Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Georgian pianist to perform LR recital, concerto, sonata
Georgian pianist Elisso Bolkvadze, a UNESCO Artist for Peace, will give a recital at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Roosevelt Thompson Auditorium at Central High School, 1500 S. Park Ave., Little Rock. The program will include the Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-flat major, K.570, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Impromptus No. 2, 3 and 4, D.899, by Franz Schubert; L’Isle joyeuse by Claude Debussy; and the Piano Sonata No. 2, op.14, by Sergei Prokofiev. Tickets are $20, $5 for students, free for Central High School students (reserve by calling the Arkansas Symphony box office). All proceeds benefit the Arkansas Symphony Youth Ensembles and Central High School’s music department. Call (501) 666-1761, Extension 100, or visit the website, ArkansasSymphony.org.
Bolkvadze also will solo in a Mozart concerto with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center, 100 Victory Lane, Maumelle. And as the 2016-2017 Richard Sheppard Arnold Artist of Distinction, she’ll play the Prokofiev sonata as part of a River Rhapsodies chamber concert, 7 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock.
‘Split Man’
Comedian/musician/magician/ventriloquist Andy Gross will perform his “Split Man” magic prank as part of a program, 8 p.m. Saturday at the Auditorium, 36 S. Main St., Eureka Springs. Tickets are $25, $20 for senior citizens and children in advance, $5 more day of show. Call (479) 253-7788 or visit the website, theaud.org.
Organ recital
Organist Marilyn Keiser, in a recital rescheduled from March, will perform the “St. Anne” Fugue in E-flat major by J.S. Bach, Carillon de Westminster by Louis Vierne and works by Felix Mendelssohn and George Frideric Handel, 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 224 N. East Ave. (at Dickson Street), Fayetteville. Admission is free. Call (479) 409-5679 or email charlie@stpaulsfay.org. Keiser also will lead a two-hour workshop for church musicians, 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul’s, sponsored by Friends of Music at St. Paul’s. Admission is free.
Bluegrass Hands
Bluegrass band The Farm Hands — Tim Graves, dobro and vocals; Daryl Mosley, bass and vocals; Keith Tew, guitar; and Don Hill, banjo — will perform at 7 p.m. Monday at the Collins Theatre, 120 W. Emerson St., Paragould, as part of Jonesboro public radio station KASU-FM, 91.9’s Bluegrass Monday concert series. The station will literally “pass the hat” to pay the group; suggested donation is $5 per person. Call (870) 972-2367, email mscarbro@astate.edu or visit the Bluegrass Monday Facebook page.
Bard party
The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre will announce its 2017 season at its annual Fall Membership Party, 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the home of theater Executive Director Mary Ruth Marotte, 4915 College Ave., Conway. The party will feature hors d’oeuvres, drinks, an art show and sale in coordination with Conway’s ArtsFest and a performance by cast members of the theater’s touring production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, currently visiting Faulkner County high schools. Admission to the party is free to Shakespeare Theatre members; memberships, $50 and up per family, are available at the door. Call (501) 269-9428.
Auditions
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Nicole Capri, LLC will hold auditions for tap dancers, singers and actors for the orchestra’s “Home for the Holidays” pops concerts, Friday an Saturday at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, 4823 Woodlawn Drive, Little Rock. Advanced trained tap dancers 5 feet and taller will audition, 6:30-8 pm. Friday; younger tap dancers under 5 feet will audition 4:30-6 p.m. Dress appropriately and be prepared to remain the entire time. Auditions for singers and actors will be 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Singers should prepare 16 bars of a song — preferably a selection from the 1940s or a holiday song — and provide sheet music for the accompanist. Auditioners for acting roles should prepare a one-minute comedic monologue.
Arrive at least 15 minutes before your auditions to fill out paperwork and supply a recent head shot or snapshot. Photos will not be returned. Schedule an appointment, via email — asoshow2016@ gmail.com — and provide name, age, email address, contact phone number and if you would like to request a preferred time of day for an audition. Audition appointments will be scheduled and confirmed via email only. Auditioners will be notified of casting within two weeks.
Performances will be Dec. 16-18 at Robinson Center Music Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. Rehearsals begin in mid-to-late November. A tentative rehearsal calendar will be provided at auditions. For more information, visit arkansassymphony.org.
Auditions for the children’s Party Scene cast for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s production of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker will take place, 1-6 p.m. Oct. 2 in the Great Hall, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 600 Museum Way, Bentonville. The auditions are open to girls and boys age 7-15, between 3 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 3 inches tall. Details, requirements and audition forms are available at waltonartscenter.org/auditions. Performances are Nov. 25-27 at Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center. Call (479) 4435600.
Fellows and treasures
The Arkansas Arts Council will recognize the nine recipients of its 2016 Individual Artist Fellowship Awards at a reception, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Oct. 13 at Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St., Little Rock. The honorees, who will all receive $4,000 fellowships, are:
Literary Arts: Poetry, Megan Blankenship and H.K. Hummel, Little Rock; Renee Emerson, Jonesboro
Performing Arts: Music Composition – Folk/Gospel/ Jazz/Pop, Charles L. “Charley” Sandage, Mountain View; Rachel Brick, aka Rachel Fields, Fayetteville; Derrick K. Gibbs, Benton
Visual Arts: Painting, Dustyn John Bork, Batesville; Heidi Carlsen-Rogers, Bella Vista; Steve Spencer, Little Rock.
Admission is free but seating is limited; reserve a place by Oct. 7 by calling (501) 3249348 or emailing robin.mcclea@arkansas.gov.
The Arts Council is also seeking nominations for its 2017 Arkansas Living Treasure, honoring an Arkansan outstanding in the creation of a traditional craft, including weaving, broom making, leather working, metalsmithing and woodcarving, toy making and doll making. Deadline is Oct. 21. Nomination forms are available at arkansasarts.org; call (501) 324-9766.