Tag Archives: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

Go for Baroque with the ASO Neighborhood season finale

Posted on by

TASO_revhe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the finale of the 2014-2015 Intimate Neighborhood Concerts series with Baroque by Candlelight on Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 7:00 PM at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 321 310 W 17th St, Little Rock. The candlelit concert features masterpieces of the baroque era by Handel, Bach and Vivaldi with piccolo soloist Gabriel Vega. The Intimate Neighborhood Concerts series is sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Foundation.

Originally written for “small flute” and probably performed on the high-pitched sopranino recorder, Vivaldi’s concerto is a perfect fit for the modern piccolo. Vivaldi puts the instrument through paces of extreme virtuosity in the outer movements and features a lyrical central largo.

Tickets are $25; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral beginning 60 minutes prior to the concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.

The Stella Boyle Smith Intimate Neighborhood Concerts Series is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy fantastic music in gorgeous, acoustically unique venues around Little Rock. The concerts offer a special, intimate performance where patrons can get up-close and personal with musicians in chamber orchestra ensembles performing pieces in the settings intended by the composers. In addition to hearing these beautiful works, concertgoers are invited to mingle with the musicians after the concerts.

PROGRAM:
HANDEL: Entrance of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon, HWV 67
BACH: Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068
VIVALDI: Concerto for Piccolo in C Major, Op. 44, No. 11, RV 443
Gabriel Vega, piccolo
HANDEL: Water Music: Suite No. 2 in D Major, HWV 349

Originally written for “small flute” and probably performed on the high-pitched sopranino recorder, Vivaldi’s concerto is a perfect fit for the modern piccolo. Vivaldi puts the instrument through paces of extreme virtuosity in the outer movements and features a lyrical central largo. Piccolo soloist, Gabriel Vega, hails from Los Angeles and graduated from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. Gabriel joined the ASO in 2009, and performed movements from Vivaldi’s piccolo concerto on the ASO’s Children’s Concerts in the 2013-2014 season.

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, Landers FIAT 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.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Mary Fletcher Worthen

Posted on by

JJLR-MaryWorthen-MayMary Fletcher Worthen has cultivated history and music with the same grace and skill as she has cultivated gardens.

Born outside of Scott, she attended Vassar and Little Rock Junior College. After marrying banker Booker Worthen, she has devoted her life to improving Little Rock. Together with Stella Boyle and George Smith, she and Booker helped found the precursor to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.  Through its many iterations, she has been a steadfast supporter and is now a life member of the ASO Board.  She has also been a supporter of many other music organizations in Little Rock including the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, of which she was a founder.

Another hallmark of her involvement is Mount Holly Cemetery Association.  For over 50 years she has served on the board of this body.  Without notes, she can recite the history of practically every resident buried there.  The tours she would lead with the late Peg Newton Smith were hot commodities when auctioned at fundraisers.  These two loving and lifelong friends would sometimes remember things differently. They playfully prodded and needled each other as they wended and winded their way through the headstones and history regaling rapt audiences with yarns of yore, quips and quotes, plus an anecdote or two.  In the decade since Peg passed, Mary has continued to entertain and engage visitors to the cemetery, especially at the annual Mount Holly Rest in Perpetuity (RIP) picnic.

She has also served on the Old State House Museum Board and the Pulaski County Historical Society Board.  As a historian, she literally wrote the book on Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.  She combined her interest in herb gardening and history with the creation of the Medicinal Garden at Historic Arkansas Museum, which is now named in her honor.

Born in 1917, Mary Worthen continues to learn new facts, share her love of history and music, and works to cultivate the next generations of cultural enthusiasts.