The annual Opus Ball is the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s largest gala fundraiser and is the primary driver for raising money for music education and community engagement programs that serve over 20,000 children across the state of Arkansas each year.

An elegant evening for over 500 of the most influential and notable members of the Little Rock community, Opus Ball XXXVII will include a live music from ASO’s professional musicians as well as ASO Youth Ensembles, a live and silent auction, a multicourse dinner with wine pairings, and an after party of music and dancing. Throughout the night, guests will be introduced to the different education and community engagement programs that the ASO provides. All of the money raised from the night goes directly to support these vital programs.

ASO’s Education and Community Engagement programs include:

·        Sturgis Music Academy partners with schools and arts programs to instill confidence, creative thinking and work ethic while teaching violin to over 230 students at underserved schools around the Little Rock metro.

·        The Arkansas Symphony Youth Ensembles (ASYE), is the only youth orchestra program in Central Arkansas and serves more than 200 students from 38 different communities throughout the state. ASO provides over 42 scholarships to students each season to keep Youth Ensemble accessible and Opus helps raise money for these scholarships and many other education programs.

·        ASO annually hosts a Summer Strings Camp, a comprehensive five-day summer strings program for players at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels.

·        Two full-time string quartets provide underserved Arkansas school children with quality music education, often giving students their first chance to touch an instrument through our interactive demonstrations, informances and instrument petting zoos.

·        ASO’s new Bucket Band uses 5-gallon buckets and sticks to teach children rhythm and collaboration at after school sites around Central Arkansas.

·        Children’s Concerts expose students to recognizable works performed by a full orchestra in a program designed specifically for young people. Teachers receive lesson plans to integrate this concert music into regular, standardized curriculum. 

These programs have allowed thousands of students across Arkansas to experience hands on music education through private and group instrument lessons, class and school demonstrations, and interactive performances. 

ASO’s music education programs serve schools in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods where greater than 50% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. ASO also works with these schools to offer programs at a cost that the schools can afford. Any child participating in the Sturgis Music Academy or the Youth Ensembles needing financial assistance receives scholarships, ensuring that economic barriers do not restrict the development of musical talent. 

Throughout the pandemic, these programs have continued unabated, moving to virtual platforms to keep families safe while still serving children across the state. 

As ASO continues to expand its statewide outreach and education programs, it is imperative that these opportunities are kept affordable so as not to create an economic barrier to broad-based student accessibility.

Your support of Opus XXXVII helps expand these programs to more students, grades, and schools in Arkansas andallows ASO to enhance the economic, educational and cultural profile of the state by ensuring that ASO can offer first-rate music education and programming to the broadest range of Arkansans. Your generosity will ensure that Little Rock, and Arkansas as a whole, remains a culturally vibrant, strong community with a growing reputation as a great place to live and work.