SoNA Returns to the Musical Mainstage!
2021-22 Season Starts Nov. 5 at Walton Arts Center
Season Subscriptions On Sale Now
JULY 26, 2021 — The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) is thrilled to announce its return to the concert mainstage this fall for the 2021-22 Season at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.
SoNA’s new 2021-22 Season will kick off Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, and continue through Saturday, April 30, 2022. Performing under the baton of Music Director Paul Haas, the area’s beloved professional symphony will present seven concert performances in Baum Walker Hall at Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St.
The lineup includes programs that were originally slated for the 2020-21 Season now finally able to be realized, as well as new creative programming that expands upon SoNA’s vision.
SoNA Executive Director D. Riley Nicholson said Northwest Arkansas audiences can expect a dynamic musical lineup spanning the globe this season, with a rich, varied repertoire and exceptional solo artists including SoNA’s principal clarinetist Trevor Stewart, Canadian pianist and composer Heather Schmidt, and international tabla maestro Sandeep Das.
“We’re delighted to welcome our community back to the concert hall to celebrate great symphonic music together,” Nicholson said. “Our new season offers an expansive view of music, with classics from the past, new innovative voices of today, and music from many different corners of the globe.
SoNA’s 2021-22 Season begins in November with Mozart’s sublime Clarinet Concerto featuring principal clarinetist, Stewart, paired with Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the Eroica. Then in December, audiences can celebrate the magic and beauty of the holidays with performances of A Very SoNA Christmas and The Snowman: A Family Concert.
In January, SoNA starts the New Year with pianist and composer Schmidt for her Arkansas premiere of Phoenix Ascending in a program featuring its artistic soul mate, Sibelius’ Second Symphony. In February, SoNA presents another Arkansas premiere — tabla virtuoso Das’ performance of Dinuk Wijeratne’s Tabla Concerto — along with Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture for Orchestra and Schumann’s Second Symphony.
Finally, in a celebration of human resilience, SoNA will close the season in April with Mahler’s majestic and awe-inspiring Sixth Symphony.
“We are so very excited to dive back into live, mainstage performances at Walton Arts Center,” Maestro Haas said. “There’s something so powerful about returning to live symphonic music after a long time away. Not only are we returning with a whole range of fantastic programming, full of emotional power that delves deep into the human experience, we’re coming back with a renewed freshness and vigor – the sense that we must never take what we do for granted.”
In Spring 2020 when the pandemic struck, SoNA cancelled seven concert performances at Walton Arts Center planned for its 2020-21 Season. But the organization didn’t go dark. Instead, SoNA regrouped and presented its 2020-21 Reimagined Season, featuring safe, socially distanced outdoor performances, its online Solos from Home series, and an exciting collection of virtual concerts and innovative livestream experiences. SoNA wrapped up the season with a special Reimagined Celebration on June 12 in Baum Walker Hall. It was the first time the symphony had performed live at Walton Arts Center in over 15 months.
“After a successful Reimagined Season, we’re returning full force to the mainstage – but our return is more impactful than simply hitting the ‘un-pause’ button,” Nicholson said. “As always, SoNA’s mission is to present great music in Northwest Arkansas. Now, we’re returning with new perspectives, new skills, and a renewed passion for our mission.”
Season subscriptions are on sale now! Click HERE or call the Walton Arts Center box office at (479) 443-5600. Subscription package prices are $161, $206 and $260 (based on seating preferences) and include all five mainstage concerts (The Snowman: A Family Concert not included). Student subscriptions are $50 with valid ID.
Single tickets are set to go on sale in mid-August. Single ticket prices are $35, $45 and $57 (excluding The Snowman). Tickets for children and students with valid ID are $11. (Children under 18 are free with the purchase of an adult ticket.) All tickets to The Snowman are $10.
Click HERE for the full season lineup!
