Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The Arkansas Times and Little Rock Public Radio.

And hello again, everyone, and thanks for being with us.

It's a cultural crescendo for Arkansas permanent home for its premiere symphony orchestra.

More than a brick and mortar milestone, its symbolism speaks volumes, certainly, but every aspect of form has its counterpoint and function.

In a moment, the Arkansas Symphony's executive director on the building and the coming season.

First, it's election season, and every passing hour brings us closer to Election Day.

Indeed, only early voting begins in about a month.

So the concerns, the challenges, the logistics and the security of Arkansas elections, that's where we begin.

We're joined by the officials whose responsibilities include election oversight in two major turnout factories.

Terry Hollingsworth is the Pulaski County clerk.

And her Faulkner County counterpart, Margaret Darter.

Thanks to both of you for coming in to whoever wishes to begin our way.

Madam Clerk from Pulaski.

Are we ready?

We are ready and we're ready because there are laws in place that we have to follow to make sure that we get ready and ballots are already uploaded to voter review so folks can look at their ballot.

So it's we're ready to get this done.

This darter, we are ready.

So your ballots go out tomorrow.

That's the military that are overseas or receiving by e-mail.

Those will go out tomorrow.

And then next week we start mailing regular absentee ballots out.

When you say tomorrow, we mean Friday.

That's right.

Yes.

Okay, now we're ready.

But it seems like with every election, there is a snafu somewhere down the road.

The machines don't work.

The printers don't work or some people don't get the ballot that they should.

Some precincts don't get the ballot that they should.

Can we avoid that?

We can avoid that.

And one of the ways we can avoid that in something that we've been trying to tell folks is that they should look at their information now, go to voter view, Arkansas.

They put in their first name, their last name and their date of birth, and they look at their voter status.

If everything is correct, they should not have a problem once they go into that early voting site or on Election Day.

But if they don't see their information, that's when they need to call the county clerks and to make sure that they get their information correct.

That is correct.

But but that's their responsibility, indeed.

Yes.

At the polling place, there are problems or after the polls close their tabulation problems.

Well, you know, Margaret and I have good relationships with our election coordinators and election commissions.

And so the election commissions also test the equipment and those kinds of things before they actually put it out in the different areas for early voting and the precincts for Election Day.

So, yes, you may end up with a glitch because something may end up happening with the machine, but it's not because they haven't tested the equipment or looked at the equipment.

It's just something that just may end up happening.

Pure mechanical.

Pure mechanical, Yes.

Let's start with Mr. Carter.

What's new this year?

Do we have something new this year in the process?

I'm not aware of us having anything new in the process.

The laws haven't changed for us for this year now.

I look forward to some changes next year.

But our process this year is the same as it was two years on.

Checking in voters.

We have a lot of stuff on the background set into motion to ensure that our voters get the right ballots.

There are human error errors that are made by poll workers.

You know, our poll workers only work every other year.

So, you know, we bring them in, we train them, we give them the training, and then we let them all work early to ensure that they're comfortable for Election Day.

And so those are some of the things we're allowing people to come in and work shorter shifts.

You know, poll workers so they don't get so tired in the evening.

So we've had a few things like that in place.

But the overall procedures that we're doing haven't changed at very magnitude, haven't they, Terry?

I would say that there's a couple of things they may have changed and it relates to absentee voting.

So it's a two page document now.

It used to be a one page document.

So voters have to make sure that they fill out the two page document.

And there's another reason why you can vote absentee.

And it it's an observance of a religious holiday.

So it used to be I'm just not going to be able to be at the polling place on Election Day.

But now the excuse of it's in observance of a lot of of a religious holiday is the reason why is any any turnout indications that you're picking up And it would be, I guess, the registration.

Well, we have an influx of registration, which is normal in a presidential, but we are seeing a very high influx, especially coming from the colleges here in town.

Yes.

Whether they turn out to vote, you know, we won't know till election cycle, but we are processing probably 200 or 300 new applicants a day.

A day, a day.

Well, now you've got three campuses and.

Well, in Conway.

Yes.

So I'm really excited because just like Margaret said, we've seen an influx, especially from the young people.

We've had like 2600 new registrants in the last couple of months, and 45% of those are under 30.

What's powering this?

What's what's moving them to register?

I'm selfish.

I think it's I actually think it's the influx of Kamala Harris and Mr.

Walls being in the race.

It's exciting voters.

And that's and I think, of course, Trump excites people as well.

So I think it's both of those things.

Yeah.

And they are having a lot of voter drives on campuses at this time, which is normal as well.

And then we also have a booth at the fair that brings in several registrations, a day from that.

So it's just the people out there working on both sides.

They're working hard.

They both have a good grass roots and they're out there working those grass roots.

As it stands now, a wet registration is is the standard in Arkansas.

That is the state election.

Has that had any measurable impact?

Would it have?

Well, I think that when you talk to young people, the first question I usually get is, can you do it online?

No, you can't do it online.

So you have to do it with this piece of paper.

So it would I think it would probably register more people if we could actually do it that way.

But I don't think that I think that they're going to register.

They're certainly going to go ahead and do the paper.

So it's not a deal breaker.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I haven't seen a major impact in Baltimore County on the signatures.

I haven't received that many.

I did receive a couple yesterday, but they actually turned out to be applications for an absentee ballot.

And I can't accept I had to have a real signature.

It doesn't have to be right original, but it has to be real, because then we're comparing that signature.

When they do their absentee, they had to sign a voter statement when they return that those signatures have to compare or that their vote might not count.

So I just explain to the voters like, I need your real signature so your vote will count.

Well, I will.

It's a provisional possibility option.

Yes, but but then the election commission has a higher standard on checking that signature to the signature that I receive.

My my duties aren't as strong from your voter registration to that application, but theirs is a little stronger.

So those signatures need to compare.

Now, none of us are experts, so we're going to give language to the voter, but you can't one person sign it and another person sign it and it be okay.

Yeah, but you still cast the ballot.

That's still, well, provisional.

You never know because sometimes to interpret in order to secure that ballot, they have to bring that license back or come back.

And there's no way to actually cure that provisional.

So we're really just checking to see if they're actually registered.

So it's best that they check their information now and make sure that they don't have any issues when it comes to Election Day.

So usually when a person does provisional, it's because they may not be in the system.

Early voting is just and what about about a month?

I guess it's about a month.

Yes, October 21st is when would you.

Yeah.

Would you anticipate a surge in early voting by witness the registration increase, Mark?

Yes, I anticipate the first wave being a very strong heavy week in the general.

That's pretty common that the first week people know what they want.

They want to get that vote cast and get it over with, and they will show up very strong and heavy that first week and then we'll die down.

It'll still be a strong second week.

I just don't believe it will be as strong as the first week.

And Polaski is known for early voting.

Yes.

Alaska is known for early voting.

So I agree with Margaret it's going to be the same way and we're going to be excited.

As a matter of fact, we're even going to have the clerk and some staff in costumes on October 31st and we're going to all go vote together.

So we're trying to scare voters away.

Oh, no.

We just want to make sure that people know that voting can be fun and it can be a whole event just everybody just bring their their I.D.

and let's go vote.

Well, maybe some candy would help.

I mean, yes, we try to always have candy.

I don't know that we're going to dress up.

But when you try to have candy, well, try this one.

I mean, obviously, there has been controversy over really the last eight years, but certainly in the last four over the integrity of the election process in the United States has that the security of the election process more, I think.

Can you what can you tell the citizens and Faulkner and by extension the state?

We have not found any instances where there's anything wrong with our voting machines or the tabulation of our machines.

They have been found to be 100% accurate.

When they were audited, we learned itis most issues happen by you not doing your testing.

So Illinois testing is you know what they tell us over and over.

Test, test, test and proof prove proof.

So if we've done all of our jobs and we followed all of our laws, the integrity is going to be there.

Terry Hollingsworth Same way we test our machines and our machines are not online, so which means nobody can hack into the system.

So it's very secure.

Have you encountered individuals, as this reporter has, who say, I'm not going to go vote because it's going to go out into the ether or it'll be it'll go to Indonesia or whatever?

Are you encountering skepticism on the part of some of your constituents?

Margaret I do encounter that.

You know, you have a group out there that's saying you can't trust the system and they want to go paper ballots.

But, you know, our argument is, is that we do have paper ballots.

You can check your paper ballot before you put it into the tabulator.

And another misunderstanding some people think is once you put your ballot into the tabulator, your vote is counted.

So I've had a lot of people call me and say, are you counting my vote?

And I said, well, where did you vote?

And they'll tell me about it at such and such that.

And I said, Did you put it in the tabulator?

And they'll say, Yes.

I said, Then your vote counted because we don't know your ballot, so we can't go and vote you.

So we want people to know that our ballots are safe and secure.

We plan.

Terry, now, we're both at a cybersecurity training a month ago.

Yes.

Our county is putting on a cyber training with all the nearby officials.

That's the place the sheriff, the county judge, the road department, 911.

We're putting on a cybersecurity.

So we have a network going on in our county in case there's a catastrophe of some sort or if there's a threat to one of our, you know, a voter or a poll worker as that occurred.

That has not occurred.

Has not occurred.

Has not occurred.

But we want to make sure that we're trained in case there anything ends up trying to happen.

It's got about a minute remaining if we were to go back to paper.

But Pulaski, Pulaski is responsible for a big section in Faulkner as well of the Art of Total Arts.

Although how long would it take to tabulate Pulaski County?

Oh, it would take hand.

It would take days, days, maybe even weeks.

Much harder, I would say weeks for us.

So I feel like weeks for her weeks.

Mm.

Got to end it there because we're out of time.

Good luck to both of you.

Thank you.

This season, we had a Democrat and Republican.

Good.

Good luck to both of you.

All right.

And we'll be right back with more.

Stand by.

And we're back.

As we mentioned at the top of the program, new quarters for the Arkansas Symphony.

It is now in its second century, the symphony when its musical DNA is traced.

But it has been an administrative nomad, something of an orphan, until now, $12 million has provided 20,000 square feet for not only offices, but meeting and performance space as well.

Dedicated to last weekend, the stellar Boyle Smith Music Center is the symphony's first permanent headquarters, and its musical director, Jeffrey Robson, could hardly be more pleased.

I am thrilled with it.

You know, we spend so much time designing every corner, each of the different spaces, the teaching spaces, the performing spaces for rehearsing spaces and recording spaces.

And it's really proving to be exactly what we need in order to bring music to more people.

Also to Arkansas.

It is literally a landmark architecturally, but in a broader esthetical sense as well.

With us now is the symphony's chief executive, Christina Littlejohn.

Thanks so much for coming in.

There is, in fact, a significance beyond the brick and mortar, the building itself.

Right.

Well, the symphony, this is the orchestra's first home.

It's also the aspiration for the new music center is to be a radically welcoming hub of musical activity for all Arkansans.

And so when you walk into the center, we want you to feel like you belong.

We want it to be the community space.

And so there's beautiful glass.

So it's centered, centered in between the Clinton Presidential Library and Heifer International.

That's a beautiful space.

And again, there's so much glass and you can just be part of the community there.

Yeah.

Tell me, why is it important, a physical place?

I mean, you've had office space where the Saint John Center and and other places over the past decades, anyway.

What's the secret?

This space allows us to do our education program aims, our education programs, our recording programs, our concerts, our chamber music concerts.

So this gives us a home that our musicians and our staff and our board can all be proud of and our kids.

So we have a lot of education programs.

We have three youth ensembles, we have a string academy, we have a community orchestra.

They're all part of the Ely renowned music academy.

So there's a way for people ages 4 to 104 to make music and play music together.

And this provides a space for all of us to be able to enjoy that together.

It's really one anyone could say That's quite an accomplishment, given that not that long ago, Symphony was on fiscal life support.

Yes.

So 15 years ago, the orchestra was in very serious financial crisis.

We were in a cash flow crisis and really were it was an existential crisis.

And so what we did at that moment was for we worked together so the musicians and the staff and the board pulled together, figured out a plan to get us through that.

And then our goal was to not just survive, but thrive.

And that's where we are today.

Are you there now?

Thriving.

Yeah.

The revenue stream.

I mean, you feel good about where you are financially?

I feel good.

We do.

We are like every other orchestra.

After the pandemic, we are still recovering and our subscriptions dropped during that time.

But we're excited because we have a product called a membership so people can be members of the symphony.

It's just like Netflix for $9 a month.

And so with that product, we have well over a thousand members of the symphony.

It's a nice, accessible product.

And so our halls have been coming, are getting full with our tapes.

Take a moment, if you would, and explain the membership concept here, because it's pretty unique.

It is pretty unique.

There's only a couple orchestras in the country that are doing this and it's like Netflix.

So for $9 a month, you can come to all the concerts that you wish.

So it's over 29 concerts, a membership permit exceeding availability.

What's interesting is our chamber series, our River Rhapsody series, was selling out for the last several years.

A lot of it was members.

Two thirds of the audience were members.

And so I'm excited.

In the new Stella Smith Music Center, we're actually able to expand that series.

So we'll be doubling our River rhapsodies so we can accommodate even more people.

But for the members at Robinson, it's a it's, it's not the top priced seats.

Those are still reserved for our subscribers, but it's just but it's a lot of seats.

So it's been really, really nice to be able to make music for a lot of people.

Yeah.

To, to a point that you mentioned earlier and that's the the fiscal challenges for any or so.

They're not unique to the Arkansas Symphony as I read the Boston Symphony is undergoing is a terrible the Philadelphia even the New York Philharmonic they're all.

The L.A. symphony I think.

Do you fear for the for the arts not just symphonic music, but for all of the arts, I mean, in the cultural climate?

Well, I will be curious to see what the landscape looks like five years from now.

A lot of us are using our money, our government funding money that was that we received during COVID.

And so a lot of us are using that money right now to help balance the books.

And so I will be curious to see what the landscape is five years from now.

The Arkansas Symphony, I think, is in the best position humanly possible.

And we've just opened our new music center.

We opened it fully funded.

We are working on an endowment campaign to grow our endowment and we have the membership program.

So we're seeing the return of audiences.

We're adding concerts.

There's not an orchestra.

I don't think there's an orchestra in the country that I'd rather be a part of that has that's geared up to make sure that we're we're doing well five years from now.

But I do think these are very these are the hardest times I can think.

I have been in this field for over 30 years.

And these are the most treacherous.

These are very difficult times right now for the performing arts organization, The most treacherous.

I think so, yeah.

Again, coming out of COVID, because during the pandemic, a lot of us lost our subscribers.

Our lost a number of our subscribers.

And our subscribers aren't just ticket holders.

They're also donors to the annual find the Symphony Symphony We Live or Die based on donations to our annual fund from individuals.

So that is our economic engine and so when our subscribers left, they didn't necessarily just even leave becoming being a subscriber.

They also cut back on their annual fund gift.

And so again, for us, the more we can grow the number of people that are coming to our concerts and that love us and get why we exist and appreciate us, the more we can grow our annual fund donors back again.

Well, are you seeing a shift at all in the demographics, not only of your audiences, but your sponsors, your support fiscal supporters?

Yes, there is a shift.

There's just an aging.

There's there's there is a demographic shift, again, for Arkansas Symphony, for all of the performing arts organizations.

We're our bigger donors.

The ones that were the donating the most amount of money have cut back on that or just lifestyle changes.

And so and it's hard to replace a $20,000 donor.

It takes a lot more takes $21,000, $21,000 donors to replace a $20,000 donor.

So, yes, we're seeing that.

And so as so are the other performing arts organizations, which makes it all the more imperative, I suppose, efforts to compensate for that.

Yes.

And I know for us, and I imagine most, but I can speak for us, we are trying to grow our endowment.

Our goal is to grow our endowment by an additional $3 million by 2027.

When I look at our finances, you know, that's kind of our runway.

So our goal is, is to use this time to grow our endowment and to continue adding more programs and serving the community, because I feel like that is still the most important thing for us to do, is to be able to teach more kids and play more concerts and reach more people and that good things happen when your halls are full and good things happen when people are making music.

Yeah, and I suppose we owe it to we all.

We do.

We owe it to a word to the a patron of the arts par excellence whose name now adorns the head.

Costello Moyle Smith.

Yes, Yes.

Stella Goldsmith started the Arkansas Symphony in her living room in 1923, so she had music there in her own personal living room.

And so we're excited.

We feel that our space is a home and it's now Stella's new home where we can make music.

And when you walk into this space and Stella Smith, the Arkansas Symphony is so fortunate to have a number of donors like Stella that have been that stayed with the symphony and supported it for decades.

Stella Boyle Smith, Gus Vaccinés, who helped build the building with Bailey Construction, Susie Morgan, Susie and Charles Morgan.

Terri Irwin.

Let's see who else?

Lee Right now, of course.

So we were very fortunate to have a number of supporters that have stepped in, vacated Gardiner and made sure the organization was there for years, for these decades.

What kind of music we're going to see in the months of the season?

Oh, I'm so excited.

We've got a whole mix of things.

So we open at Robinson with Aaron Diehl performing Gershwin Piano Concerto, and it is he's a phenomenal performer.

He's a Steinway artist.

And so then he'll also he's a jazz performer.

So his encore will very likely be jazz.

And that's a really fun program.

Jeff has just done a great job of making sure that we have a lot of fun in every program that we have.

There's a lot.

We're also doing.

The Cuban Gershwin obituary is kind of cute in that Gershwin Cuban overture.

That's right.

So it's a lot of fun and dance music.

And then we also are opening our new River Rhapsody series at the Stella Smith Music Center.

So that'll be Tuesday and Wednesday.

And again, the the Chamber Music series features a number of different musicians performing kind of different kind of music.

I think that's one reason why it's so popular with people, because it's not just it is Beethoven, but it's Beethoven and other things.

You heard a little snippet of Jeff rehearsing today and rehearsing at the very top of this hour.

And and let's say, oh, gosh, we have Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, where performing the orchestra perform while the we're playing the music of Star Wars.

So we have Empire Strikes Back.

And so that is very tickets are flying if you want tickets for that, you better go ahead and get those.

So we have a mix of concerts coming to you in space.

A couple of decades ago, as I recall.

Anyway, it was Star Wars anyway, you're redefining the canon almost.

Yes.

The other night.

I mean, the thing is, people listen to music.

They're not just listening to Beethoven, followed by Mozart, followed by Tchaikovsky.

They're listening to music on their Spotify.

That's classic.

That's music of the symphony.

But they're listening to a little bit of Gershwin and a little bit of that.

And then, by the way, Taylor Swift is going to show up in their feed.

And just this weekend for our grand opening, we had our string quartet and they were played after their dance party, masquerade dance party.

They were playing music, a Taylor Swift in music, a Coldplay on there with the string quartet.

So it is people are listening to music in all different ways.

So that's what we want to embrace, is that it's music radically welcome and have a musical activity, not just classical symphonic activity.

Yeah.

Christine Littlejohn on the Arkansas Symphony.

Congratulations and have a great season.

Thank you so much, Steve.

And come back soon.

Okay.

Sounds great.

Thank you.

Thanks for joining us as always.

And we'll see you next week.

Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Arkansas Times and Little Rock Public Radio.