From Texarkana to Carnegie Hall, there’s much to celebrate about area’s local talent
For anyone who’s followed the Texarkana Regional Chorale, it’s no surprise the choir headed to one of the most famous venues in the world again this spring to give a concert.
This was the chorale’s third time to perform in the famed Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. They were joined by local school choirs and other singers as director Marc-André Bougie led them in presenting Haydn’s “Mariazell Mass.”
The Carnegie Hall concert is just another thing putting Texarkana on the map when it comes to the arts and entertainment.
After all, Texarkana is where ragtime great Scott Joplin grew up, where player piano genius Conlon Nancarrow was raised and where Elvis Presley stopped to perform at the Arkansas Municipal Auditorium in the 1950s. Eagles great Don Henley grew up just down the road in the Northeast Texas town of Linden.
Music permeates Texarkana in many ways, as do the arts in general, whether it’s painting, theater or some other creative pursuit. It may take some digging to find sometimes, but it’s there.
A little more than a year ago singer Stephanie Rice brought national attention to the Texarkana area as a competitor on NBC’s “The Voice.” Rice, who grew up in Redwater, Texas, went far on season 12 of the show, making it to the Top 11 and working with musicians such as Alicia Keys along the way.
Long based in Houston, Rice talked openly about her Texarkana upbringing and returned to town for a celebratory homecoming show at Scottie’s Grill.
Texarkana was in the limelight again one morning in December, when hometown baker Emily Graham appeared on “Good Morning America.” Graham’s talents with the Christmastime sugar cookie landed her there.
The development of a new Texarkana music festival has brought Joplin’s name to the forefront again. Dubbed the Scott Joplin Regional Music Celebration this spring (last year’s had an international flavor), it brought virtuoso classical pianist and ragtime specialist Richard Dowling to town for a concert.
It’s the brainchild of the Regional Music Heritage Center and its founder David Mallette. The RMHC is another downtown development that honors unique aspects of Texarkana’s rich heritage—in this case, music.
The Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council and Texarkana Symphony Orchestra continue to bring top entertainment options to Texarkana, the kind of offerings you can find in bigger cities. Of course, the Perot Theatre is home to much of this, serving as a jewel in the crown of downtown.
This past season saw TSO on the verge of big changes, with conductor Bougie leaving his post at the end of the season. He’s co-founder of TSO, and the organization celebrated his many accomplishments during its 12th season. The repertoire this past year started with Romantic composers such as Tchaikovsky and Respighi and concluded with Gershwin. The orchestra partnered with Windborne to bring “The Music of Journey” to town for a rock-classical mashup, while the holiday spirit was celebrated once again with a Christmas show at the Perot.
A new TSO endeavour puts chamber music shows at Texas A&M University-Texarkana on the calendar. The TSO has balanced pops offerings with more classical fare in its lineup. The organization will work to find a new conductor over the next two seasons.
For TRAHC, this past year’s Perot Theatre series brought family entertainment, fine theater and more: a New York Philharmonic String Quartet concert, Moscow Festival Ballet’s rendition of “The Sleeping Beauty,” Christmas holiday shows with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and a “Cirque Dreams Holidaze” extravaganza, kids’ musical “Pinkalicious” and “On Golden Pond” by Montana Repertory Theatre.
Texarkana College continues its longstanding commitment to the performing arts as its music department brings award-winning talent to town, whether it’s hosting a touring troupe of opera singers, showcasing women composers for a special music program or hosting Joplin interpreter and pianist Scott Kirby’s Americana art and music performance piece. TC continues to put its performing arts commitment front and center in a remarkable way.
The college’s Stilwell Theatre is home for local thespians in the Texarkana Repertory Company. TexRep stages four shows per season, generally including a big musical and a more literary/educational selection.
“Shrek the Musical” kicked off the company’s latest season, which continues with “The Odd Couple” in September, “Shakespeare in Love” in November and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime” in February 2019.
TexRep, under the direction of Michael Cooper, has developed top acting talent here in Texarkana, constantly mixing new faces with veteran players in professional-level theater production.
Texarkana has a new array of youth theater programs with Silvermoon Children’s Theatre and the Fine Line Players, among others, putting a youthful spin on going to see a play. Texas A&M University-Texarkana, too, has a fledgling theater program developed under the tutelage of English professor Dr. Brian Billings. The university recently staged intimate black-box theater with a production of “Molly Sweeney.”
In addition to the Perot Theatre series of shows, TRAHC organizes exhibits at the Regional Arts Center downtown. Recent exhibits include touring shows and shows that feature the art of local and regional artists—“An Artist’s Eye: From Realism to Abstract” with work by Judy Wright Walter and “spRinGeey” with art by Texarkana native Amy Beth Wright. The Arts on Main building hosts art classes, while ArtsSmart puts artists into Texarkana schools.
A&M-Texarkana’s John F. Moss Library has become another quality space where Texarkana looks to find local and regional art. The 1894 Gallery inside 1894 City Market (formerly the Ritchie Grocery building) in downtown Texarkana is a colorful, spacious, light-filled space to showcase a broad array of talent.
The Texarkana Museums System has beefed up its programming to host activities at all of its downtown properties, including Discovery Place Children’s Museum, which is set to host a second year of tinkering fun with TinkerTown in early June. It’s indicative of the kind of hands-on, interactive activities that the TMS strives to present at this flagship museum on North State Line Avenue.
The TMS seeks to hold monthly events at its museums, including its newest, the P.J. Ahern Home, and has done more renovation work on another jewel of downtown, the Ace of Clubs House.
When it comes to live music, Texarkana still supports several venues such as Fat Jack’s Oyster and Sports Bar. There’s a new, all-ages venue in town for live music and food: Tusks-N-Horns. Spots like Twin City Sports Bar and Hopkins Icehouse ensure that downtown remains a live music hot spot, and Shooters Sports Bar has a new name: Whiskey River Country.