Phone: 501-666-1761 | Email: info@Arkansassymphony.org
By Becky Flynn – Associate Director of Development
Arkansas Gives: A 12-hour online giving event sponsored by the Arkansas Community Foundation. Nonprofit organizations across Arkansas encourage their donors to give during this day. Bonus funds are involved. Prize money is involved. This is one big day of donations for Arkansas nonprofits.
This is my story about ASO’s involvement in Arkansas Gives last year and everything we gained from it.
By Scott Whiteley Carter - ASO Blog Guest Contributor
As a child, my first recollection of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra was when musicians would come to our elementary school and give a demonstration performance. We would dutifully file in and sit on the floor of the cafeteria, the aroma of lunch still lingering in the air. Yes, it was fun to get out of class. But what made the difficult task of sitting still on hard floors more enjoyable was the chance to see the musicians up close and to get to interact with them.
The summer is here, which means the ASO has just finished another busy and rewarding season. While our new season doesn’t begin until September, work has been underway for months to make sure we are ready for opening night!
By Kevin Bontempo - Public Relations & Digital Strategies Intern
My name is Kevin Bontempo and I am currently a junior at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. I am currently working on my Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in marketing with an emphasis in public relations. This summer, I am the Public Relations & Digital Strategies intern at the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Along with my major, I am involved in many organizations where I play the trumpet, such as my college marching band and church orchestra.
By Jim Gunnell, ASO Subscriber
I was weeping as I sat in the shadows of the music-filled auditorium. I thought to myself, “What is wrong with me? Why am I crying?” I felt embarrassed. Here I am, a grown man crying for no apparent reason. My heart raced and beads of perspiration formed on my forehead as I tried to hold back the tears. I quickly discovered there’s no inconspicuous way to wipe tears from your face, so I let them flow. I felt like each one of them was capturing the light from the stage. I was confident that the glistening droplets must be distracting to the people sitting around me. I told myself, “Breathe. Just breathe. Inhale. Exhale.”
By Leanne Day-Simpson - Orchestra Librarian and Education Coordinator
Even before the final notes of the ASO’s closing concert echo throughout the concert hall, work has already begun on next season’s ventures in the orchestra library and the education department.