Wildwood Academy of Music and the Arts
Who are we?
Located at West Little Rock's very own Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, WAMA has gone through a few changes. But like anything, to fully understand what it is, we need to take a look at its roots and what it was to be. Then, we can look at the current state of the Academy. Once we've taken all that into account, then we can look towards its future and what it can be for generations to come.
Ann Chotard was the woman at the heart of all of it. In 1973, she formed a group called the Arkansas Opera Theatre, AOT. During the next years, she would develop the dream of having a place for Opera's and Music Festivals to take place in the woods. In the 80's, she bought some land in West Little Rock and called it, Wildwood Park for the Arts.
(A Program from the first performance at the park. Ann Chotard was the Conductor for this performance.)
Arkansas Opera Theatre
From Opera...
Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts
During the 90's, the park would change its direction a bit, from Opera's and Music Festivals to Education and Community programs. The next big shift toward today is the ideas of Dr. Tom Bruce.
Opera
To Something more...
Tom was a man of many hats. From dean of UAMS to a cardiologist, teacher, philanthropist, he was full of life and wanted to give it in service of his community. On top of being a soul that wanted to bring people together, He was a tremendous advocate for the arts and arts education. He wanted an academy in the style of Interlochen, a famous multi-model arts academy in Michigan. That was his dream for WAMA, to be "the Interlochen of the South".
Music Festivals
"Interlochen of the South"
Wildwood Academy of
Music and the Arts
2014 was officially the first year of the academy. Ran by Tatiana Roitman (pianist and wife of former Arkansas Symphony Orchestra conductor, Philip Mann) and Angela Collier. It had a great start for the first few years, but then after key donors passed away, the money wasn't there for the growth it needed. All the ingredients were there, but after some reflection, there was a major problem that stunted its growth beyond finances. The obstacle was competition.
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You could make a case for this or that, but at the core was all the already established organizations that weren't doing bad. The Arkansas Symphony was and is doing well with the orchestral/music side. Various programs around the Little Rock area were strong. So why would advanced students go to a program that isn't specialized in any one area when they can go directly toward where they want to go. All the arts were together, but being drained by themselves.
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in 2020, when Covid-19 hit, it impacted the arts immensely. People weren't going to shows, understandably, and the world went into survival mode. The park was able to manage utilizing the outdoor venues and social distancing, but the Academy was in a bit of a dark period artistically. There was no director, and the park ran the academy by taking away the sections for older kids and focusing on less numbers and younger students, providing something more general. This made it more manageable for the times and kept it alive. That brings us to today...