Artspree at UALR

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Celebrating Milestones through Music

Carol Vaness, soprano

Saturday September 17, 2011

7:30 p.m.

Born in San Diego, CA, Carol Vaness launched her professional singing career at the New York City Opera, where she appeared regularly from 1979 to 1983. Since then, she has sung on the world's biggest stages and at premier music festivals, collaborated with today's foremost conductors in operatic and symphonic repertoires, appeared on numerous television broadcasts throughout North America and Europe, and compiled a distinguished catalog of recordings with such luminaries as James Levine, Riccardo Muti, George Solti, and Sir Colin Davis as well as Antonio Papano, Michael Tilson Thomas and Fabio Luisu.

Her interpretations of Mozart's dramatic heroines, including Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Elettra in Idomeneo, and Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, have been hailed as definitive, and she has become especially identifiable with the role of Floria Tosca. She performed the title role of Puccini's Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004 opposite Pavarotti in the legendary tenor's final operatic performance.

Join us for a special event to benefit the music scholarship fund of the UALR Music Department. A reception honoring Carol Vaness following her recital at UALR will be held at the Capital Hotel in downtown Little Rock. Attendees will be able to meet Ms. Vaness while enjoying light refreshments.

Tickets are $75 and include admission to the recital at UALR and the reception at the Capital Hotel. All proceeds will go to the UALR Music Department Scholarship Fund.

For tickets call 569-8993 or visit UALR.TIX.COM

Ben & Brad

A Tribute to Fred Astaire

Monday, November 14, 2011

7:30 p.m.

Benjamin Sears & Bradford Conner have been called "Boston's favorite song duo" by the Boston Globe, “the delightful cabaret team” by the Boston Phoenix, “Boston’s American songbook impresarios” by Bay Windows, and “a class act of the cabaret world” by the Arlington (VA) Connection. Recipients of IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England) and LIP (Life in Provincetown) awards, they have performed as a duo since 1989, carrying on the great cabaret tradition of “the song, the singer, and the pianist”.

“American popular songs and show tunes are veritably coursing in their blood. They positively seethe and bubble with enthusiasm.” (Richard Buell, Boston Globe). Irv Lichtman of Billboard said they “appear to take particular delight in performing the songs of America’s pop masters, and they dig deep into their catalogs to make even the most knowledgeable of afficionados happily surprised”. Richard Dyer of the Globe saluted them as "our best local archivists of the heritage of old show tunes and popular songs", and of their performances said, "Sears has a sunny, uninhibited performing personality and an attractive, vibrant baritone. [Conner] works hand-in-glove with Sears and his arrangements are full of wittily observed period detail." The Globe’s Susan Larson adds, “both Sears and Conner are helplessly gaga over this music. They just radiate happiness when they perform it, and you get happy too.” The Quincy Patriot Ledger said simply, “Sears and Conner are perfect together”.

Johannes Möller, guitar

Monday, January 30, 2012

7:30 p.m.

The Swedish guitarist and composer Johannes Möller has captivated audiences throughout the world with charismatic and soulful performances. After playing his first public concerts at the age of 13, his performances now total over 500 and span Europe, Asia, South and North America. In 2010 he was awarded first prize in the GFA Concert Artist Competition, considered by many to be the most prestigious guitar competition in the world, resulting in a 50-concert tour and a recording with the Naxos label.

As a performer, Johannes’s artistry has reached well beyond the usual guitar circles. This was confirmed in 2008 when he won the Dutch Vriendenkrans Concours where he was competing against performers in all instrumental categories. As a part of this award his name has been engraved on a metal plate that can be seen in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Critics have also noted his special qualities, writing of his playing "Guitarist Johannes Möller achieved miracles with his lucid, spacious playing" (London Evening Standard).

Caswell Sisters

Monday, March 12, 2012

7:30 p.m.

The riveting performances of the Caswell Sisters, vocalist Rachel and violinist Sara, are the culmination of years of working together. Their seamless sound combined with their unique interpretation of repertoire ranging from the “Great American Songbook” to contemporary jazz, including their own compositions, is propelled by arresting improvisation. Rachel and Sara colead the Caswell Sisters Quintet and have recently recorded a CD project with acclaimed jazz pianist Fred Hersch. Notable appearances include a weeklong After-Hours engagement at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City and an enthusiastically-received set on the opening night concert of the inaugural Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference in 2010.

Although Rachel and Sara have shared a musical partnership since childhood, their development and experience as individual artists play an equally important role. Rachel oftencollaborates with bassist Jeremy Allen, their duo having been selected to perform at the 2006 International Association for Jazz Education’s Annual Conference in New York. She has performed with The Glenn Miller Orchestra, John Blake, Jr., Ingrid Jensen, the Billy Taylor Trio and Curtis Fuller. In addition to winning the Hilton Head Jazz Society Scholarship and placing in the top ten of 150 contestants in the jazzconnect.com 2005 vocal competition, Rachel has wonmany awards and first-place prizes as a classical cellist and jazz musician. Her debut CD Some Other Time has received excellent reviews.

Sara is a member of the New York Pops and has made several appearances as a featured soloist with them in Carnegie Hall as well as on national TV. She tours with bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding (2011 Grammy winner for “Best New Artist”) and has toured with violinist Mark O’Connor’s American String Celebration, violinist Darol Anger’s Four Generations of Jazz Violin, and vocalist Roseanna Vitro’s The Music of Randy Newman. In addition, Sara has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Gene Bertoncini, Skitch Henderson, Bucky Pizzarelli, Lynne Arriale, John Clayton, and Alan Ferber. She studied classical violin with the legendary Josef Gingold and has won over 100 awards and first-place prizes in the jazz and classical competition worlds. Sara has recorded two highly-acclaimed CDs: First Song (Double-Time Records) and the award-winning But Beautiful (Arbors Records).

Remy-Lee-Cooley Trio

Piano trio

Monday, April 16, 2012

7:30 p.m.

The Remy-Lee-Cooley Trio gave their first performances in 2006 at the University of Central Oklahoma, where cellist Tess Remy-Schumacher is on the faculty. Since then, they have performed at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis; Minnesota State University-Moorhead; Longy School of Music, Cambridge, MA; St. Leo’s College, Tampa, FL; and the Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, where violinist Judith Lee is on the faculty. They have given master classes at UCO and Blake High School for the Performing Arts in Tampa, and have been featured on WUSF Radio and WTSP TV, both in Tampa. Their CD, featuring trios by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, is available for download on cdbaby.com.

Ticket Information:

Tickets are $20 per performance for general admission and free to UALR students with ID. You may purchase tickets to all five concerts for $80. Tickets should be purchased in advance by calling the Artspree Box Office at (501) 569-8993.

Order Tickets online

Main Floor Season Ticket $80
UALR students free / Other students $10
Group rates are available

Friends of the Arts Members receive a 5% discount off of season ticket prices.

Artspree is funded in part by the UALR Society for Philanthropy. Artspree is a member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and the Southwest Association of Presenters .

Patrons desiring disability accommodations of any kind should contact the Artspree office at least two weeks before the scheduled event. Students must show current ID when getting tickets. Students are eligible for but not guaranteed tickets, as limited numbers are available, especially for more popular events. Children under the age of 6 years are not admitted to Artspree.

Artspree Staff 2011-2012:
Naoki Hakutani, Director
Jim Spencer, Technical Director, Webmaster

UALR Music Department
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
2801 South University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204 Phone: (501) 569-3294
Email: music@ualr.edu