The Naxos Sessions
The Music of William Grant Still

Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 7:30 P.M.
Arkansas Best Corporation Performing Art Center

PROGRAM
Beyond the Score
The Music of William Grant Still

Still: Symphony No. 2 in G minor


INTERMISSION

Still: Wood Notes
Still Symphony No. 3, The Sunday Symphony

Immerse yourself in the beautiful sounds of William Grant Still (1895-1978), “the Dean of African-American composers” and Arkansas’ greatest concert composer. Still’s career included many “firsts” for an African-American composer: first to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra, first to have an opera performed and broadcast by a major opera company and first to conduct in the Deep South. Still’s music is an outstanding mix of traditional symphonic style and the Blues. His music is genuinely American in flavor, along the lines of Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. This concert includes music that will be recorded by the Fort Smith Symphony on the Naxos label, the world’s largest classical label, and the will complete the Symphony’s recorded cycle of the five symphonies of William Grant Still, the first Still symphony cycle ever recorded! Come and join us as we perform music the night before our recording sessions begin and celebrate this outstanding artistic achievement. This evening’s concert will be hosted from the stage by William Grant Still’s daughter, Judith Anne Still, and Music Director, John Jeter. Don’t miss this night of wonderful music and significant Arkansas heritage.