��Vlog��ý Little Rock Summer Concert Band returns

Janea Snyder — Thu, 23 May 2019 20:58:05 +0000

��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Summer Concert Band returns this month, and musicians of all skill levels are invited to participate in the free program. The group will rehearse four Tuesday and Thursday evenings – May 28, May 30, June 4, and June 6 – from 6 to 8 p.m. and then present a concert on Friday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, located in the Fine Arts Building on the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus. All high school, university students, band directors, and community members are invited to participate. “I call it the ‘Danger Band’ because you never know who will show up,” said Dr. Ken Goff, the university’s director of bands. “I have music picked for a group who I have no idea what they can do.” Goff has selected music by band composer Steven Bryant, a Little Rock native, Arkansas composer Francis McBeth, and composers James Curnow, Jay Chattaway, John Phillips Sousa, and Clare Grundeman. The Summer Concert Band – now in its third year – started with 35 musicians. Last year, 60 musicians of all skill levels participated. The band is part recruitment tool for the university’s Department of Music, part community outreach, and a lot of fun for musicians, Goff said. “A lot of high school band kids go to band camps during the summer, and they aren’t cheap,” Goff said. “I wanted to provide an opportunity to students in central Arkansas who may not be able to afford to be a part of such a program.” The Summer Concert Band also brings together musicians of all kinds. “I’ve had rehearsals where there’s been a son, father, and grandfather all playing in the group, or there might be a student sitting next to his or her school band director,” Goff said. “That’s pretty cool.” The band is open to musicians who play traditional band instruments, including flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, French horn, percussion, tuba, baritone, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon. The band is also a learning opportunity for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s music education students, who get directing experience. Goff films the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students as they conduct and gives them feedback. For more information, contact Goff at kggoff@ualr.edu.

Holzer will serve as piano soloist in concert honoring Arkansas’s musical heritage

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 19:25:15 +0000

Dr. Linda Holzer, coordinator of classical piano studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will perform as a piano soloist with the Little Rock Wind Symphony in a special concert honoring Arkansas’s musical heritage. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive in Little Rock. The performance will feature selections by Arkansas composers William Still Grant, who grew up in Little Rock, and Steven Bryant, who was born and raised in North Little Rock. The concert, conducted by Israel Getzov, will also feature the state premiere of Kaintuck, a concerto by Still, who was known as the “dean of African American composers.” Still, who was born in Mississippi, moved in infancy to Little Rock with his mother after his father’s tragic death from typhoid. He graduated as valedictorian of M.W. Gibbs High School in 1911. During his successful musical career, Still earned two Guggenheim Fellowships and honorary doctorates from Oberlin College and Pepperdine University. Kaintuck, originally composed for piano and orchestra in 1935, was transcribed for piano and wind ensemble by Dana Paul Perna, composer and musicologist, to expand the possibilities for performances. “When Dana Perna approached me with the score for Kaintuck several years ago, I was thrilled to pursue this opportunity to premiere the work in Little Rock,” Holzer said. “Still was prolific, with five symphonies and eight operas, ballets, and countless engagements as an arranger, conductor, instrumentalists, and recording manager to his credit.

William Still Grant

“I’m grateful to Israel Getzov and the Little Rock Wind Symphony for featuring this piece on a concert during Black History Month. Arkansans can be very proud of their musical heritage. The concert will include another work by Still, From the Delta, as well as a selection by North Little Rock native Steven Bryant and Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien.” Students may attend the concert for free, while general admission tickets are $15 and tickets for senior citizens are $12. Follow to order tickets.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Summer Concert Band returns

Holzer will serve as piano soloist in concert honoring Arkansas’s musical heritage

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Summer Concert Band returns