MUSIC
River Rhapsodies
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra opens its 2023-24 River Rhapsodies Chamber Music season, 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Great Hall of the the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock.
The orchestra's Quapaw Quartet -- Charlotte Crosmer and Lauren Pokorzynski, violins; Timothy MacDuff, viola; and Travis Scharer, cello -- will play the String Quartet No. 11 in f minor, op.95, "Serioso," by Ludwig van Beethoven. Violinist Linnaea Brophy and pianist Carl Anthony will play the Violin Sonata by Francis Poulenc. Karla Fournier, clarinet; Susan Bell Leon and Tom Dempster, bassoons; and David Renfro and Brent Shires, French horns, will play the Serenade for Six Wind Players by Mátyás Seiber. And Gabriel Vega, flute; Russell Thompson, bass; Bruce Johnston, guitar; and Jaeyeon Park, piano, will perform "City Boy" by Judd Greenstein.
Tickets are $30, $15 for students and/or military with a valid ID. Call (501) 666-1761, Extension 1, or visit arkansassymphony.org.
DANCE
'Art of Dance'
Fort Smith-based Western Arkansas Ballet holds its "Art of Dance" performance fundraiser, 6 p.m. Saturday at Arts on Main, 415 Main St., Van Buren. The evening will feature cocktails, appetizers, dinner and company dancers performing original choreography throughout the galleries. Tickets are $80. Call (479) 785-0152 or visit waballet.org.
ON THE PODIUM
Poet and memoirist
Poet and memoirist Garrett Hongo will read and discuss his work at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Reves Recital Hall, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. A reception and book signing will follow in the nearby Trieschmann Gallery. Little Rock's WordsWorth Books will sell copies of Hongo's work. Sponsor is the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language. Admission is free. Call (501) 450-4597 or McGill@hendrix.edu. Hongo's poetry explores the experiences of Asian Americans in "Anglo" society. His most recent book is "The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo." His poetry collections, "Yellow Light" and "The River of Heaven," received the Lamont Poetry Prize and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Legacies & Lunch
Josh Parshall, history director of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, discusses his efforts to revise and update the Arkansas essays in the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, a free online resource that documents Jewish histories across the region, in a talk titled "Digital History and Jewish Arkansas," noon Wednesday at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Downtown, 333 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. It's part of the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies' Legacies & Lunch series. Admission is free; register at tinyurl.com/2x8swa2v.
ETC.
Artlinks conference
The Arkansas Arts Council will present "Artlinks 2023: Designs for the Future," a biennial statewide arts conference, Oct. 16-17 at the Robinson Conference Center, 424 W. Markham St., Little Rock. Cost to attend is $50-$100. Visit arkansasarts.org to register, for more information and for a complete schedule. The conference draws "creatives," arts supporters, grant writers, nonprofit and community leaders, educators and others and provides "ideas, strategies and know-how to connect and support the creative economy and creative ecosystem at the local, state and regional levels," according to a news release. The conference will also encompass the 2023 Individual Artist Fellowship Awards reception at Old State House Museum.
Poet and memoirist Garrett Hongo will read and discuss his work Thursday Oct. 5 at Hendrix College in Conway. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette./Franco Salmoiraghi)
Josh Parshall, history director of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, discusses his efforts to revise and update the Arkansas essays in the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities for the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies Legacies & Lunch series, Wednesday Oct. 4 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Downtown. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)