(Continuing weather conditions may affect some of these listings. Please call ahead.)
MUSIC
‘Side by Side’
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Youth Ensembles — Prelude Orchestra, Academy Orchestra and Youth Orchestra — perform at 6 p.m. Sunday in Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. The Youth Orchestra — advanced players in grades 8-12 — will sit “side-by-side” with members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Music Director Geoffrey Robson, performing Emmanuel Chabrier’s “España” and Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy Overture “Romeo and Juliet.”
Andrew Irvin and Kiril Laskarov will conduct the Prelude Orchestra — string students in grades 4-8 — in “Concertino” by Elliot Del Borgo; “Ocean Storm” by Antonio Vivaldi; “Soldier’s March” by Robert Schumann; and “British Grenadiers” by John Caponegro.
And Tom McDonald will conduct the Academy Orchestra — intermediate-level string, wind, brass and percussion students in grades 7-12 — in “Cross Creek” by Carl Strommen; the “Allegretto” from the Symphony No. 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven; and the “Flying Theme” from John Williams’ score for the movie “E.T.”
General admission tickets are $10, free for children 18 and younger with an adult ticket. Call (501) 666-1761, Ext. 1, or visit arkansassymphony.org/events/asoye-sbs.
‘Carnival(s) of the Animals’
Musicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will perform Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals” in two downtown Little Rock venues on Saturday:
◼️ 10:30 a.m. at the Central Arkansas Library System Main Library, 100 Rock St., as part of an animal-themed event that will also include a DIY Dog Treats class, animal-themed crafts and a chance to meet adoptable dogs provided by the Humane Society of Pulaski County. Admission is free. Visit tinyurl.com/4b74ry3r.
◼️ Noon, a sensory-friendly performance as part of a new series of family concerts, at the orchestra’s Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, 1101 E. Third St. in the East Village. Sponsor is the Stella Boyle Smith Trust. Tickets are $5. Call (501) 666-1761, Ext. 1, or visit arkansassymphony.org. That concert is “designed to welcome audiences of all ages and abilities,” according to a news release.
In both performances, Valery Saul, the orchestra’s associate conductor, leads 11 ASO musicians, with principal cellist David Gerstein playing “The “Swan” with pianists Carl Anthony and Hee-Kyung Juhn. Ryan D. Davis will narrate from a text consisting of poems by Ogden Nash.
The Music Center performance is presented as a “sensory-friendly concert adapted for individuals with autism, sensory sensitivities or other neurodivergent needs,” according to the news release.
“Accommodations include reduced sound levels — particularly for sudden or loud passages — softer stage and house lighting and a smaller audience size to create a less overwhelming environment. Audience members are welcome to move freely, stand, dance or step out as needed. Talking, vocalizing and the use of electronic devices as communication tools are permitted.”
Additional features might include flexible seating options and opportunities for close-up, interactive experiences with instruments, supported by trained volunteers.
ART
In residence at UCA
Two exhibitions by artists in residence at the University of Central Arkansas open with a 4-7 p.m. reception Thursday in the Baum Gallery of Art, Room 145 of McCastlain Hall at UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway:
◼️ “Ancestral Spirits: Stitching the Past to the Present,” mixed-media fiber and quilted artworks by Alice Aida Ayers “that incorporate ethnic, hand-dyed and repurposed fabrics, as well as found objects, to create textured and layered pieces … that center storytelling around African and African American rituals and culture,” according to a news release.
◼️ “The United States of Selfies: A #SELFIETHRONE for the People, A 250-Year American Portrait,” in which Kat Wilson “invites every visitor to claim their place in the story of America” by “sitting on the #SELFIETHRONE and sharing their image, “(adding) their presence to a collective portrait two and a half centuries in the making.”
Both exhibitions will remain up through March 6. Admission to the reception and the exhibitions is free.
Wilson will present an artist talk, 1:40-2:30 p.m. Thursday in Gallery III. She will also debut a mini-interactive #SELFIETHRONE that she will create with UCA Art & Design students at the Conway Art Walk downtown, 5-8 p.m. March 6.
Support comes from the UCA Artists in Residence Program and Visit Conway. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. Email [email protected] or visit uca.edu/art/baum.
Small Prints Exhibition
The 30th anniversary edition of the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition opens at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Bradbury Art Museum, in Arkansas State University’s Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro.
Juror Ann Johnson, on the faculty of Prairie View A&M University, selected 55 pieces from more than 450 submissions from 169 artists from the United States, France and the United Kingdom.
The exhibition, up through March 18, was created in 1996 by the late Evan Lindquist, a professor and master engraver who served as the head of the printmaking area at A-State.
Museum hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is free. Call (870) 972-3687.
ON THE PODIUM
CALS spring speakers
ReShonda Tate, author of more than 50 books, shares her latest, “With Love from Harlem,” to kick off the Central Arkansas Library System Spring Speaker Series, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. The program honors the late Fred K. Darragh Jr., a trustee and longtime benefactor for the library system, and his commitment to civil liberties and education.
The rest of the lineup (except as noted, all sessions, 6:30 p.m. at the Ron Robinson Theater):
◼️ Rebecca Romney, rare books specialist on the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars,” will discussing her work “Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend,” 6 p.m. March 26.
◼️ Essayist and poet Ross Gay, whose works include “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude,” which “explores the wisdom of the garden and orchard, places where all — death, sorrow, loss — is converted into what might nourish us,” according to a news release, April 10. Free copies will be available at library locations starting April 1. It’s a co-presentation with the Oxford American.
◼️ Journalist and historian Richard Kreitner, author of “Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery,” will share insights on the shifting dynamics of Jewish life in America during the Civil War, May 14.
Gay’s appearance comes through a grant to the library system from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read program.
Admission to all talks is free; advance registration is suggested via cals.org. Copies of books will be sold at all programs, which will include signings.
