Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ENTERTAINMENT NOTES
The six-piece Lao Tizer Band — featuring pianist Lao Tizer, guitarist Chieli Minucci and violinist Karen Briggs — headline the seventh annual “A Work of Art” concert, 8 p.m. Saturday at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock.
The concert concludes a weeklong scholarship fundraiser for Art Porter Music Education Inc., carrying on the legacy of late Little Rock jazzmen Art Porter and Art Porter Jr. through music education and scholarships.
Art Porter’s grandson and Art Porter Jr.’s nephew, jazz violinist Lexington Porter, and Minors in Music, the nonprofit’s music students, will also perform. The organization will award its 2017 $3,000 renewable scholarships to Grace Zimmerman, a graduating senior from Dover High School, and John Gardner from Little Rock Central High School. Tickets are $45 and $60. Call (501) 492-9120, visit artporter.org, or the Art Porter Music Education Inc. Facebook page.
The week’s schedule also includes:
■ Noon Tuesday: Jazz on the Plaza, featuring Minors in Music, River Market Plaza (behind Oppenheimer Market Hall), 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Free.
■ 7 and 9 p.m. Wednesday: Jazz pianist Alex Bugnon, Cajun’s Wharf , 2400 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. $35; VIP $50. ■ 7 and 9 p.m. Thursday: Billy Jones Bluez, Khalil’s Pub & Grill, 110. S. Shackleford Road, Little Rock. $40.
■ 7 and 9 p.m. Friday: Porter Players Jam Session, 109 & Co., 109 Main St., Little Rock. Free.
‘Dead Meet-Up’
The seventh annual “Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies 2017,” onscreen 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Breckenridge 12 in Little Rock and the Razorback Cinema in Fayetteville, centers on the previously unreleased July 12, 1989, concert at RFK Stadium in Washington. The screening marks the 75th birthday of leader Jerry Garcia. Ticket information is available online at FathomEvents.com.
Honoring preservation
Aug. 31 is the deadline to submit nominations for Preserve Arkansas’ 2017 Arkansas Preservation Awards for eligible projects in these categories: Outstanding Service in Neighborhood Preservation, Outstanding Work by a Craftsman, Excellence in Preservation through Rehabilitation, Excellence in Preservation through Restoration, Excellence in Personal Preservation Projects, Outstanding Achievement in Preservation Advocacy, Outstanding New Construction in a Historic Setting, Outstanding Preservation Reporting in the Media, the Ned Shank Award for Outstanding Preservation Publication, Outstanding Achievement in Preservation Education, Excellence in Heritage Preservation and the Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Nomination forms are available online at PreserveArkansas.org; call (501) 372-4757 or email info@preservearkansas.org. A Jan. 19 ceremony and dinner in Little Rock will honor the winners.
SONA season
The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas opens its 2017-2018 season at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 with a Masterworks concert in Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville.
Canadian Brass trumpeter Christopher Coletti will be the soloist in the Trumpet Concerto by Franz Josef Haydn. The program also includes the U.S. premiere of Dream by the orchestra’s music director, Paul Haas, and the Symphony No. 5 by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky.
The rest of the lineup (except as noted, all concerts 7:30 p.m., Baum Walker Hall): ■ Dec. 16: A Very SoNA Christmas, 2 and 7:30 p.m., featuring the SoNA Singers, area high school and collegiate choruses and soloists to be announced
■ Dec. 17: The Snowman: A Family Concert, 2 p.m. The orchestra accompanies a screening of the animated film The Snowman
■ Jan. 27: Masterworks II — Mark O’Connor: Appalachia Waltz; Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 2 with principal horn Bruce Schultz as soloist; Erik Satie (orchestrated by Claude Debussy): Gymnopedie No. 1; Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
■ March 10: Pops — Fayetteville Jazz Collective performs movie music
■ May 5: Masterworks III — Giacomo Puccini: La Boheme (Act I); Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra.
Season subscriptions are $125-$235. Individual tickets are $30-$52, $10 for children 12 and younger and college students with ID; Snowman tickets are $9. Call (479) 4435600 or visit sonamusic.org.
Fort Smith seasons
Jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis opens the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith’s 37th annual Season of Entertainment, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7 at the ArcBest Corp. Performing Arts Center, 55 S. Seventh St., Fort Smith.
The rest of the lineup (except as noted, all performances, 7:30 p.m., ArcBest Corp. Performing Arts Center):
■ Oct. 4, April 4: Symphonic Band ■ Oct. 10: Choral concert
■ Oct. 19-21, 23-24: Theatre @ UAFS production (to be announced), Breedlove Auditorium, UAFS, 5210 Grand Ave. ■ Oct. 30: Gentri: The Gentlemen Trio
■ Nov. 8: “Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punks”
■ Nov. 16, April 17: Jazz concert
■ Nov. 20: Campus Lighting, 5:30 p.m., Campus Green
■ Nov. 26: Martina McBride Christmas concert, First National Bank Exhibit Hall, Fort Smith Convention Center, 800 Rogers Ave.
■ Nov. 30: Season’s Greeting Concert, 7 p.m.
■ Feb. 15-17, 19-20: Theatre @ UAFS production (TBA), Breedlove Auditorium
■ April 23: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (touring show)
■ May 1: A Grand Night for Singing.
Season tickets are $195. Individual tickets go on sale Tuesday. Call (479) 788-7300.
The university’s Season at the Blue Lion kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 with a performance by Robert Tepper and Chris Cameron at the Blue Lion Downtown, 101 N. Second St., Fort Smith.
The rest of the lineup (all performances, 7:30 p.m. at the Blue Lion):
■ Oct. 24: The Tejas Brothers’ “Tex-Mex Honky Tonk”
■ Jan. 17: Bumper Jacksons ■ Jan. 30: Music faculty concert.
Season tickets are $50. Individual tickets go on sale on Aug. 1.