What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1360267
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette T he through-line that connects all of our chamber music performances, both at Walton Arts Center and outdoor concerts, is the musicians themselves," D. Riley Nicholson, executive director of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, says of a series of upcoming events. "We're framing all of these concerts as part of a 'SoNA Voices' series because the concerts feature members of the SoNA family with programs created not by [music director Paul Haas] or me, but by the musicians themselves. These concerts are a reflection of their artistic voices, their interests, their visions for what classical music is and what it can be." In a year when SoNA has put large orchestral performances on hold, the smaller events allow "our audiences [to] get to know our artists up close and personal and in a new way," Nicholson says, "hearing a different side of SoNA that really was there all along. I think both our artists and audiences have really appreciated the chance to present music in new ways; it's made us grow as artists, and it's given us new opportunities to rethink how we can use this moment to change our industry for the better. "However," he adds, "audiences and artists miss playing together in large groups; there is no substitute for large, live, in-person symphonic concerts. Put simply, we can't wait to get back to Walton Arts Center! We plan to return to the mainstage in full force in the fall for Season 2021-22!" The next four SoNA Voices performances are: 'Latin Tones' Duo Capriccioso 2 p.m. April 11 In the Atrium at WAC "Originally from the tropical country of Honduras, flutist Denissa Rivas and violinist Raúl Munguía are a husband- and-wife duo who keep busy with a teaching and performance career in music," Munguía says via email. He is an associate professor of music and conductor of the Southeast Kansas Symphony at Pittsburg State University, and Denissa is the music director at Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College and adjunct flute and theory instructor at Pittsburg State University. At the request of SoNA, Munguía says, Duo Capriccioso will present "Latin Tones" in a bilingual format. "Our purpose is that by presenting this particular program, the audiences of Northwest Arkansas would get a little bit of the musical flavors from different Latin American regions." Tickets: Free; reservations at sonamusic.org 'Who We Are' Featuring Lia Uribe 2 p.m. April 18 In the Atrium at WAC "This recital will present pieces by diverse contemporary composers and compositional styles, unified by the theme of life, uncertainty and utopias," says Lia Uribe, who will perform on bassoon joined by Fernando Valencia and Matt Brusca, percussion, and Miroslava Panayotova, piano. "The program includes pieces by composers Mario Lavista (Mexico), Katherine Murdock (local bright star), Noelia www.malco.com APRIL 11-17, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 11 In Their Own Voices SoNA musicians invite listeners into intimate spaces "Who We Are" featuring Lia Uribe, bassoon; Fernando Valencia and Matt Brusca, percussion; Miroslava Panayotova, piano Duo Capriccioso FAYETTEVILLE See SoNA Voices Page 12