School of Literary and Performing Arts to Host Shakespeare in Song Nov. 30

The UA Little Rock School of Literary and Performing Arts will host its fall choir concert, Shakespeare in Song, on Thursday, Nov. 30.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building. The UA Little Rock Chamber Ensembles will perform pre-concert music beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The performers include the UA Little Rock Choirs, solo vocalists, UA Little Rock Clarinet and Flute Ensembles, and faculty from the School of Literary and Performing Arts.

“The event highlights the correlation between Shakespeare texts and their connection to song,” said Dr. Lorissa Mason, director of choral activities. “For centuries, Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays have been a fruitful source of texts for composers of song, both in choral literature and solo vocal repertoire. This event features vocal and choral settings of such texts from a variety of Shakespeare plays.”

Students from Dr. Paul Crutcher’s Teaching English class have worked diligently writing program notes to represent the music and literary content, with editorial help from Dr. Kris McAbee, co-director of the School of Literary and Performing Arts. Music selections include songs from “The Tempest,” “Hamlet,” “As You Like It,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Twelfth Night,” and more.