As winter approaches, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) is preparing to fill the air with music and magic. Their upcoming series of performances at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, AR, promises to be a celebration of both holiday cheer and musical masterpieces. From the festive 'A Very SoNA Christmas' to the family-friendly 'The Snowman' concert, and culminating in the inspiring 'Jupiter Rising' and 'American Voices: Rhapsody in Blue', SoNA provides an orchestral experience that transcends borders and genres, inviting audiences of all ages to partake in its musical journey.

A Symphony of Seasons: Celebrating Artistic Excellence with SoNA

Stewart Goodyear

Symphony of Northwest Arkansas

Jupiter Rising

Walton Arts Center

American Voices: Rhapsody in Blue

Inside of eight short years, American composers produced three masterpieces – all of them in completely different styles and written with distinctive voices.  This concert celebrates this great American explosion by combining all three of them into one special evening of music.

 Our centerpiece is Gershwin’s iconic “Rhapsody in Blue”, played by one of the great pianists of our generation, Stewart Goodyear.  (Fun fact: the famous clarinet glissando at the beginning wasn’t written by Gershwin – it was a prank his clarinetist played on him at the first rehearsal, and it stuck!)

 Arkansan William Grant Still – also known to many as the “Dean of African-American Composers” – wrote his tremendously emotional and satisfying Symphony no. 1 in 1930, infused with both the blues and traditional spirituals, and it was the first symphony by a Black American to be performed by an established orchestra, in 1931.  Two years later, and finishing out our program, Arkansas native Florence Price became the second composer to achieve that status when her gloriously infectious Symphony no. 1 was performed by the Chicago Symphony in 1933.

EPSG:4326

Rhapsody in Blue

Symphony No. 1 in E Minor

Afro-American Symphony

American Voices: Rhapsody in Blue

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