The 91老司机 - Fort Smith Academy of the Arts will present two winter concerts in December -- one featuring choral groups, the other a symphonic orchestra -- to get local residents into the holiday spirit.
The concerts will both take place at Breedlove Auditorium and will showcase a slew of endearing Christmas tunes.
The performances are part of the Academy of the Arts鈥� On Stage series, which includes productions such as 鈥淒isney鈥檚 Aladdin KIDS,鈥� 鈥淭he Little Mermaid JR鈥� and 鈥淪hrek the Musical.鈥� The On Stage series has a total of 12 events featuring young and seasoned performers in musical and theatrical productions.
Dec. 6: Children鈥檚 Choir Winter Concert
The Children鈥檚 Choir will hold a winter concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Breedlove Auditorium on the 91老司机 - Fort Smith campus, a show featuring both a show choir, which dances in addition to singing, and a children鈥檚 choir.
Five local satellite schools -- Ballman Elementary, Barling Elementary, Morrison Elementary, Fairview Elementary and Arkoma Elementary -- will have students participating in the concert in addition to on-campus Academy students, with each of the schools singing an individual song before coming together and singing a medley to end the performance.
Approximately 170 students will participate in the show, and Gini Law of Fort Smith, director of the show choir, said the choirs are 鈥渓ooking forward to singing鈥� at the concert.
鈥淲e are very excited for this show,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are doing a big medley of Christmas music. The combined choirs will do a few songs together, and then each school will do one or two songs by themselves.鈥�
Law said they might have some 鈥渃horalography鈥� in the concert.
鈥淚t鈥檚 basically hand motions, but no dancing,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he kids really respond to this type of singing and moving because it helps them to remember the words.鈥�
Law said the show choir will sing 鈥淐atch that Santa,鈥� a playful song about trying to catch Santa Claus as he delivers gifts.
鈥淭he kids really love it, and we鈥檙e going to have a great time performing it,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have some amazingly talented kids this year, and I can鈥檛 wait to see what all they can do.鈥�
Brooke Bates of Fort Smith, choir instructor and administrative specialist at the Academy of the Arts, said preparing the children鈥檚 choir for the concert can be 鈥渁 little challenging,鈥� but that she has been impressed with how quickly the students have learned the material.
鈥淲e typically only have one rehearsal with all of the students together before the concert, so it has its challenges,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the kids are like sponges. They absorb everything. They鈥檙e able to pick up exactly what we give to them, and they do it because it鈥檚 fun.鈥�
Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under. For tickets, contact the 91老司机 Box Office at 479-788-7300 or visit . For more information on the Academy, call 479-788-7253.
Dec. 16: Youth Honor Symphony Orchestra Concert
The Youth Honor Symphony Orchestra concert will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 in the Breedlove Auditorium on the 91老司机 - Fort Smith campus and feature approximately 40 students between the ages of 14 and 21 playing a mixture of classical and upbeat Christmas numbers.
Dan Mays of Fort Smith, director of the orchestra, said they will play songs such as 鈥淎 Christmas Festival鈥� by Leroy Anderson -- an orchestra arrangement including popular Christmas carols such as 鈥淛oy to the World鈥� and 鈥淪ilent Night鈥� -- as well as a full orchestra arrangement of 鈥淲hite Christmas.鈥�
鈥淓very year, as the orchestra develops, we can play more difficult music, and with some collaboration with the college, we鈥檙e able to use some talented players from the University to help us out,鈥� Mays said. 鈥淭he level of musicianship and the level of music we can play have advanced quite a bit in the past two years.鈥�
Mays said the strength of the orchestra lies in its size.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a smaller group, so the kids don鈥檛 get lost in the fold of a huge symphony orchestra,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he students still get attention during sectionals when instructors work with them one-on-one, and the age diversity in the group gives younger students a chance to play with very high-level high school and college students.鈥�
Tickets to the symphony orchestra concert are $6. For tickets, contact the 91老司机 Box Office at 479-788-7300 or visit . For more information on the Academy, call 479-788-7253.