Mission & History
Mission Statement:
The Delta Symphony Orchestra is committed to enriching lives in the Delta Region by providing orchestral music of artistic, symphonic excellence.
About the DSO:
The only professional symphony orchestra in Northeast Arkansas for over four decades, the Delta Symphony Orchestra is an integral part of the Delta Region culture, committed to entertaining, educating and enriching lives by providing orchestral music of artistic excellence. The Delta Symphony draws musicians from Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, and beyond. Home to the DSO Annual Young Artist Competition for almost three decades, each year talented young artists up to age 26 travel from across the nation to Jonesboro to audition for awards and cash prizes and the Grand Prize to appear in concert with the DSO. Offering a full range of concerts and community education engagement, the DSO believes that communities with strong arts organizations prove to be more economically successful. The Delta Symphony Orchestra is proud to be a part of the great success story of Northeast Arkansas.
2 0 1 7 - 1 8 S e a s o n
May 6, 2017
Our most anticipated concert of the year, the Young Artist Concert features Grand Prizewinners from the prestigious Annual Young Artist Competition held in Jonesboro. Past winners have eventually studied at the Paris Conservatory, played Carnegie Hall and perform on different continents around the world. This concert also features our Delta Symphony Children’s Chorus comprised of over 200 voices from Delta Region schools, and a guest conductor - the bidding winner at each Fall Gala.
February 11, 2017
CAVENAUGH & POWERS - A Broadway Romance - direct from Broadway and New York, this incredibly talented team once again returns to the DSO stage. Jenny and Matt have recently relocated to Jonesboro. He is the son of Margaret L. Cavenaugh of Jonesboro, AR, and Donald R. Cavenaugh of Walnut Ridge, AR, and stepson of Congresswoman Frances M. Cavenaugh. Showcasing a dynamic mix of traditional standards, contemporary pop and classic musical theatre, Broadway star couple Powers & Cavenaugh sing a fresh refrain of that oft-repeated, yet slightly mysterious and nearly implausible, cosmic chorus that is love and marriage.
MATT CAVENAUGH was last seen on Broadway as Tony in West Side Story (Outer Critics Circle, Drama League Nominations). Other Broadway credits include Grey Gardens, A Catered Affair, and his Broadway debut in Urban Cowboy. Matt has toured the country in productions of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Ragtime, Grease, and Strike Up the Band. Off-Broadway productions include Death Takes a Holiday and Grey Gardens. Select regional theatre credits: Gigi (LA Reprise); It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman(DTC); A Catered Affair (The Old Globe); Palm Beach (La Jolla Playhouse); Anything Goes(Williamstown Theatre Festival); Carousel (Pittsburgh CLO); 2 Lives (George Street Playhouse); Princesses (Goodspeed Opera House); Dorian (Denver Center). "As Superman/Clark Kent, Cavenaugh acts and sings with appropriate sincerity and engaging charisma." Variety Television audiences know Matt as Mark Solomon on One Life to Live, Adam Munson on As the World Turns, and from Law & Order: CI. Matt played the character of Sean in the award winning indie film Sexual Dependency. He has twice collaborated with the New York Philharmonic for both The Soldier's Tale and Sondheim: The Birthday Concert, which also aired on PBS. Matt's debut album, Gonna Make You Love Me, is available on iTunes and CD Baby. www.mattcavenaugh.com.
JENNY POWERS made a splash with her interpretation of Rizzo in the recent Broadway revival of Grease and was praised for her Meg in Little Women. Other NY theatre credits include: Gina in Happiness at Lincoln Center; Diana Devereaux in Of Thee I Sing and Young Phyllis in Follies both at Encores and Mary Kate Danaher in Donnybook! at the Musical at the Irish Repertory theatre in New York! Television audiences have seen her on The Good Wife, Mercy, Law & Order: CI, Six Degrees, Nurse Jackie, Blue Bloods, All My Children, and Chris Rock’s I Think I Love My Wife. Jenny will be starred as Dee Dee Walden in the NBC series premiere of The Mysteries of Laura opposite series star Debra Messing. She guest starred as Sandra in the first season of Power, a new series on the Starz network, produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and created by Courtney Kemp Agboh (The Good Wife). She has also been featured on the Today Show singing Kathie Lee Gifford and David Friedman’s most recent collaboration, “You Do The Impossible”, on the “Everyone Has a Story” segment honoring triathlete and cancer survivor Molli Serrano. Jenny is also the voice for Nikon Coolpix Cameras in the commercials featuring Ashton Kutcher.
October 22, 2017
Vikki McGee, singer/guitarist/songwriter is one of Jonesboro’s own. Originally from the small town of Port Barre, Louisiana, she is a veteran musician. McGee’s voice is rich, thick, strong and seeping with a hot and spicy blend of her Cajun roots. A third generation musician, Vikki loves all kinds of music, and grew up influenced by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Eva Cassidy and Celine Dion. Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt and Shelby Lynne were huge influences in her music but her favorite is a good dose of Rhythm and Blues.” McGee, an extremely versatile musician, is a crowd-pleasing entertainer who works very hard to do what she loves… sing the songs in her heart. Vikki’s music career includes collaborations for Restless Heart, Tracy Lawrence, Shenandoah, Little Texas, and was the regular entertainment for owner Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys Victory Parties. The Vikki McGee Band is popular and in demand throughout the Delta Region.
2 0 1 6 - 1 7 S e a s o n / The Roles of Music in Our Lives
April 24, 2017
Two grand prize winners from the annual Young Artist Competition in Jonesboro, harpist Morgan Short and pianist Susan Yang joined the Delta Symphony Orchestra onstage. Also joining the DSO onstage are community 4th, 5th, and 6th graders who prepare tirelessly for the event.
February 19, 2017
Entertaining Music Lovers from The Roles of Music in Our Lives Season, featuring guest artist, the incredibly talented Travis Eades. Eades returns to Jonesboro as guest artist with the DSO’s pop program. Eades, a native of Northeast Arkansas, had starring roles on the Foundation of Arts stage as “Curly” in Oklahoma, “Gaston” in Beauty and the Beast, and “Joseph” in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, holds a degree in theatre and a Masters in Ministry, Eades now resides in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves as Campus Minister at Max Lucado’s Oak Hills Church.
October 30, 2016
The Batesville Symphony League presents the Delta Symphony Orchestra at Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas, with guest artist Sarah Beth Overcash. Sarah is 17 years old and has traveled from her hometown of Brinkley, Arkansas, since the age of four to study violin with Pak Chung Cheng in Memphis, Tennessee. She is homeschooled and currently in the 11th grade. She began playing the violin in the Arkansas State University Orchestra at the age of ten and has played in the Delta Symphony Orchestra for the past 4 years. She is currently a member of the Memphis Youth Symphony Orchestra and has served as its concertmaster for many concerts. She has won first place awards in both the Junior and Intermediate Strings Divisions of the Memphis Beethoven Club Young Artist Competition. Summer music festivals and workshops she has attended include the Masterworks Festival, Sound Encounters, the LoneStar Young Artist Program, Prizm Chamber Music Festival, and Aria Academy. She has performed in master classes with William Preucil, Kevin Lawrence, Paul Roby, and Hal Grossman. Today, she will perform the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto on a 1925 Lowendahl violin which belonged to her grandfather, Clarence Overcash.
OCTOBER 23, 2016
Inspiring Our Hearts concert series from the season The Roles of Music in Our Lives Series, featuring the Special Needs Musicians and the Overcomers Choir. Claiming she has yet to find a similar group as successful anywhere in the U.S., Pat Qualls, Director of the Treble Clef Club, believes strongly in these unique, interesting and entertaining programs. She is aware of the positive impact they have had on the community of the participating special needs musicians and artists. Their sense of belonging and self-confidence have transformed them. Their social and verbal skills have increased to a higher level, never achieved before. Pat Qualls wants to share the miracles that have happened in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Those special persons who are sometimes set aside, and sometimes pitied by our society, really can impact our lives. Special Needs Musicians, too often overlooked, have creative talents to share with the world.
Violinist Haeun Kim, age fifteen, a 9th grade student at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, Alabama, started learning the violin when she was four years old. Currently, she is concertmaster of the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Alabama School of Fine Arts. She was also named concertmaster of the 2015 and 2016 Alabama All State Festival Orchestra. At age eleven, Haeun debuted at Carnegie Hall in New York as a winner of The American Protégé International Competition. At the age of twelve, Haeun made her orchestral debut as a soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, LA and has appeared with the Georgia Philharmonic Orchestra in Atlanta, GA, the Interlochen Symphony Orchestra in Interlochen, MI, and the Southern Adventist University Orchestra in Chattanooga, TN. Haeun placed first at the Alabama Federation of Music Clubs Competition and was also the Alabama representative for the Stillman-Kelly National Competition. Internationally, she won first place in the junior division (age 11-15) of the 2014 ENKOR International Competition for Violin and Piano and third place at the Second Leopold Auer International Violin Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. Haeun was a Grand Prizewinner of the 2016 Delta Symphony Young Artist Competition in Arkansas, and thus chosen to perform with the Orchestra. She hopes to pursue her career as a soloist and a chamber musician.
2 0 1 5 - 1 6 S e a s o n / Building Bridges
April 24, 2016
Bridges to the Future from the Building Bridges Season, featuring the Grand Prizewinners from the DSO 26th Annual Young Artist Concert with child prodigy, Violinist Haeun Kim, Lyric Soprano Sarah Stembel, and the 200+ voices of the regional schoolchildren, the Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
Lyric Soprano, Sarah Stembel is a New Orleans native that specializes in classical and musical theatre repertories. Performing in various venues across the gulf south, Sarah is a current sophomore Vocal Performance Major at the University of Southern Mississippi who studies under the direction of Dr. Maryann Kyle. During her time at Southern Miss, she has been in several productions with the Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company, including Carmen, West Side Story, Tosca, and Trial by Jury. She has also been apart of the Mississippi Opera productions of Carmen in 2016 and Tosca in 2015. In previous years, she has starred in various regional theatre productions with the Jefferson Performing Arts Society in Annie, Tosca, and Ruthless! The Musical. Sarah was also the second place winner for the southern divisional region of NATS in November. During 2005-2010, Sarah was apart of the New Orleans Children’s Chorus and the Northshore Children’s Chorus. With these ensembles, she performed with the National Children’s Choir in Carnegie Hall and Sing a Mile High in Denver, Colorado. Notable teachers include, Lori Birrer Guy, Nancy Assaf, and Sean Pollock. This summer, Sarah will be going to the International Performing Arts Institute for opera in Kiefersfelden, Germany. After she completes her Bachelor degree at USM, she plans to get her Masters degree in Vocal Performance and perform professionally.
February 14, 2016
Side by Side from the Building Bridges Season, for Valentine's Day, featuring violinist, Sarah Jones-Hayes.
November 1, 2015
The Batesville Symphony League presents Coming Together from the Building Bridges Season, featuring American Tenor Limmie Pulliam, at Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas. Pulliam has been praised for his captivating stage presence and his “stentorian yet beautiful” voice. Pulliam, who trained at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with the late renowned pedagogue Richard Miller, is a former artist-in-residence with Cleveland Opera, Opera Delaware and Memphis Opera. He has appeared in such roles as Nemorino in L’Elisir D’Amore, Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess, Romeo in Romeo et Juliette, Don Jose in Carmen among others. Pulliam was the 2012 Artist Division Winner of the National Opera Association's Vocal, and winner in the 3rd Annual Marcello Giordani International Vocal Competition in Catania, Sicily in 2013.
November 1, 2015
The Batesville Symphony League presents Coming Together from the Building Bridges Season, featuring American Tenor Limmie Pulliam, at Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas.
2 0 1 4 - 1 5 S e a s o n / The Many Faces of Music
April 26, 2015
Comedic Series from The Many Faces of Music Season, featuring radio personality Trey Stafford. Half of the "Stafford and Frigo" morning show on 104.9 The Fox! President and General Manager of Jonesboro Radio Group, Trey Stafford was born and raised in Marked Tree, Arkansas. Stafford celebrated his 40th year as a broadcaster in Northeast Arkansas in 2011. Stafford is a multiple winner of Jonesboro Sun Radio Favorite Radio Personality, Jonesboro Occasions Reader's Choice Favorite Personality, KAIT Viewer's Choice Favorite Radio Personality. Past President Arkansas Broadcasters Association, Paragould Rotary Club, District 3 Arkansas Officials Association.
February 15, 2015
Classical Series from The Many Faces of Music Season, featuring The Grand Prizewinners from the 25th Annual Young Artist Competition, Cellist Emma Hoeft, Pianist Dan Cao, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
October 26, 2014
The Batesville Symphony League presents Drama Series from The Many Faces of Music Season, featuring Dr. Lauren Schack Clark, at Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas. Lauren Schack Clark, DMA, NCTM, has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist throughout the United States, Europe, and China. She recently joined the faculty of the Saarburg International Music Festival and School in Germany. She has collaborated with faculty members of over 20 universities throughout the world, including the Vienna Konservatorium, Eastman School of Music, and the University of Michigan, and with principal symphonic players from such ensembles as the Boston Symphony, Slovenian Radio Symphony, and Cincinnati Orchestra. Dr. Clark has performed at the International Double Reed, Tuba/Euphonium, and Trumpet Guild Conferences. She has presented at the World Piano Conference and the MTNA National Conference, and at state music teachers conferences in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Dr. Clark is very active in MTNA. She was awarded the distinction of becoming an MTNA Foundation Fellow in 2015. She is the MTNA South Central Division Competition Chair and also the Competitions Chair for the state ofArkansas. She was President of the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association from 2009-2011. She holds a DMA from Boston University, a Master's from Northwestern, a Graduate Diploma from the Longy School of Music, and a Bachelor’s from the Hartt School of Music. Dr. Clark has recorded on the Centaur, Vienna Modern Masters, Emeritus, and Mark Records labels, and her book, Keyboard Theory and Piano Technique, is co-authored with Brian Henkelmann. Dr. Clark is Professor of Music, Director of Keyboard Studies, and Director of Music Graduate Studies at Arkansas State University.
October 19, 2014
Drama Series from the Many Faces of Music Season, featuring pianist Dr. Lauren Schack Clark.
2 0 1 3 - 1 4 S e a s o n / Music Around the World
May 11, 2014
Latin-American Pops Concert Series from the Music Around the World Season, featuring Johana Marcela Pinilla, a Latin alternative singer whose musical journey has taken her around the world. Performing in many languages and in many countries from across South America to China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the United States, Pinilla was born in Bogotá, Colombia. Marcela Pinilla discovered a love for singing and dancing before she could even read and write. Her professional career started at age 14 and by age 15, she joined her first international tour. Pinilla has performed with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Memphis Jazz Orchestra, and American soul group The Bar-Kays, she also performed with the Memphis Jazz Trio making her the first Latina to ever sing jazz in the legendary Beale Street. In 2013, she received the Ruby Wharton Award for Youth from Memphis Mayor A. C. Wharton, and was named the “Latin Voice of Memphis” by bilingual newspaper La Prensa Latina. Today, she calls Nashville, Tennessee home.
October 20, 2013
The Music for a Lifetime Concert Series from the Music Around the World Season, featuring Soprano, Dr. Marika Kyriakos. Lyric coloratura, Kyriakos joined the Music Faculty in 2008 as Coordinator of Voice and Director of the ASU Opera Theatre. Beginning in the fall of 2014, she serves as Chair of the Department of Music and continues teaching responsibilities as Professor of Voice. Though originally from Columbia, Missouri, Kyriakos came to A-State from Texas where she taught at Tarleton State University of the Texas A & M System for nine years. Aside from teaching, her favorite venture involves studying and performing abroad. This past summer, she taught voice and performed at the OperaMaya summer festival in the Mayan Riviera of Mexico. She has also enjoyed working in Italy, performing leading roles with the Rome Opera Festival, as well as teaching and performing with the Lorenzo de Medici school in Tuscania. In Paris and Nice, France, Kyriakos has studied and performed Clairières dans le ciel by Lili Boulanger, the subject of her doctoral dissertation. Her most recent lecture recital on the song cycle was given in June of 2013 in Buenos Aires at the Biennial International Conference of The College Music Society.
February 16, 2014
The Young Artist Concert from the Music Around the World Season, featuring Grand Prizewinners from the DSO 24th Annual Young Artist Competition, Cellist Leo Altino, Marimbist Micheal Barnes, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
2 0 1 2 - 1 3 S e a s o n / Poetry in Music
May 5, 2013
The Poetry in Music Season featuring Singer/songwriter Grant Garland.
February 10, 2013
The Poetry in Music Season featuring The Grand Prizewinners from the 23rd Annual Young Artist Competition, Soprano Cori Beasley, Pianist yuta Nishimura, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
October 28, 2012
The Batesville Symphony League presents the Poetry in Music Season featuring 'Casey at the Bat', narrated by Dr. Ed Owens, at Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas.
2 0 1 1- 1 2 S e a s o n / Symphonic Classics
May 6, 2012
The American Classics Series from the Symphonic Classics Season, featuring the Jonesboro Visual and Performing Arts Orff Ensemble.
February 12, 2012
The Young Artist Concert Series from the Symphonic Classics Season, featuring Grand Prize Winners from the DSO 22nd Annual Young Artist Competition, Violinist William Overcash, Soprano Renee smith, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
October 29, 2011
The Batesville Symphony League presents the Delta Symphony Orchestra featuring Dr. Marika Kyriakos, at Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas.
October 16, 2011
Romantic Classics & Love Duets from the Symphonic Classics Season, featuring Jenny Powers & Matt Cavenaugh and the Jonesboro Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School.
Jennifer Diane Powers is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant. She won the title of Miss Illinois in 2000, and has had major roles in Broadway productions such as Little Women and Grease. Powers appeared on Broadway as Meg, the eldest March sister, in the musical version of "Little Women." She garnered critical accolades for her performance as Diana Devereaux in 2006 during an Encores series production of "Of Thee I Sing." In his review in the New York Times, Charles Isherwood said Powers "gives a breakthrough performance here as the outraged Southern belle who sashays in and out of the proceedings, quivering with outrage in her slinky red satin." In August 2007, Powers opened in the role of Rizzo in the Broadway revival of "Grease." The casting of the two lead roles in this revival was subject of the reality television show "Grease: You're The One That I Want:" the roles were won in March 2007 by Laura Osnes (Sandy) and Max Crumm (Danny). She grew up in Andover, MA, and attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where earned a bachelor's degree.
Matt Cavenaugh was born and raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He made his Broadway debut in the musical version of URBAN COWBOY, leaving a lasting impression in the highly visible role of Bud. His next Broadway endeavor was the critically acclaimed musical, GREY GARDENS, where he played both Joe Kennedy Jr. and Jerry, affectionately known as “the marble faun.” He returned to Broadway, in fact, the same theatre, the Walter Kerr, the following season playing Ralph Halloran in Harvey Fierstein’s musical adaptation of A CATERED AFFAIR. In 2009, Matt realized his greatest theatrical success recreating the iconic role of Tony in the Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY. As a result of his Broadway successes, audiences the world over have been able to enjoy Matt’s work on “The View,” “The Today Show,” “The Caroline Rhea Show” and the “Tony Awards.”Matt has traveled the country as the happy-go-lucky playboy, Jimmy Smith, in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, the impassioned younger brother in RAGTIME, and even as the forever-bullied nerd, Eugene, in GREASE!Before leaving Ithaca College, Matt collaborated with Bolivian filmmaker, Rodrigo Bellot on SEXUAL DEPENDENCY, an indie that went on the win the top prize at the Locarno Film Festival while also being an official selection at Toronto Film Festival, Los Angeles AFI Festival and Telluride. Matt made his cabaret debut as part of the Broadway spotlight series at Ars Nova in 2003. He can be heard on the recordings of GREY GARDENS, A CATERED AFFAIR, and WEST SIDE STORY.
2 0 1 0 - 1 1 S e a s o n / Broadway Comes to Jonesboro II
April 10, 2011
The Spring Pops Concert Series, Broadway Comes to Jonesboro II, featuring Mr. Kyle Dean Massey and the Jonesboro Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School. Massey is an American actor best know for his work on Broadway in Pippin, Next to Normal, Wicked & Xanadu and to television audiences as Kevin Bicks from ABC's Nashville.Kyle Dean was raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas, a town 60 miles northwest of Memphis, TN. He started taking dance classes at age 6 and spent his adolescence singing in school choirs and studying the piano. After discovering musical theatre in high school he went on to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Missouri State University.In addition to his stage work, Kyle Dean has been seen on the screen in Nashville (ABC), The Good Wife (CBS), Inside Amy Schumer (CC), High Maintenance, Up All Night (NBC), Hart of Dixie (CW), Cupid (ABC), Sex And the City 2 (HBO Films) & Contest. He has also performed on Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show, Regis & Kelly & The 62nd Annual Tony Awards and lends his voice as a voice-over artist for many popular cartoon shows. While starring in Next to Normal, Kyle Dean was the star of his own popular web-blog series, Normal Life, on Broadway.com. Five years later he hosted another series, Fresh Prince, while starring in the title role ofPippin. As a vocalist Kyle Dean has performed across the country in pops concerts with symphony orchestras and in more intimate cabaret settings with his one man show. He also tours with his concert groupThe Broadway Tenors.Kyle Dean serves as a masterclass instructor & panel contributor for several different teaching organizations including Camp Broadway, Broadway Artists Alliance, Broadway Connection, VIP Tours of New York, the Missouri Fine Arts Academy, Stagelighter & Broadway Triple Threat. He also serves as a private acting & voice coach to students all over the country.Kyle Dean is a passionate supporter of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, The Trevor Project and various human rights groups. He frequently performs in charity concerts at various venues across New York City including Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova & The Laurie Beechman Theatre & 54 Below.
February 13, 2011
The Young Artist Concert presents the Grand Prizewinners from the DSO 21st Annual Young Artist Competition, Violinist Caroline Kim, Xylophonist Lucas Pruitt, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
October 30, 2010
The Batesville Symphony League presents the Delta Symphony Orchestra at Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas.
October 17, 2010
The Music for a Lifetime Family Concert Series presents the Delta Symphony Orchestra.
2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 S e a s o n / Broadway Comes to Jonesboro
May 9, 2010
The Springs Pops Concert Series, Broadway Comes to Jonesboro, featuring Matt Cavenaugh, and the Jonesboro Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School. Cavenaugh, the second oldest of seven children, was born and raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas. His next Broadway endeavor was the critically acclaimed musical, GREY GARDENS, where he played both Joe Kennedy Jr. and Jerry, affectionately known as “the marble faun.” He returned to Broadway, in fact, the same theatre, the Walter Kerr, the following season playing Ralph Halloran in Harvey Fierstein’s musical adaptation of A CATERED AFFAIR. In 2009, Matt realized his greatest theatrical success recreating the iconic role of Tony in the Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY. As a result of his Broadway successes, audiences the world over have been able to enjoy Matt’s work on “The View,” “The Today Show,” “The Caroline Rhea Show” and the “Tony Awards.”
February 14, 2010
The Young Artist Concert featuring The Grand Prizewinners from the 20th Annual Young Artist Competition, Cellist Paul Vest, and Pianist Mira Lee, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
October 11, 2009
The ASU-Newport Center for the Arts presents the Delta Symphony Orchestra Lecture Series.
October 3, 2009
The Batesville Symphony League presents the Delta Symphony Orchestra at Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas.
2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9 S e a s o n / Music for a Lifetime
May 3, 2009
The Spring Pops Concert, The Salute to America, featuring the Northeast Arkansas Chorale.
February 15, 2009
The Young Artist Concert featuring Grand Prizewinners from the DSO 19th Annual Young Artist Competition, Violinist Anna Kang, and Pianist Chaz Allen, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
October 26, 2008
The Music for a Lifetime Concert Series featuring Violinist Stephen Sims, Tuba Soloist Dr. Ed Owen, and the Jonesboro Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School. Lyric coloratura, Kyriakos joined the Music Faculty in 2008 as Coordinator of Voice and Director of the ASU Opera Theatre. Though originally from Columbia, Missouri, Kyriakos came to A-State from Texas where she taught at Tarleton State University of the Texas A & M System for nine years. Aside from teaching, her favorite venture involves studying and performing abroad. This past summer, she taught voice and performed at the OperaMaya summer festival in the Mayan Riviera of Mexico. She has also enjoyed working in Italy, performing leading roles with the Rome Opera Festival, as well as teaching and performing with the Lorenzo de Medici school in Tuscania. In Paris and Nice, France, Kyriakos has studied and performed Clairières dans le ciel by Lili Boulanger, the subject of her doctoral dissertation. Her most recent lecture recital on the song cycle was given in June of 2013 in Buenos Aires at the Biennial International Conference of The College Music Society. As both a singer and pianist, Kyriakos joined her colleague, Lauren Schack Clark in presenting a lecture recital on collaborating with singers; in the past few years, they have presented at state, regional, national and international conferences. Kyriakos also stays busy promoting opera to audiences of all kinds; her presentation, “Opera in The Twilight Zone: Overcoming Challenges in Smaller Communities”, was quite popular at the 2013 National Opera Association Conference in Portland, Oregon. It is her hope to learn more about the vocal literature of her Greek heritage in the near future, as well as begin a summer vocal training program at the Athens Conservatory. Kyriakos enjoys being involved in church music, particularly with her husband, Brian Henkelmann, a talented pianist, composer and organist. As for the rest of the musical family, their daughter, Nina, is in second grade at the Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School. She is already an accomplished pianist, tolerating lessons thus far with “Mom” while Shakoda, the beloved terrier-mix, listens with an unconditional ear.
February 24, 2008
The Young Artist Concert Series featuring Grand Prizewinners from the DSO 18th Annual Young Artist Competition, Pianist Yi Wu, and Trumpeter Grant Harbison, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
October 21, 2007
The Music for a Lifetime Concert Series featuring Carnival of the Animals.
2 0 0 7 - 2 0 0 8 S e a s o n
May 4, 2008
The Spring Pops Concert, featuring Soprano Julia Lansford & Friends.
2 0 0 6 - 2 0 0 7 S e a s o n / Music for a Lifetime
April 29, 2007
The Spring Pops Concert featuring Vocalist/Pianist Barbara Gay. Barbara is a musician and artist who has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and South America, from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center to the New Orleans House of Blues, including a stellar mark in her career with a performance for the world-renowned tenor, Luciano Pavarotti. Jiménez has appeared as guest vocalist and pianist with The Delta Symphony Orchestra, The Nashville Symphony, The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, The Gainesville Pops Orchestra. Barbara studied voice and piano performance at Arkansas State University, won the title of Miss Jonesboro and later that year won the talent award at the Miss Arkansas Pageant. Gay moved to Nashville where she collaborated with The Little River Band, The Dixie Cups, Ronnie Milsap, Alabama, Donna Ulisse, The Oak Ridge Boys, legendary producer Ronn Huff, David Hungate of Toto, and Kenneth Buttrey of 615 Area Code fame. She also worked with Chater Songs owners, Kerry Michael Chater and Lynn Gillespie Chater, Nashville’s team of hit makers with #1 hits for George Strait, Reba McEntire, Lee Greenwood, and Alabama.
February 25, 2007
The Young Artist Concert Series featuring Grand Prize Winners from the DSO 17th Annual Young Artist Competition, Violinist Tara Mueller, and Pianist Luca Strazullo, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.
October 15. 2006
The Music for a Lifetime Family Concert Series featuring Pictures at an exhibition.
2 0 0 5- 2 0 0 6 S e a s o n
April 30, 2006
The Spring Pops Concert at Paragould High School Auditorium featuring Pianist Dr. Lauren Schack Clark. Lauren Schack Clark, DMA, NCTM, has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist throughout the United States, Europe, and China. She recently joined the faculty of the Saarburg International Music Festival and School in Germany. She has collaborated with faculty members of over 20 universities throughout the world, including the Vienna Konservatorium, Eastman School of Music, and the University of Michigan, and with principal symphonic players from such ensembles as the Boston Symphony, Slovenian Radio Symphony, and Cincinnati Orchestra. Dr. Clark has performed at the International Double Reed, Tuba/Euphonium, and Trumpet Guild Conferences. She has presented at the World Piano Conference and the MTNA National Conference, and at state music teachers conferences in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Dr. Clark is very active in MTNA. She was awarded the distinction of becoming an MTNA Foundation Fellow in 2015. She is the MTNA South Central Division Competition Chair and also the Competitions Chair for the state ofArkansas. She was President of the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association from 2009-2011. She holds a DMA from Boston University, a Master's from Northwestern, a Graduate Diploma from the Longy School of Music, and a Bachelor’s from the Hartt School of Music. Her principle piano teachers were Raymond Hanson, Eda Mazo-Shlyam, Deborah Sobol, and Thomas Stumpf, and her major pedagogy teachers were Frances Larimer and Elvina Pearce. Dr. Clark has recorded on the Centaur, Vienna Modern Masters, Emeritus, and Mark Records labels, and her book, Keyboard Theory and Piano Technique, is co-authored with Brian Henkelmann. Dr. Clark is Professor of Music, Director of Keyboard Studies, and Director of Music Graduate Studies at Arkansas State University.
April 29, 2006
The Spring Pops Concert featuring Pianist Dr. Lauren Schack Clark.
February 12, 2006
The Young Artist Concert Series featuring Grand Prizewinners from the DSO 16th Annual Young Artist Competition, Violinist Rachel Lin, Pianist Brendan White, Pianist Nickolas Alsup, and the 200-voice Delta Symphony Children's Chorus.