber Singers with John Erwin, ACS Music Director

MOZART: Requiem