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Ouachita’s School of Fine Arts announces adjusted spring events

February 09, 2021 - Mandy Halbert

Ouachita Baptist University’s School of Fine Arts has adjusted its Spring 2021 events, including concerts, theatre productions and art galleries, to allow students to continue their performance education as well as provide safe viewing for audiences following COVID-19 guidelines from the Arkansas Department of Health and Ouachita’s Health Monitoring and Action Team.

Live events for the spring semester will follow the same protocols that were introduced last semester, with attendance limited to the Ouachita campus community and reduced seating in order to follow social distancing guidelines. Most performances will be available to audiences to view for free at www.livestream.com/obu, while others will require paid access though www.obu.edu/boxoffice. A handful of outdoor concerts also will be available on the Ouachita Division of Music Facebook page.

“It’s been an unusual year for the School of Fine Arts,” said Dr. Gary Gerber, dean of the School of Fine Arts and chair of the Division of Music. “The professors and students have managed to work with the protocols and still create and produce their art. This in itself has been a tremendous accomplishment for them and Ouachita.”

By following guidelines, students and staff are continuing to rehearse and perform.

“Thankfully, Ouachita and Dr. Gerber have made a safe environment for us to still perform our recitals and shows live,” said Ryan Lynch, a senior musical theatre major from Bryant, Ark. “The hardest part of doing my recital in a pandemic is the rule that we have to stay 12 feet apart from each of our partners during our scenes and duet if we don’t want to wear a mask. However, it’s definitely a small price to pay so that we can still perform.”

“Even though we might not have sung or played as much literature as we have in previous years, students have still continued learning and progressing throughout their Ouachita career,” Gerber said.

The following School of Fine Arts events will be open to the Ouachita community and available via livestream at www.livestream.com/obu:

Friday, Feb. 5 (2 p.m.) – Virginia Queen Piano Competition
Tuesday, Feb. 23 (2 p.m.) – Shambarger Competition for Singers
Tuesday, Feb. 23 (7:30 p.m.) – Jazz Band Concert
Saturday, March 13 (7:30 p.m.) – Ten-Minute Play Festival
Tuesday, March 16 (7:30 p.m.) – Wind Ensemble Concert
Thursday, March 18 (7:30 p.m.) – Symphonic Band Concert
Tuesday, March 30 (7:30 p.m.) – Chamber Winds Concert
Monday, April 19 (7:30 p.m.) – Percussion Ensemble Concert
Monday, April 26 (7:30 p.m.) – Prism Concert (Instrumental Ensembles)
Wednesday, April 28 (8 p.m.) – Steel Drum Band Concert

Details for paid viewing the following events will be posted at a later date at www.obu.edu/boxoffice:

Thursday – Saturday, Feb. 25-27 (7:30 p.m.), Sunday, Feb. 28 (2:30 p.m.) and Monday, March 1 (7:30 p.m.) – Muse Project: “The Old Man & The Old Moon”
Thursday – Saturday, April 15-17 (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday, April 18 (2:30 p.m.) – Spring Musical: “Little Women”

The following Division of Music concerts will be livestreamed only, with no live audience:

Thursday, April 22 (7:30 p.m.) – Concert Choir Concert
Tuesday, April 27 (7:30 p.m.) – Women’s Chorus/Singers Concert

The following events will be available to the Ouachita community only, with no online option available:

Friday, March 19 (5 p.m.) – Ouachita Outdoor Choir Concert
Tuesday, April 6 (5 p.m.) – Steel Drum Amphitheatre Concert
Thursday, April 15 (5 p.m.) – Steel Drum Amphitheatre Concert
Thursday and Friday, April 29-30 (7:30 p.m.) – One-Act Play Festival

The following Art and Design exhibits will be open to the community for viewing Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in the Rosemary Gossett Adams Gallery in Moses-Provine Hall:

Tuesday, Jan. 19 – Friday, Feb. 26 – Guest artist: Brad Wreyford, “Perpetual Fringe” exhibit
Tuesday, Jan. 19 – Friday, Feb. 26 – Art and Design faculty exhibit
Wednesday, April 21 – Saturday, Oct. 2 – Student Juried Art Show

For more information, contact the School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129 or the OBU Box Office at (870) 245-5555 or obu.edu/boxoffice.

Lead photo: Students rehearse physically-distanced while wearing masks for the Department of Theatre Arts' production "Hay Fever" in November 2020. Ouachita's School of Fine Arts students and staff continue to follow state COVID-19 guidelines for both students' and audiences' safety. Photo by Abby Blankenship.