SoNA Announces Holiday Performances
December Programming Features New Collaboration with
Ballet Arkansas and Seasonal Music by the SoNA Singers
DECEMBER 2, 2020 — As part of our 2020-21 Reimagined Season, SoNA is pleased to announce a series of virtual holiday premieres in December, including Sleighride Together, a new artistic collaboration with Ballet Arkansas, the state’s premier professional ballet company – and video releases by the SoNA Singers featuring visuals by local photographer/videographer Kevin Dooley. These newfound partnerships between music and other artforms champion togetherness and cooperation at a time when it is most needed, while also celebrating the hope and possibility of a new and brighter year.
Sleighride Together will be released on December 21, featuring the full SoNA orchestra performing under the baton of SoNA Music Director Paul Haas along with dancers from Ballet Arkansas. The performance will consist of a series of contemporary solos and duets choreographed by Ballet Arkansas Executive and Artistic Director Michael Fothergill and Madison Hicks, set to two musical numbers performed by SoNA: Sleigh Ride, an upbeat classic by American composer Leroy Anderson, and the harmonious Hallelujah chorus from Mozart’s arrangement of the Messiah.
SoNA musicians will perform from their respective homes, while Ballet Arkansas dancers will perform from the beautiful UA-PTC CHARTS Theater in North Little Rock. Dancers who live together will perform together, while the others will dance solo for safety. Featured dancers include Amanda Sewell, Toby Lewellen, Lauren Hill, Lauren Yordanich and Leah Elizabeth Morris (Sleigh Ride); Zeek Wright, Kaley Kirkman, Meredith Short Loy, Deanna Stanton and Aldrin Vendt (Hallelujah).
The two pieces performed in Sleighride Together convey messages of togetherness and triumph over struggle.
“This collaboration [with Ballet Arkansas] created an opportunity to find new ways to come together, despite the unique challenges of modern-day life,” SoNA Executive Director D. Riley Nicholson said. “We’re bringing Central and Northwest Arkansas together in a cultural conversation, and we’re bringing two art forms together to deepen the experience of both. We hope this is a beginning of a rich organizational partnership that will continue for years to come.”
“Collaborations like this one bring together two of the state’s preeminent cultural institutions while engaging communities in Central and Northwest Arkansas in meaningful shared experiences at a most important time,” said Ballet Arkansas’ Michael Fothergill. “We are thrilled to begin a new era of collaboration with SoNA, and hope Sleighride Together will uplift and inspire Arkansans as they celebrate the holidays.”
Also for the holidays, the SoNA Singers — an auditioned vocal group led by Arkansas choral conductor Terry Hicks — will release a series of three video performances on SoNA’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and website, two of which will feature breathtaking drone videography by local photographer/videographer Kevin Dooley.
SoNA presents the following lineup of virtual performances during the month of December:
Shalom
Performed by SoNA Singers and Bentonville High School Chamber Choir
By Dan Forrest
Release Date: December 4, 2020 [VIEW HERE]
Brightest and Best
Performed by SoNA Singers
Arr. by Shawn Kirchner
Featuring collaborative pianist Lisa Auten
Release Date: December 10, 2020 [VIEW HERE]
Paired with drone photography of seasonal Arkansas landscapes by Kevin Dooley
Deck the Halls
Performed by SoNA Singers
Arr. by Mack Wilberg
Release Date: December 16, 2020 [VIEW HERE]
Paired with drone photography of holiday lights in downtown Fayetteville and Bentonville by Kevin Dooley
Sleighride Together
Hallelujah chorus arr. Mozart
Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson
Performed by SoNA and Ballet Arkansas
Release Date: December 21, 2020
Choreography by Michael Fothergill and Madison Hicks
All virtual events noted are free of charge — SoNA’s gift to the community — and will be released as videos on SoNA’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and here on the SoNA website (Holiday Performances), where the videos will remain available for the community to enjoy. More information about the 2020-21 Reimagined Season can be found here.
About SoNA
The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) is the region’s leading professional orchestra. Under the musical direction of Maestro Paul Haas, SoNA presents dynamic and diverse symphonic performances to an audience of more than 20,000 people annually. Now in its 66th season, the non-profit has led artistic and educational programming throughout Northwest Arkansas since 1954. SoNA is a resident company of Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. Through its partnerships across the region, SoNA also frequently appears at the Walmart AMP, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, John Brown University, the University of Arkansas, the Bentonville Film Festival, the Fayetteville Roots Festival, and a number of area schools and libraries.
About Ballet Arkansas
Consisting of 15 professional dancers, Ballet Arkansas is the foremost professional ballet company of the State of Arkansas and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Over the last 42 years, Ballet Arkansas’ education programs and performances have touched the lives of more than 300,000 Arkansans, reaching 20,000 individuals per year. Ballet Arkansas presents a vibrant and diverse repertory featuring classical, neoclassical, and contemporary works by world-renowned choreographers. Ballet Arkansas is committed to collaboration, community outreach, education and to making innovative dance programming accessible to all. Ballet Arkansas has been under the artistic direction of Michael and Catherine Fothergill since the summer of 2017. Since that time, the organization has tripled it programming and doubled its organizational budget. Ballet Arkansas’s mission is to provide world-class diverse innovative dance programming and education to Arkansas and beyond. Learn more about Ballet Arkansas at balletarkansas.org.
