Fresh on the heels of three sold-out performances in December and two packed houses earlier in the fall, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas continues its 2024-25 season with two mainstage concerts, one in February and another in April at Walton Arts Center.
“This season has brought with it a great sense of anticipation,” says SoNA executive director Ben Harris. “Through the season’s programs, we’re embarking on a journey through time and place to explore the evolution of the orchestral art form. From Western Europe, we’re tracing the beginnings of the modern orchestra through the classic work of Mozart, we’re examining the connection between Europe and America through the prism and Gershwin, and we’re presenting beautiful yet rarely played music. And we’ll finish the season right back where we started – here at home in Arkansas, with native composer Florence Price.”
Performing under the baton of music director Paul Haas, SoNA’s 2025 concert lineup kicks off with Jupiter Rising on Sunday, Feb. 16, a special matinee performance set to begin at 2 pm in Baum Walker Hall.
For this delightful program, SoNA pairs one of the most famous pieces ever written — Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C Major (Jupiter) — with some of the greatest music you may have never heard! The first half of this performance is an exploration of relatively unknown pieces from three different continents (Australia, Europe and South America), after which musicians will return to Europe for Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony. This powerful piece of music raised the bar for all composers who came after Mozart, complete with a barnstorming finale.
Besides the Mozart masterpiece, this concert program will also include Russian Rag by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin; Tenebre by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov and Trombone Concerto, by Danish composer Launy Grøndahl, featuring SoNA’s principal trombonist Cory Mixdorf. This concert is sponsored by George & Mary Benjamin and Alan & Sherri Lamb. Soloist Cory Mixdorf’s appearance is sponsored by Tom & Jill King.
SoNA will close the season on Saturday, April 19 with American Voices: Rhapsody in Blue, at 7:30 pm in Baum Walker Hall.
Inside of eight short years during the 1920s and ‘30s, American composers produced three masterpieces – all of them in completely different styles and each written with distinctive voices. American Voices: Rhapsody in Blue celebrates this great American explosion by combining all three of them into one special evening of music.
The centerpiece of this concert is George Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue, played by one of the great pianists of our generation, Stewart Goodyear.
Also on the program is Arkansan William Grant Still, known to many as the “dean of African American composers.” SoNA will perform Still’s tremendously emotional and satisfying Symphony No. 1 – infused with both the blues and traditional spirituals, In 1931 this was the first symphony by a Black American to be performed by an established orchestra. And two years later, Arkansas native Florence Price became the second composer to achieve that status when her gloriously infectious Symphony No. 1 was performed in 1933 by the Chicago Symphony. This piece will round out the evening’s program. This concert is sponsored by Highlands Oncology. Soloist Stewart Goodyear’s appearance is sponsored by The Starr Foundation.
Single ticket prices for SoNA’s mainstage performances range from $37 to $62, based on seating preferences. Discount student tickets are also available with a student photo I.D, and children under 18 are free with the purchase of an adult ticket (limited quantities).
To purchase tickets, visit waltonartscenter.org, by calling 479.443.5600 weekdays 10 am until 5 pm or in-person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office weekdays 10 am until 2 pm.
