NOV. 1, 2004 | Two quartets of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra delivered a stirring performance for an appreciative crowd on Oct. 28 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as part of the Dr. Ruth Marie Allen Concert Series.

Allen, a retired UAMS faculty member in the Office of Educational Development, has endowed two annual concerts on the UAMS campus “in recognition of the students, staff and faculty of UAMS.” The hour-long concert, co-sponsored by the UAMS Faculty Friends of the ASO, drew a near full house to the Walton Auditorium in the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC) at UAMS for an afternoon performance of selections by composers Jean Francaix, George Gershwin and Pytor Tchaikovsky.

“It is my hope that these concerts will promote the beautiful music of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra while providing the opportunity for celebration and renewal to the many hardworking UAMS students, staff and faculty,” Allen said.

A quartet including Elizabeth Wheeler on English horn, William Manley on violin, Katherine Reynolds on viola and Dan Cline on cello played Francaix’s “Quartet for English Horn and Strings.” In introducing the piece, Wheeler, the wife of College of Medicine Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Richard Wheeler, M.D., said having the mix of instruments was uncommon given that the string instruments’ sound was usually described as lively and light while the English horn’s sound has been described as dour and mournful.

The five movements of the piece highlighted the interplay between the instruments as the horn kept up with the playful pace of the strings. The joyful final movement even had one young girl in the audience at the side of the auditorium dancing an impromptu jig.

As the Rockefeller String Quartet, Reynolds and Cline then joined violinists Israel Getzov and Chris Baker for Gershwin’s swinging “Lullaby” and Tchaikovsky’s “String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11.” The frenetic finish of the Tchaikovsky piece closed the concert in rousing fashion.

Allen hosted a reception for the audience outside the auditorium following the concert.