Submitted by: Sarah Brackett, sbrackett1@uca.edu on 09/15/2025
The University of Central Arkansas will host renowned composer, pianist and educator Bernadette Speach for a three-day residency Sept.16-18 highlighting her work on the opera “The Little Rock Nine.”
“I am so pleased to welcome Bernadette Speach to campus as we restart the momentum of ‘The Little Rock Nine’ opera,” Dr. Donna Lampkin Stephens, director of UCA’s School of Communication, said. “Our work on this interdisciplinary project started in 2012, and to think that, thanks to Bernadette and the librettist, Thulani Davis, we are finally near completion is very exciting.
“Important projects such as this one take time as well as the work and cooperation of many people. Our residency will include journalism and history as well as music and other disciplines, and I am happy that our current UCA students will have a chance to learn more about this important piece of our state and nation’s history during this visit.”
The residency will include a pair of student-focused conversations and a screening of the short documentary “The Crisis Mr. Faubus Made: The Role of the Arkansas Gazette in the Central High Crisis” (2010). On Thursday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts, the university will host a public conversation with Speach featuring clips from “The Little Rock Nine” opera.
All events will be held on the UCA campus, are open to the public and free of charge, with no tickets required for entry.
The full schedule for the residency is as follows:
Tuesday, Sept.16
12:15-1:30 p.m., Student Event: Conversation with Bernadette Speach about Interdisciplinary Projects, Stanley Russ Hall 103.
1:40-2:30 p.m., Film Screening: “The Crisis Mr. Faubus Made: The Role of the Arkansas Gazette in the Central High Crisis” (2010, Kevin Clark, director, 30 min.), with Q&A featuring composer Bernadette Speach and film co-writer Dr. Donna Lampkin Stephens, Stanley Russ Hall 103.
Wednesday, Sept. 17
12-12:50 p.m., Student Event: Round-Table Discussion for Interdisciplinary Students with Bernadette Speach, journalist Ernie Dumas, and civil rights activist Elizabeth Eckford, moderated by Dr. Donna Lampkin Stephens, Stanley Russ Hall 103.
Thursday, Sept. 18
7-8:30 p.m., Public Event: A Conversation with Bernadette Speach with Video Clips from “The Little Rock Nine” Opera, moderated by Dr. Donna Lampkin Stephens, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts Concert Hall.
The UCA Artists in Residence program is funded by the Fine and Performing Arts Fee paid by all students, with additional support from Engage Management and Pyramid Art, Books, and Custom Framing. More information about the Artists in Residence program is available at uca.edu/go/artistsinresidence or by contacting Dr. Gayle Seymour, associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at gayles@uca.edu.
https://uca.edu/cahss/artists-in-residence/
