ASO Presents ‘Modern Muses’ Chamber Concert: Music by William Grant Still, Ginastera, & More
LITTLE ROCK, AR. (2025) – The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO) presents its fourth concert of the 2025-2026 River Rhapsodies: Bank of America Chamber Music Series, “Modern Muses”, on Tuesday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday, February 18 at 2:00 p.m. in the Susie and Charles Morgan Hall at the new ASO Stella Boyle Smith Music Center in Little Rock’s East Village.
The River Rhapsodies series features small ensembles performing music curated by ASO musicians in collaboration with Music Director Geoffrey Robson. This concert features ASO’s Quapaw Quartet and other ASO musicians.
“I’m so excited to perform Ennanga on the upcoming River Rhapsodies program,” said harpist Alisa Bekebrede. “Still composed this work as an homage to the East African harp or ennanga. As an African American composer, Still was bringing sounds of his African heritage to the concert grand harp. I’m thrilled to be performing this work in Little Rock, where Still was raised and began his musical journey.”
Bank of America sponsors the River Rhapsodies Chamber Series, and UALR Public Radio (KUAR/KLRE) is the media sponsor. Tickets are $30 (subject to change); $15 tickets are available for students and/or military with a valid ID. Tickets can be purchased online at www.arkansassymphony.org, at the Box Office in the ASO Stella Boyle Smith Music Center beginning one hour before the concert, or by phone at (501) 666-1761, ext. 1. Patrons can purchase drinks at a cash bar and are invited to bring their drinks into the hall.
Artists & Program
Claude Debussy: Violin Sonata
Trisha Freeney, violin
Haeshin Shin, piano
William Grant Still: Ennanga
Meredith Hicks, violin
Charlotte Crosmer, violin
Katherine Williamson, viola
David Gerstein, cello
Alisa Bekebrede, harp
Hee-Kyung Juhn, piano
Intermission
Alberto Ginastera: Cello Sonata
David Gerstein, cello
Hee-Kyung Juhn, piano
Philip Glass: String Quartet No. 4
Quapaw Quartet
Meredith Maddox Hicks, violin
Charlotte Crosmer, violin
Timothy MacDuff, viola
Travis Scharer, cello
About The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is the leading employer of professional performing artists in Arkansas and is celebrating its 60th season in 2025-2026. The ASO recently opened its first permanent home, the ASO Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, in the East Village between Heifer International and the Clinton Presidential Library. The state’s first music center is a radically welcoming hub of musical activity for all Arkansans, housing programs of the E. Lee Ronnel Music Academy, a broadcast studio, and the River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series. ASO is the resident orchestra at Robinson Center and performs over 60 concerts yearly for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, First Orion Pops Series, River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts throughout Arkansas. The E. Lee Ronnel Music Academy reaches over 30,000 Arkansans in over 200 schools from ages 4 to 104 through the string academy, youth ensembles, bucket band, community orchestra, the annual Children’s Concert, and more. In 2020, over 1 million people in over 30 countries viewed the ASO musician-led Bedtime with Bach series. The ASO employs 13 full-time musicians, over 70 part-time musicians, and 18 administrative staff members with an annual operating budget of $4 million. The ASO is a member of the League of American Orchestras and a partner orchestra of the National Alliance for Audition Support, an unprecedented national initiative to increase diversity in American orchestras. For more information about the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, call 501-666-1761 or visit www.ArkansasSymphony.org. Program notes, artist bios, and high-resolution headshots available upon request.
###
