The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and the Fayetteville Public Library are teaming up with the Open Mouth Reading Se ries to celebrate Poetry Month. The SoNA Singers will perform nine powerfu l poems\, and poets from Open Mouth Literary Center will premiere three ne wly commissioned poems. In this event\, we celebrate the transcendent abil ity of the written word\, as well as the ability of music to transform wor ds by providing color\, context and emotion.
\nTranscending Words is the latest concert in the symphony's \;SoNA Beyond \;series\, whi ch showcases the vast spectrum of possibilities for classical music to rea ch audiences in new and innovative ways. \;SoNA Beyond \;presents a variety of concerts\, programs and other creative arts experiences that go beyond the symphony&rsquo\;s annual mainstage season of concerts. It re thinks the boundaries of what a symphony can do to innovate the art form\, include new voices and immerse SoNA in the Northwest Arkansas community.< /p>\n
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\nSoNA Singers is an auditioned group of choral singers from throughout the region. Directed by Terry Hicks\, one of Arkansas&rsquo\; most respected choral conductors \, this group is SoNA's official symphony chorus\, conducted by Music Dire ctor Paul Haas. \;
\nAbout Open Mouth Reading Series Poe ts:
\nNoelia Cerna is a Costa Rican poet b ased in Northwest Arkansas. She immigrated to the United States at the age of 7 and received a Bachelor&rsquo\;s degree in English from Westminster College in Missouri. Her writing has been published in audio form in Terse Journal\, The Revolution [Relaunch]\, The North Meridian Review\, the Pla nts and Poetry Journal\, the Abantu Radio blog and Voices de la Luna. \; Noelia is a reader and poetry feedback editor for Tinderbox Poetry Jour nal\, an assistant poetry editor for Borderlands Texas Poetry Review\, an associate editor for Sibling Rivalry Press\, an editor for Nomadic Press\, a poetry genre editor for Patchwork Lit Mag\, a writing mentor for Pen Am erica&rsquo\;s Prison Writing Mentorship Program and a recent recipient of the PEN America L&rsquo\;Engle-Rahman Prize for Mentorship and an English Literacy Instructor with the Ozark Literacy Council.
\nGerr y Sloan is a retired music professor who taught at the University of Arkansas for 43 years. In addition to music\, he has had a lifelong pa ssion for poetry\, inspired by an amazing high English teacher named John Taylor. In 1990\, he won the Words Award in Poetry presented by the Arkans as Literary Society in Little Rock. More recently he won first prize in po etry presented by the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Literary Contest. His collecti ons include Paper Lanterns (2011) and Crossings: A Memoir in Verse\, plus five chapbooks. Recent work has appeared in Nebo\, Slant\, Cantos\, Xavier Review\, Elder Mountain (featured poet)\, and Cave Region Review (feature d poet). \; \;
\nRobin Bruce is a poet\, si nger-songwriter\, and visual artist from Schertz\, Texas. Her first writin g forms were inspired by East Coast MC&rsquo\;s and expressed through loca l hip-hop crews in San Antonio. Currently\, her writing is influenced by E astern Wisdom Traditions such as Tibetan Buddhism and yoga studies\; where she interrogates the intersection of eastern spirituality in America and racial construction through the lens of ultimate and relative truth. This is reflected in cross-genre texts weaving together poetry\, non-fiction\, fiction\, essay\, and image.
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