FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — After a year and a half away, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) will return to the stage next month to launch its 2021-22 Season at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

Led by Music Director Paul Haas, SoNA will perform Mozart and Beethoven on Friday, November 5 in the arts center’s Baum Walker Hall, 495 W. Dickson St. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. The performance will feature Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, with SoNA’s Principal Clarinetist Trevor Stewart, Romero’s Fuga con pajarillo, and Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the Eroica.

Beethoven may be 300 years old, but his Third Symphony is about as fresh, powerful and bracing as the first day of spring. I’m also thrilled to share the stage with Trevor Stewart, our fantastic principal clarinetist, for Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, and for audiences to experience Romero’s Fuga con pajarillo. It’s a real treat, an undiscovered gem.

Music Director Paul Haas

Stewart, who learned to play Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto as a teenager, hopes his performance will demonstrate the power of live symphonic music to inspire, heal, and unite the human spirit.

“Since this concert marks SoNA’s return to the stage after a year and a half of sacrifice, hardship and the unknown, I want this piece to take the audience on a journey that guides them through whatever they may be feeling or experiencing that evening, and hopefully ends with feelings of serenity and gratitude,” Stewart said.

Single tickets to Mozart and Beethoven are $35, $45, and $57. Tickets for students are $11 with valid ID. Children under 18 are free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

To purchase single tickets or for season subscription options, visit sonamusic.org or call the Walton Arts Center box office at (479) 443-5600. 

To help ensure that SoNA audiences, staff, and artists can experience music safely at its Nov. 5 performance, concert attendees must show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of the performance date. SoNA and Walton Arts Center policy also requires all patrons, staff, and volunteers to wear a mask while inside the facility. Learn more about SoNA’s Covid safety policy at sonamusic.org/covid-safety.

SoNA’s 2021-22 Season includes seven mainstage concerts at Walton Arts Center. Following the Mozart and Beethoven season opener, SoNA will present two performances of A Very SoNA Christmas on Dec. 11, followed by SoNA and Walton Arts Center present: The Snowman: A Family Concert on Dec. 12.

On Jan. 22, 2022, SoNA will welcome pianist and composer Heather Schmidt for her Arkansas premiere of Phoenix Ascending in a program by the same name, also including Sibelius’ Second Symphony and Márquez’s Danzón No. 2.

On Feb. 26, SoNA will present Continental Connections featuring guest artist, tabla virtuoso Sandeep Das performing the Arkansas premiere of Dinuk Wijeratne’s Tabla Concerto. The orchestra will also perform Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture for Orchestra and Schumann’s Second Symphony.

Then on April 30, in celebration of human resilience, SoNA will close the season with Majestic Mahler, featuring a powerful performance of Mahler’s awe-inspiring Sixth Symphony.

For more information, please visit sonamusic.org.