The Arkansas Chamber Singers are delighted to bring you a new season of "How Sweet the Sound" concerts. We have three new guest conductors to direct the concerts. Marc-André Bougie will direct the Fall Concert, Dr. Cliff Ganus will direct the Holiday Concert. Subscribe to the season and experience choral singing at it's highest level at a discounted price.
FALL: October 13 at 7:30 pm and October 15, 2023 at 3:00 pm at St. James United Methodist Church, Little Rock
HOLIDAY: December 8 - 10, 2023 at Old State House, Little Rock
SPRING: April 26 at 7:30 pm and April 28, 2024 at 3:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church, Little Rock
Fall Concert
Musical Essence
Friday, October 13, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 3:00 pm
St. James United Methodist Church, Little Rock
This program of “Musical Essence” speaks to the power of music as philosophy, poetry, and spirituality. From the ancient writings of Plato in Gwyneth Walker's Let Music Fill to the Air, to Marc-André Bougie’s choral adaptation of the inspiring poem Music by Anne Porter, and musical settings of scriptures old and new, music as a universal force moving though all of humanity is brought to the fore. Also included are French selections as to share the hidden music within that language from the perspective of a native speaker. Violinist Kiril Laskarov and cellist David Gerstein will join the chorus on a few selections as well.
Marc-André Bougie will be guest conductor for this concert. Marc-André is now entering his 20th season as Music Director and Conductor of the Texarkana Regional Chorale, and his 17th year as Associate Professor of Music at Texarkana College. He was also the founding Music Director & Conductor of the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, which he directed for twelve seasons.
Holiday Concert
Christmas at the Old State House
Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Old State House, Little Rock
In four segments — Preparation and Announcement, Birth, Story, and Proclamation — the singers will explore the Christmas event with music from Medieval times to the present. There will be segments from Handel's Messiah, carols from different lands, spirituals, traditional and novel Christmas songs, and, as a finale, the energetic Betelehemu.
The Old State House has FREE and OPEN SEATING, tickets are also available at the door. Seating is limited, plan to arrive early. Doors open a half hour before performance.
Dr. Cliff Ganus will be the guest conductor for this concert. Dr. Ganus retired from Harding University in 2020 as a Distinguished Professor of Music and former chair of the department after 52 years of teaching at that institution. A life member of the American Choral Directors Association, he served ACDA as a regional committee chair and president of the Arkansas chapter and president of the Arkansas Music Educators Association.
Support for the Old State House is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Spring Concert
Songs of Destiny
Friday, April 26, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 3:00 pm
First Presbyterian Church, 800 Scott Street, Little Rock
Come hear the Arkansas Chamber Singers in a varied program of music written for the concert hall, for the church, and even for television! The program will include works by Herbert Howells, Howard Goodall, Eric Whitacre, and more. The main work will be Johannes Brahms’ Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny), about which Josef Sittard wrote, "Had Brahms never written anything but this one work, it would alone have sufficed to rank him with the best masters.”