Muses to hold Garvan concert next Monday

The Muses Creative Artistry Project heralds the beauty of spring with a performance of

traditional and contemporary Irish and English ballads entitled “Celtic Spring,” at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 17 at Garvan Woodland Gardens, and on Monday, March 18, 7 p.m. at the Arkansas’ Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock. "Celtic Spring"’ will feature the music of Irish harpist Shana Norton, flautist Adrienne Ingles, pianists Hunter Mabery and Orlando Riverso, and soprano vocalists Deleen Davidson and Lisa Harst.

Hunter Mabery, a Murfreesboro native, is a piano performance major at Henderson State University. Hunter grew up playing the piano in church, and has been the church accompanist for several churches near his hometown.  In 2012, Mabery won the Texarkana Symphony’s Young Artist Concerto Competition and performed twice as a soloist with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra. In 2013, as the winner of the Concerto Competition, he played Mozart’s Piano Concerto with the orchestra in the President’s Concert at Henderson State University. Mabery especially enjoys collaborating with other musicians and is passionate about refining his skills as a collaborative pianist. He enjoys accompanying other performers and playing in various ensembles.

Shana Norton plays principal harp with the Mid-Texas Symphony and the Symphony of the Hills, and has performed with the San Antonio Symphony, the Victoria Bach Festival Orchestra and the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra.  A Hot Springs favorite, Norton has performed frequently with the Hot Springs Music Festival and with The Muses.  

Norton’s love for the harp was born when, as a child, she saw the original Fantasia movie and was “taken by the beautiful cartoon lady playing the Waltz of the Flowers cadenza. That was the instrument for me!”  She says she can still hear the voice of her harp teacher, saying "The harp is a beautiful instrument; try not to make it sound like dishes breaking in the kitchen."

Her interest in Celtic music was sparked when, never quite satisfied by playing from sheet music, she took a trip to Scotland.  Armed with a tiny, part-cardboard travel harp, she learned from Scottish women how to play entirely by ear.  “It was daunting. It was also liberating. I'm still in touch with these ladies and will see them at a harp festival in Edinburgh next month.”

The most unusual concert she’s ever played was “without a doubt, a performance here in Hot Springs of Staffan Mossenmark's "Beauty and the Beast," a duet for harp and vintage farm tractor. I hope to play it again someday, but finding the right tractor, outdoor venue, and tractor-percussionist is tricky,” Norton remarked.

Orlando Riveros is a scholarship student at Henderson State University, where he is a sophomore majoring in piano performance. He began playing the piano in the Jorge Baéz Music Conservatory in his hometown of Asuncion, Paraguay.  After completing his music studies, along with high school (where he was a science major), he was awarded Paraguay’s prestigious Government Scholarship and came to the United States to further his passion for music. Riveros has participated in music competitions and master classes and is active as a soloist with various ensembles and orchestras. Riveros also plays the violin and is fluent in several languages. He believes that “the key for happiness is doing what you absolutely love doing, with passion and honesty from your heart, and a little bit of hard work."

“Celtic Spring” is the first of the Muses’ 2013 concert series entitled "Four Seasons in Art and Song."  Other concerts in the series include "Father’s Day Garden Party" on June 16, showcasing Broadway standards, instrumental and vocal; "Opera Classics" on September 15, bringing the audience opera “appetizers” by eight talented singers; and the eighth annual presentation of "Voices of Angels" sacred Christmas concert on December 15.  Tickets for the four-concert series are available for $80, or can be purchased individually at $25.  Tickets for the Governor’s Mansion concert are $30.  They can be reserved by contacting The Muses at 501-463-4514; purchased online at http://www.themusesproject.org/; or at The Three Arts Café, located in the lobby of the Hale Bathhouse in beautiful downtown Hot Springs.