News Taffy

It is time once again for the NOON Concert~Lecture Series at ASU-Newport. The 2010-2011 season will begin on Thursday, September 23 in the Center for the Arts with a concert by Violin soloist Oksana Pavilionis. Oksana is a premier concert violinist who will perform music by Rachmaninoff, waltzes by Strauss, then switch to down home fiddling. Her performances showcase the beauty of string music and demonstrate the variety of music that can be performed with a string instrument. Oksana began playing at age five in Russia and now lives in Mountain Home.

In a performance in partnership with the Iron Mountain Regional Arts Council (IMRAC), a Tell-A-Tale by the Arkansas Arts Center will be presented on Thursday, October 26. There will be two special performances of Alice in Wonderland…one at 1pm for area school children and one at 7pm for children and their families. In Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll blends fantasy, curiosity and wonder in the most enchanting way to create the adventure of a lifetime for his young heroine, Alice. As the story begins, the brave little wonder-seeker slips away from her boring older sister to follow a curious White Rabbit into a rabbit hole—but it is more than just a rabbit hole; it is gateway to a strange and wonderful upside-down world filled with topsy-turvy characters.

On Tuesday, November 9 hear Tuckerman native William T. Phillips, CEO of Phillips Service Industries and author of the book An American Entrepreneur. Phillips will share his story of how an Arkansas farm boy go from working in his grandfather’s fields to building a major corporation that is considered a world leader in aerospace technology and national defense. A book signing will follow the lecture.

February is Black History Month and ASU-Newport and IMRAC will host a special presentation on the 14 in celebration. Of Ebony Embers is a music theatre work with a solo actor and chamber music trio. The performance explores the life and times of African-Americans who helped shape the Harlem Renaissance. Of Ebony Embers examines the lives of three African-American poets: Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay. The Core Ensemble, a nationally acclaimed trio of cello, piano and percussion, performs music by African-American composers like jazz greats Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus to concert music composers Jeffrey Mumford and George Walker.

On Sunday, March 6, Pianist Scott Carrell will perform at 2pm. Carrell has performed at ASUN twice before and his shows are always a big hit with the audience. His newest program features classical, ragtime and jazz standards plus a parody of serious pianists.

To wrap up the season, ASUN and IMRAC will partner again to present Jazz Xtreme, an 18-piece big band led by Jazz Trombonist Craig A. Grubbs. The instrumentalists perform many big band standards, Be-Bop arrangements, and some modern jazz compositions as well. The band was formed by Craig to keep jazz alive, and is made up of musicians from all over central Arkansas who love to play and create music. Jazz Xtreme will perform at 2pm on Sunday, April 10.

The NOON Concert~Lecture series performances are held in the ASU-Newport Center for the Arts. The Arkansas Steel Associates Charitable Foundation sponsors the series. The series is free and open to the public. Join us for some music, some fun and you will leave with a song in your heart!