The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is one step closer to moving into a new home.
Symphony officials held a “topping-off” ceremony on the site of the new Stella Boyle Smith Music Center in Little Rock’s East Village neighborhood Tuesday. Staff and patrons were invited to sign three metal beams, which were later placed atop the still under-construction facility.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said the roughly $12 million facility will add to the city’s already bustling arts and culture scene.
“Downtown Little Rock is experiencing a cultural and educational resurgence, and the Stella Boyle Smith Music Center is at the crux of it all,” he said. “While this building is going to be great for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, it’s going to be great for our residents, but most importantly it’s going to be pivotal for our children.”
The new building will house the symphony’s practice spaces, as well as the E. Lee Ronnel Music Academy. At Tuesday’s event, symphony CEO Christina Littlejohn announced the center’s lobby will be named in honor of longtime supporters and donors Irene and Gus Vratsinas.
The symphony’s offices have been housed on the grounds of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock for the past 25 years. Katherine Williamson, assistant concertmaster and director of the symphony’s string academy, says the new facility will have more space to teach students.
“And I don’t just mean the classrooms, the teaching studios, the rehearsal hall or the recording space… but we have been functioning in a space that lacks a common area,” she said. “These common areas are so important for the smaller conversations that you might have, or the connections that you might make with a new friend, especially as a kid.”
The new building is named in honor of Stella Boyle Smith, who founded what later became the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in 1923. Officials broke ground on the 20,000 square foot building last August, after first announcing the project in January 2022.
Most concerts will still be held at the Robinson Center in downtown Little Rock after the new facility's expected opening in the fall.
