UALR’s Opera Theatre is set to perform “The Secret Marriage” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26, in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall of the Fine Arts Building.
Tickets are $15 at the door. The show is free to students, faculty, and staff with UALR ID.
Il matrimonio segreto (
The Secret Marriage) by Domenico Cimarosa premiered a few months after the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was considered to be one of the finest comic operas of the 18th century.
At its premiere, the emperor was so entranced that he invited the cast to dinner. Then he requested the opera be encored in its entirety, making it the longest encore in history.
UALR’s production is set in England during the 1920s, inspired in part by Downton Abbey. It will be performed in English translation with dialogue in addition to vocal performances.
Confusion-based conflict is at the heart of this romantic comedy featuring UALR students in the following roles:
- Carolina: Senior Camren Kvaternik, soprano
- Elisetta: Junior Alyssa Hicks, mezzo-soprano
- Fidalma: Sophomore Brianna East, mezzo-soprano
- Paolino: Graduate student Daniel Foltz-Morrison, tenor
- Count Robinson: Alumnus Micheal Lowe, baritone
- Geronimo: Junior Daniel Morris, baritone
In this version of “The Secret Marriage,” Carolina and Paolino want to be openly married, so they plot to marry off Carolina’s older sister Elisetta to appease a strict father. As it turns out, there’s more than one woman in love with Paolino.
For more information about the show, contact Dr. Rosella Ewing at rlewing@ualr.edu.
UALR’s Percussion Ensemble will host a concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, in the University Theatre of the Center for Performing Arts that will include a daring performance of over 60 instruments.
The concert is free and open to the public.
Presented by the UALR Department of Music and under the direction of Conductor and Founder Charles Law, the show will include a performance of Bahrah for percussion quartet by Brandon Hendrix, Sands of Africa by Eric Harper, and Chopin’s Prelude No. 20 transcribed by Kevin Lepper.
A rendition of Bella by Carlos Santana arranged for mallets by Oliver Molina and Trinidad Blue Basin traditional arranged by Lisa Rogers will follow.
The finale will feature a performance of John Cage’s Third Construction for Percussion. This challenging work by Cage features four musicians creating a landscape of rhythm and sounds, including shakers and 20 cans.
Celebrating more than 20 years, the UALR Percussion Ensemble is a high-energy group performing throughout the Midwest and South in concerts and clinics for students of all ages.
The ensemble has performed at the University of Missouri, University of Georgia, University of New Orleans, Mobile Alabama Concerts in the Park, Chicago Public Schools, Silver Dollar City, and Little Rock World Fest.
The performances explore a wide range of repertoire representing the most current and recognized composers of the time in percussion. The group has used music to reach out to inner-city and at-risk youth with the International House of Blues Foundation in New Orleans and the House of Blues Club.
For more information, contact Law at cplaw@ualr.edu or 501-569-3294.
Two UALR students and their advisor recently attended the signing of a bill into law that entitles military and their dependents in-state tuition, regardless of residence. Continue reading “Military students attend signing for legislation providing in-state tuition”
If life is like a great sculpture in progress, recent graduate Jim Stallings credits UALR and several key professors for “chiseling” him and his career.
“I know that might sound cliche’ and trite, but it’s true,” he said.
Stallings is programs assistant and project manager for the Colorado-based PeaceJam Foundation, whose mission is to connect Nobel Peace Prize winners with students and teachers from around the world through a service-learning curricula and major events.
The foundation has been nominated for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and seven other laureates.
Stallings says that working in a nonprofit field requires someone who can adapt to rapidly changing situations and juggle a variety of tasks in order to pull off big campaigns and successful events.
Recently, he helped PeaceJam host around 300 local students and teachers at one of their conferences at Regis University in Denver with the 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, Leymah Gbowee of Liberia.
Stallings will also be headed to another conference at the University of Oregon with Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum.
Currently, there are 13 Nobel Peace Laureates involved in PeaceJam programs, including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Laureates will give public speeches, teacher trainings, and high-quality service projects with the student participants.
PeaceJam typically brings in about 300 diverse students, teachers, and college volunteers to each event at campuses across the U.S., Guatemala, the United Kingdom, India, Monaco, Ghana, and South Africa.
“I’d estimate that about one-third of all student participants at each conference gets personal interaction with a Nobel Peace Prize winner,” said Stallings.
Throughout the rest of the year, students’ classes or after-school programs use PeaceJam curriculum to learn the history of each laureate and their country as a way to discuss social themes such as racism, gender equality, or access to natural resources.
Stallings graduated from UALR in 2011 with two bachelors of art degrees (history and mass communication). In 2014, he graduated from the university with a master of arts in public history.
“Working in the nonprofit and education sector requires a person to be genuine, empathetic, and professionally capable,” he said.
“If I ever do anything in my job that reflects those characteristics, it’s because I’m purposefully trying to emulate those professors who invested so much time and energy in me.”
A UALR graduate student has received a scholarship from the greater Little Rock chapter of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA), an organization dedicated to the advancement of black public leadership in local and state governments.
Reteisha Byrd, a master of public administration graduate student from Helena-West Helena, was given the distinction during the NFBPA “Marks of Excellence” ceremony held Saturday, April 4, at the Clinton Presidential Center.
Byrd is the second MPA student from UALR to be awarded this scholarship over the last two years.
Byrd is a graduate assistant and is currently working with Assistant Professor of Public Administration Michael Craw on a project evaluating the impact of Little Rock’s neighborhood and property owner associations on crime, blight and redevelopment.
The project is funded by UALR’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity and Institute of Government.
“Reteisha’s help has proven very valuable in moving this evaluation project forward, and her ability to learn new software quickly and work independently have been important assets,” said Craw.
“It was wonderful to receive this award,” said Byrd. “I am very appreciative of the recognition from the chapter.”
The 2015 Student Research and Creative Works Expo award winners were announced at an awards ceremony Wednesday, April 15, in the Student Services Centern
A total of 80 unique entries were submitted, both undergraduate and graduate. Continue reading “Student Research and Creative Works Expo award winners named”
Several UALR students recently traveled with their faculty mentor, Dr. Nitin Agarwal, to present research at the Association for Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) Spring 2015 Symposia Series.
The symposia was held March 23 to 25 at Stanford University in California.
Agarwal said the students’ various research is part of a larger program, Social Computing and Behavioral Modeling, funded in part by grants from the National Science Foundation, Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research, and Air Force Research Lab.
AAAI is a nonprofit devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and its embodiment in machines.
The students and their research include:
Amit Saha, who presented on providing social support for the autism community via a microblogging platform. He is a doctoral candidate employed as a senior data analyst at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is analyzing the interaction of autism community members in various social media platforms to determine whether the community provides online social support.
Samer Al-khateeb, a master’s degree student who will start his Ph.D. at UALR’s George W. Donaghey Engineering and Information Technology in fall 2015. His research analyzes flash mobs in cybernetic space and imminent threats to security. Al-khateeb also completed his B.S. degree in computer science at UALR in May 2013.
Fatih Sen, who graduated with a doctoral degree in May 2014 and is a biomedical informatics research specialist for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Sen continues to work with UALR conducting research of online platforms to analyze focal structures using a web tool.
Drs. Jeffrey Gaffney, Nitin Agarwal, and Thomas Tudor are the 2015 recipients of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Faculty Excellence Awards in the categories of public service, research and creative endeavors, and teaching, respectively. Continue reading “UALR recognizes faculty excellence at 27th annual awards ceremony”
UALR will feature alumna Tara Johnson and current student performers in its biannual Songwriters Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, in Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building.
The program is free and open to the public. Parking will be available in Lot 8 behind the Fine Arts Building.
The first half of the program, sponsored by the Music Department and Office of Campus Life, will feature works by UALR students and songwriters from the community.
Student performers include Heather Smith, Sara Hastings, Robert Lee, Daysha Carr, Susan Robbins, Paula Smith, Stephanie Smittle, and Samuel Byrd.
Johnson, a UALR visiting artist, will perform six of her original Christian songs during the second part of the program including “Walking In Wonderland” and “December’s Songbird.”
Johnson, a native of Alexander, is an author, singer, and songwriter signed with Incubator Creative Group. She has been a featured guest on Voice of Truth radio and Enduring Word radio.
In 2014, Tara wrote the Vacation Bible School music for Bogard Press and was a contributing judge in the 2015 Live It Loud Songwriting Contest in Nashville.
Learn more about Johnson’s music at www.reverbnation.com/tarajohnson.
For more information about the showcase, contact Dr. Bob Boury at rxboury@ualr.edu.
UALR’s Office of Financial Aid is holding its annual FAFSA Fiesta for returning students, who will be eligible to enter a $500 scholarship drawing for dropping in.
The two-day event will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, and Wednesday, April 22, on the second floor of the Student Services Center.
Refreshments will be served.
The event is designed to encourage UALR students to complete their 2015-16 FAFSA, along with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education Youniversal Application (if they are not currently receiving ADHE funds and have met application criteria).
A FAFSA Fiesta scheduled for May 7 is targeted to new students. The TRIO Office will join the Office of Financial Aid for that event, which will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. in the TRIO Pre-College Outreach Center.
For questions, contact Karen Kossler Hulsey, associate director for financial aid, at 501.569.3035 or kkhulsey@ualr.edu.