Arkansas Center for Music Education

Arkansas Center for Music Education Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Arkansas Center for Music Education, Specialty School, PO Box 9068, Russellville, AR.

We are a non-profit organization that offers a variety of classes and performance groups for all ages and abilities - including opportunities for the special needs community.

"He who sings frightens away his ills." - CervantesWhat better way to frighten away the ills than by singing with others...
01/09/2026

"He who sings frightens away his ills." - Cervantes

What better way to frighten away the ills than by singing with others. And one really good place to do that is with the River Valley Community Chorale.

This community choir is for ages 14 and up (no limit on the up). The choir uses choral sheet music. The group has four sections - soprano, alto, tenor, bass. It is not auditioned unless you are unsure which part will fit your voice best.

We do a variety of styles of music. This semester's music is not selected yet, but it will include some patriotic selections in honor of the 250th birthday of the USA.

We rehearse weekly on Mondays from 6:45 to 8:15(ish - no later) in the choir room at First United Methodist Church at 304 South Denver. We will have a free community performance locally near the end of May.

There is no cost to participate. You will need to register so that we can make sure we have enough music prepared for everyone before the first rehearsal. You can access the registration form using the QR code in the poster below at by clicking this link:
https://forms.gle/WnzzpKx9odLsnQi19

Don't forget to SHARE this with all your singing friends so we can have a community full of happy, healthy citizens!

Do you know a person with special needs? Are you a person with special needs? Or maybe you're a person with or without s...
01/08/2026

Do you know a person with special needs? Are you a person with special needs? Or maybe you're a person with or without special needs who loves to sing with a group. We have a group for you!

This choir is open to all persons age 10 and up, but is designed for those with special needs. We learn songs together in weekly rehearsals and with practice materials provided for home use. This semester our focus will be on music from the 1980s and some patriotic (in honor of the 250th birthday of the USA).

There is no cost to participate. All singers will receive a t-shirt for performances also at no cost.

We do not set limits on levels of ability or disability. Wheelchair? Super, just don't run over my toes. HA! Can't read? That's fine. I bet you have great learning skills from listening. NONVERBAL? Guess what? Absolutely! We have singers who love music and love to participate with the group that can make sounds but no words. At least, not the kind that most people would understand. And they get solos too! We believe everyone deserves a chance to shine at something they love. "What if I don't have a special need, but love to sing but I'm not a great singer?" This group is for you. I have experienced singers that weren't "great" singers actually improve because they stood near some of the folks that have good singing abilities. We do learn about singing as a choir, balancing our sound so no one voice stands out. And most importantly, we have fun!
The only thing you need to do is get you or your singer registered.

You can use the QR code on the poster below or click on this link:
https://forms.gle/C39EAi3rTx9DSnD26

If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at [email protected] or text me at 479-264-9107 (you can call but I may not be able to answer right away, but leave a message and I will return).

Let's keep live music going in the community!! Oh, and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!!! We don't want anyone to miss out!

The Community Festival Chorale, a long-time staple of Pope and surrounding counties, is looking for singers for the Fall...
09/18/2025

The Community Festival Chorale, a long-time staple of Pope and surrounding counties, is looking for singers for the Fall 2025 semester.

Here are the details:
Weekly rehearsals Mondays 6:45-8:15 pm
First rehearsal September 29
Location is the choir room at First United Methodist Church in Russellville - entrance from South Denver
Performance will be Saturday, December 13, at 6 pm at Witherspoon Auditorium at ATU (dress rehearsal Dec. 12 @ 5:30pm)

This choir sings from choral sheet music. We have soprano, alto, tenor and bass (and sometimes the "in-betweens"). Some of our singers are not good note readers but good followers of the note movement on the page. But we also have very skilled readers. Rehearsal time is spent helping each section learn their part and then combining with the others.

No audition is required unless you are uncertain which part you should sing.

There is no cost to be part of this group.

YOU MUST COMPLETE THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION FORM TO JOIN! Here is the link to that form:
https://forms.gle/GLq3BXWKwV7xEjPR8

Since our numbers have been low the last couple of semesters, we ask that you do not sign up if you know or think you may miss many rehearsals due to other obligations. We totally understand unexpected events and illnesses can occur. Just remember it is a GROUP and what one singer does or doesn't do affects everyone.

To help ensure we have plenty of singers for the semester, please SHARE this post or even just the poster below. Invite all your friends who have missed singing in a choir. Heck, invite your enemies, too. You don't have to sit next to them. You just have to behave. LOL! Let's remind people what REAL music does for the soul and can bring to the community!

Know a special person who loves music and would love to make some music with others? This is definitely the group to be ...
09/02/2025

Know a special person who loves music and would love to make some music with others? This is definitely the group to be in! Variety of styles of music. Learning to sing as a group. Lots of solo opportunities for those that love the limelight.

Help spread the word so every special singer in the area can be a superstar!

It's late! It's late....for a very important date!Choir time for Fall 2025 is upon us. Both choirs - Heartstrings and Co...
09/02/2025

It's late! It's late....for a very important date!

Choir time for Fall 2025 is upon us. Both choirs - Heartstrings and Community Festival Chorale - are set to start. Here's the details.

First rehearsals will be Monday September 22.
Heartstrings - 5:30-6:30
Community Festival Chorale - 6:45-8:15
Both in the choir room at Russellville First United Methodist, 304 South Denver (entrance is on Denver).
There is no fee to join either choir.

Heartstrings is our special needs choir for singers ages 10 to adult (it's mostly adults now, but we love kids and want them to sing too). They learn a variety of styles of music from recordings and then get to perform them with their own live band - Sinus Rhythm.

We welcome all singers, so special needs is not required.

Here is the link to the official registration form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd78eAP-l9HjApYWYH5Gjo8SI8Nw_zjRQ1kXAfYR3TJh2AxIw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=104536706097436319911

The Community Festival Chorale has been part of the area under various names and various organizations for many, many years since it was started, I believe, by Arkansas Tech. It has been part of ACME since about 2007 or so.

It is not an auditioned choir, but they do sing from choral sheet music divided in to soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. So, being able to follow the music (even if you can't read it well) and learn to sing the part to which you are placed or have chosen.

The ages for this is 14 and up. No upper age limit, of course. Due to some challenges with our numbers and issues with some joining without planning for the weekly rehearsals, this semester we need to have a minimum of 24 officially registered, spread evenly across the 4 sections in order for the choir to meet. We believe we will reach and even surpass this goal, and it will be a great semester of music-making.

Here is the link to the official registration for this choir:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfl6OFUnTq66x7ppmXGL3g6q_cDy_PUTHd6h28DLSA3bl1fuw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=104536706097436319911

Shortly, we will be sharing posters for each choir, each having a QR code for the registration form. We encourage you to share this post and/or the posters with every singer you know.

Let's keep music LIVE and not let the tech world take that away from us! Come sing!!

Make plans to attend next Saturday!
05/03/2025

Make plans to attend next Saturday!

04/07/2025

Needed immediately:
Our Community Festival Chorale is needing singers to help finish the spring semester.

The need and requirements are as follows:
* Need all parts - soprano, alto, tenor, bass
*Age must be no younger than 16 - the older the better
*MUST have very good to excellent music reading skills
*Must have good personal responsibility and willingness to do some practice outside of rehearsals
*Must attend the remaining rehearsals (arriving timely) as well as dress rehearsal and, of course, performance (unless you start this evening - April 7 - there will be 4 required Monday rehearsals)
*MUST BE RESPECTFUL OF THE SPECIAL NEEDS CHOIR as we will sing some songs with them as well.

Rehearsals are Mondays 6:45 to 8:15 pm in the choir room at Russellville First United Methodist.
Final Monday rehearsal is May 5. Time will be different. Will meet from 6 pm until finished (maybe 8 +/-)
Dress rehearsal is Friday, May 9 at 5:30 pm at Witherspoon Auditorium at ATU
Performance is Saturday, May 10 at 6 pm also at Witherspoon

This is a volunteer COMMUNITY choir. You will not be paid either. You will be responsible to return all music loaned to you.

This is an opportunity for those who love choral music to come together to enrich our community of singers and music lovers.

If you would like to help, you can:
* just show up tonight or next week at the latest
* message this page or the director - Shirley Faulkner
* call or text the director - Shirley Faulkner at 479-264-9107

HELP KEEP LIVE CHORAL MUSIC STRONG!!!

FIRST REHEARSALS BEGIN TOMORROW!!The day is almost here for the first rehearsals for Heartstrings (our special needs cho...
02/09/2025

FIRST REHEARSALS BEGIN TOMORROW!!
The day is almost here for the first rehearsals for Heartstrings (our special needs choir) and The Community Festival Chorale.

It is certainly not too late to get signed up to be a part of either of these groups.

Heartstrings is for ages 10 and up. No top limit on age. No limit on abilities either. Non-verbal? Come on! I know several non-verbal who love music and participate in their own way. And they will be smack in the middle of everyone. Wheelchair? Just don't run over anyone trying to get to rehearsal. So much fun making music together. And yes, we LEARN to make music together. It's awesome.

Heartstrings meets from 5:30 to 6:30. There is no cost. A tshirt will be provided.

The Community Festival Chorale has been around for more decades than I know. I have been privileged to be the director for 19 years (this fall will start my 20th year - pretty sure I haven't aged a bit LOL). This group is for ages 14 and up. We sing from sheet music, so it will be helpful if you can at least follow the music on the page even if you can't read the notes. We break everything down to learn the songs.

Community Festival Chorale meets from 6:45 to 8:15. There is also no charge to participate in this group. The music you receive is on loan and must be returned the evening of the concert or immediately should something arise that makes you unable to finish the semester. (Failure to return will result in you being responsible for the cost of the music.)

All you need to do to join is complete the online registration form for the group you plan to sing with. You can use the QR code on the posters below or click on these links:

Heartstrings registration - https://forms.gle/fQwNPtCPL5EFRwx2A

Community Festival Chorale - https://forms.gle/gPWCyUqsKTEjPhnk6

If you have questions, you can email me at [email protected] or text 479-264-9107.

LET'S SING!

Get those voices warmed up. It's music making time!Our two choirs are ready to start the spring semester.The Community F...
01/30/2025

Get those voices warmed up. It's music making time!

Our two choirs are ready to start the spring semester.

The Community Festival Chorale is a non-auditioned community choir for ages 14 and up. We do use sheet music, so while reading is not required it will be helpful to at least be able to follow. (We have plenty of singers in each section ready to help.) There is no fee to join. There are a lot of wonderful people in this group and we would love to see it filled with lots of new faces and voices sharing live music with our friends, families, and fellow community members.

Our other choir is Heartstrings. This group is for special needs singers ages 10 to adult with all levels of abilities, including the non-verbal (because they love music too and love being part of groups!). We learn our music by listening and guidance from the director and from the practice demos provided. There is no fee to join and all singers are provided with a Heartstrings t-shirt to be worn at our spring concert. It's an awesome group and we would love to have even more singers join us and have the thrill of making music together.

The first rehearsal for both groups is Monday, February 10.
Heartstrings will meet from 5:30-6:30 pm.
Community Festival Chorale will meet from 6:45-8:15 pm.
We meet in the choir room at Russellville First United Methodist located on the 300 block of South Denver.
Our concert this semester for both groups will be Saturday, May 10, at 6 pm at Witherspoon Auditorium at ATU.

We will take newcomers for a few weeks after rehearsals begin, but the sooner you sign up, the better prepared we can be with plenty of music and supplies ready for everyone. Click on the QR code on the poster below to register for the choir that's right for you!

Whether you can join or not, PLEASE SHARE THIS with all your friends and family. This may be just what they are looking for!

If you came to On a Winter's Night this past Saturday, you got a very small taste of these two groups. Now is your chanc...
11/18/2024

If you came to On a Winter's Night this past Saturday, you got a very small taste of these two groups. Now is your chance to hear both of them individually and together.

Admission is free as always. We gladly accept donations (we are a 501c3 non-profit - donations made by check or cash in an envelope with contact info are tax deductible).

Come let us put a little holiday in YOUR heart!

And don't forget to help us by sharing this a bunch this week!

Address

PO Box 9068
Russellville, AR
72802

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