The University of Arkansas Music Department’s Music Monday series comes back Monday after fall break. Cristina Ballatori, assistant professor of flute, will perform with Kevin Chance, associate professor of piano at the University of Alabama. They’re longtime friends and musical collaborators.
“We met at LSU when he was assigned as my pianist for my master’s recital, and he had just started his master’s degree, and I did as well. And he was assigned as my pianist. And we met, and we were inseparable since. So we have traveled all over the world together. And in 2025, he married my husband and I. He became a minister just for that event.”
Cristina says being able to be on stage with a kindred spirit is valuable.
“We react to each other. We’re in tune with what the other person might be feeling or thinking about a certain shape of a gesture. And those are things that come from years and years of playing together. And that happens for people who are great colleagues, but not actually friends, but to have that layer of both good friend and also special musical collaborator is just the best feeling on stage.”
That camaraderie, that trust, comes in handy when preparing for a concert like Monday night’s. It will be the two musicians on stage for an hour, no symphony or even chamber music setup. Cristina Ballatori says getting ready for a performance like this requires stamina.
“Going to the gym, going on walks, lots of yoga and stretching to get the body ready to play. Because even though I play the flute, much like a singer, the body is the instrument. So if the body is relaxed and strong, then the flute playing is much more resonant and free.”
Cristina Ballatori says Monday night’s program will feature works with flute and piano as equal partners.
“There will be works by composers like the Czech Bohuslav Martinů, as well as living composers like Valerie Coleman, who is a wonderful flutist and composer, called ‘Requiem Milonga.’ It’s a song, she says, it’s a song for those who have loved and lost.”
Ballatori and Chance will also perform a 21st-century work by William Linthicum-Blackhorse, “Mnicakmun,” translated from Lakota into English, that’s “Sounds of Water.”
“Each of the movements depicts the sound of water, really atmospheric and beautiful. And even for people who are a little hesitant to listen to music of the 21st century, because sometimes there’s some biases against new music, both of these selections are gorgeous, colorful, evocative and deeply meaningful.”
Cristina says for musician educators like her, performances like Monday night’s concert are incredibly important.
“So much of what we do as artists informs our teaching. Somebody once asked me in a job interview, ‘Do you see yourself as a teacher or a performer?’ And I sort of looked at them thinking, ‘Well, you’re both.’ If I am not performing, if I’m not creating art, if I’m not expressing myself through the art that I love to teach, I cannot, in my opinion, give to my students.
“I need a nice balance of both teaching and performing in order to feel that I’m fulfilled and satisfied. And if I’m teaching too much and not performing, then I lose connection with the art.”
So then, what is it like to perform on stage in front of an audience that no doubt will include her students?
“It is the most nerve-wracking performing I do, partly because you want to model for your students what you teach for them. And also, if you’ve done your job well, they can hear what you’ve asked them to do. And if you’re not doing it, then they’re like, ‘Hmm, Dr. Ballatori, you’re not walking the walk.’
“So it is some of the most joyful playing because it is, again, an act of sharing and to be able to show your students, ‘Here’s why you need to practice your scales. Here’s why I bug you every week about playing your arpeggios.’ They need to see that.
“I think it’s also important for them to see that they get nervous performing. We do too. And it doesn’t matter how much you perform or how long you’ve been performing, the act of getting on stage is vulnerable, and you always worry, will it be good enough, or can I play my best when I’m sweating and I’m breathing hard? But these are things that we all go through as performers. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned professional or a beginner or a college student pursuing their dream.”
Cristina will perform with pianist Kevin Chance as part of the Music Monday series on Monday night. The concert will be in Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Arkansas campus beginning at 7:30. It’s free. Registration is requested by following links at music.uark.edu.
Our conversation took place in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Arkansas campus earlier this month.
By the way, Cristina and Kevin released an album last year, “Night Surrendering to Dawn: 21st Century Works for Flute and Piano.” This is one of the selections from that record, Flute Sonata No. 2, written by Christian Ellenwood.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
