The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra announced that the National Endowment for the Arts approved a $40,000 grant to support the one-year anniversary of the ASO’s Stella Boyle Smith Music Center in Little Rock.
The 20,000-SF music center is scheduled to open in September. For the center’s one-year anniversary, the symphony will open its 60th season with a co-commissioned work by composer and bassist Xavier Foley, featuring cellist Zuill Bailey with the orchestra. Also planned are live performances of new work, educational activities with guest artists, and other performance opportunities featuring local Arkansas talent.
The grant is a portion of more than $37 million that the NEA awarded to 1,135 arts projects.
“Projects like the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities — all through the arts,” NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson said in a statement. “So many aspects of our communities, such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy, are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
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