UALR’s Community School for the Arts is offering a series of strings sessions on Saturdays this semester, culminating in a term-ending concert held in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building.

The group sessions are free to the CSA string students taking private lessons, though students who study outside the CSA string program can join for a nominal fee.

In the group sessions, students will spend time reinforcing their regular assignments, learning beneficial exercises to aid in relaxed performance, rehearsing new group selections, and working on various music theory skills such as scales and rhythmic counting.

Beginners with at least one semester of private lessons experience will meet from 10 to 10:50 a.m. Intermediate students with middle or high school experience without Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra will meet from 11 to 11:50 a.m. Advanced students with ASYO experience will meet from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

CSA also will offer this semester’s string quartet Saturday sessions from 1:45 to 2:30 p.m. during the session. Open to all group levels, participants will be partnered with same-level students with literature appropriate for their level.

Fees for non-CSA string students are $135 per semester, including a $10 registration fee, for a minimum of 10 sessions. All registered string students are welcome to the quartet session.

The strings program will also offer a “fiddle circle” for parents who want to learn an instrument along with their child, as well as a violin circle for 4- and 5-year-old beginners and their parents in a group setting. The schedule and location will be announced.

CSA offers private weekly lessons on violin, viola, cello, and bass. For fees, schedules for classes, and violin rentals, contact the Community School for the Arts at (501) 568-3480.