SoNA Beyond

Transcending Words

Celebrate National Poetry Month with SoNA and FPL in this unique music and spoken word performance.

The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and the Fayetteville Public Library team up with the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing & Translation for a free concert celebrating sung and spoken poetry. The SoNA Singers, directed by choral conductor Terry Hicks, will perform nine powerful pieces, while UA poets Cal Paule, Connor Weirich, and Sarah Barch share the original poetry that inspired the concert pieces.  Our poets will also premiere newly commissioned works as part of the performance. In this event, we celebrate the transcendent ability of the written word, as well as the ability of music to transform words by providing color, context and emotion. This event is free and open to the public.  

SoNA Beyond is sponsored by the WalMart Foundation with additional support from Experience Fayetteville.

About the Poets:

Cal Paule is a poet and translator from Saint Paul, MN.  They translate poetry from Spanish and Irish into English.  They are an MFA candidate in literary translation at the University of Arkansas.  Their first book of translated poems is coming out in November 2024 from Ugly Duckling Presse, Black Box Named Like to Me by Diana Garza Islas.

Originally from Cincinnati, Connor Weirich is currently an MFA candidate and graduate assistant at the UA.  He writes poetry about grief, love, space, ants and being bad at things.  His biggest inspirations include cats in windows and the tenacious 10-20 grounds at the bottom of every pot of coffee he makes.

Sarah Barch is a third-year MFA candidate in poetry at the UA.  She grew up in Olive Branch, MS and graduated from he University of Mississippi with at BA in English and minors in Ars and Classics.  She currently has two manuscripts in the works -- a collection of dark, absurd folk tales about the South, religion, and gender, and a collection of translated poems from lesser-known Ancient Greek women writers.  When she is not reading or writing, Sarah enjoys cooking, sewing, and watching basketball.

About SoNA Beyond: 

SoNA Beyond showcases the vast spectrum of possibilities for classical music to reach audiences in new and innovative ways. SoNA Beyond presents a variety of concerts, programs, and other creative arts experiences that go beyond the symphony’s annual mainstage season of concerts. The new series features symphony musicians in creative ways, including chamber music performances, outdoor educational concerts, community partnerships, groundbreaking contemporary experiences, and more.  SoNA Beyond rethinks the boundaries of what a symphony can do to innovate the artform, include new voices, and immerse SoNA in the Northwest Arkansas community – to give audiences an expansive view of what classical music is and who it serves.

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