“As the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra announces plans to return to live performances for its 2021-22 season, the lineup looks very much like the 2020-21 season the covid-19 pandemic forced the orchestra to dismantle,” writes Eric Harrison in Sunday’s (4/18) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock). “The six ’21-22 Masterworks concert pairs … will feature all of the previously named [2020-21] soloists … and all five guest conductors. [Among] candidates for the ASO’s music director position, vacant since the 2018-19 season after the departure of Philip Mann … is Geoffrey Robson, the orchestra’s interim artistic director and conductor of its youth ensembles…. Small variations [in 2021-22] include … the addition to the April 2022 program of the world premiere of a work, by Tania Leon…. [During] the pandemic, Arkansas Symphony … programming, including the ‘Bedtime With Bach’ series, conceived and executed by Andrew Irvin, the orchestra’s co-concertmaster … has not only kept local patrons engaged, executive director Christina Littlejohn says, but it has attracted 1.1 million impressions on Facebook…. Meanwhile, the orchestra converted its rehearsal space … into a video recording studio, where they have taped performances [and where] Youth Orchestra members used the facilities to record college audition tapes.”
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