UA Little Rock Hosts Three Free Music Concerts in November
Performances in Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall will feature percussion, chamber music, and jazz ensembles on Nov. 10, 16, and 19.
By Ariana Flores ·
University of Arkansas at Little Rock students will perform in three separate concerts at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall this month. All three events are free and open to the public, with doors opening for 7:30 p.m. start times on the scheduled dates.
The series opens on Tuesday, Nov. 10, with a Fall Percussion Concert directed by Justin Bunting. The program includes performances by the Percussion Techniques class and the UA Little Rock Percussion Ensemble. The ensemble will play traditional Mexican and Central American marimba music, a repertoire they recently performed at the Central Arkansas Library System Día de Muertos Festival in downtown Little Rock.
That same group will also perform the piece “æther 6” by Michael Calamas. Six members of the ensemble will take this specific work to the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis. The convention is described as the world’s largest percussion event, where the group will compete in a chamber ensemble division.
The Nov. 10 program also introduces the Global Rhythms Ensemble, a group formerly known as the Trojan Steel Band. The ensemble will debut with three steel band selections, including “Jean & Dinah,” “Underneath the Mango Tree,” and “Shut Up and Dance.” The performance will also feature traditional West African drumming and Arabic frame drumming.
On Nov. 16, the Piano Ensemble and Chamber Ensemble Fall Concert will take place under the direction of Naoki Hakutani. Ten student musicians will perform works by Edvard Grieg and Franz Gruber with the Piano Ensemble. The Brass Quartet and String Ensembles will perform selections by Dmitri Shostakovich and David Uber.
The final event of the November lineup is the Fall Jazz Ensemble Concert on Nov. 19, directed by Michael Underwood. The program focuses on the trumpet, featuring music by Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. The ensemble will also perform pieces associated with Clark Terry and the Ray Anthony Big Band. New Orleans musician Trombone Shorty’s “Hurricane Season” will be included in the set.
Student vocalist Cooper Sikes will perform the American classic “Route 66” during the jazz concert. The three concerts conclude the university’s November music schedule, offering a range of styles from international percussion to classic jazz standards.
