Rotarians receive musical treat, learn about Muses
Members of Hot Springs National Park Rotary Club received a musical treat last week while learning more about The Muses Creative Artistry Project courtesy of its CEO and a local high school student.
Deleen Davidson, CEO and general director of The Muses Creative Artistry Project, performed “I Dreamed a Dream” from the 1980 musical “Les Misérables,” while Sophia Wright, a student at Hot Springs
World Class High School, sang “Pie Jesu” from Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem” during the meeting, held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hot Springs last Wednesday.
According to its website, The Muses Creative Artistry Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable arts organization dedicated to preserving classical art and music through performance and education. Each year, the Muses Project presents over 30 multi-arts productions, including a series of concert events representing different artistic disciplines and styles, including visual art, vocal and instrumental music, dance, poetry and drama.
Davidson founded The Muses Creative Artistry Project after relocating to Hot Springs in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina forced her family to move. Perhaps it was fate that Davidson’s mother, also a singer, performed at the Arlington in the 1950s.
“My mother had been an opera singer with Marjorie Lawrence … and performed at the Arlington Hotel,” Davidson said. “She would bring her singers up from New Orleans — she had polio, she was an opera singer — and took the waters here and she would bring her students with her to perform in the summers. And 50 years later, I performed at the Arlington Hotel.
“In 2005 … I was introduced to Dorothy Morris, who told me if I started a nonprofit, she would teach me how to do it. Dorothy took me under her wing and we did in fact start The Muses … on May the 4th, 2007 — so this is our 15th year anniversary,” she said.
Another factor in the founding of The Muses was a campaign by Sunny Evans, Hot Springs’ 2022 Arts Ambassador, to provide Davidson with a piano after hers was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. The Graces Guild was formed around this cause and has since expanded its goal of supporting regional arts through The Muses Creative Arts Project.
“What became very clear to me — (in) the entire state of Arkansas … live performance was not as easily accessible to the young people growing up,” Davidson said. “They did not have that contact … it wasn’t immediately available. We began developing The Muses Young Artist Program, which makes it accessible and free. All students, all teachers, all artists are free to our program anywhere all the time.”
One such young artist to benefit from the program is Wright, who has been performing with The Muses since 2019. Wright has long been familiar with The Muses, first seeing them perform at around 8 years old and then beginning to participate at the age of 13, singing and taking part in community performances.
“I have been enjoying The Muses for a very long time,” Wright said. “Going to see these Muses shows was … an incredible opportunity that I am still so, so grateful for. My parents … tried to expose my sisters and I to the arts, but it was difficult to find places where we could enjoy this inside of Hot Springs, so we would sometimes go up to Little Rock for arts classes or to see performances. Being able to have the quality of performance that The Muses provides in Hot Springs for free was really incredible.”
Wright said she is also grateful for the opportunities provided by the Young Artist Program.
“I’ve been so blessed by the mentorship … being able to learn from local professionals … is really incredible. I’ve also really, really appreciated the supportive community that The Muses provided,” she said.
The Muses’ next production, The Music Man, will be performed June 15 to 19.
“Please come join us and support the arts, it matters,” Davidson said.