The Great North American Eclipse of the Sun on Monday, April 8, will create about four minutes of darkness in the afternoon when the moon blocks the path of the sun. The first total eclipse of the sun in Arkansas in more than 100 years, with another not happening until 2045, is drawing excitement and visitors. Eureka Springs will be 98.8 percent dark in mid-afternoon.
For residents and visitors who want another reason to commemorate this rare celestial event, a Moonlight Before Eclipse Concert will be held the evening prior. The concert at 7 p.m., Sunday, April 7, at the Aud will feature concert pianist and violinist Aviva Tu (avivatu.com), guitarist Tim Hillwood (timhillwood.com), sound healer Doug Powell, and guitarist/vocalist Catherine Reed.
Promotional materials for the event invite visitors to listen to “a carefully curated selection of songs inspired by the celestial dance of the moon and sun. Immerse yourself in a musical journey featuring the timeless sounds of Sound Journey, the collaboration of improv guitar and violin, and the ethereal beauty of a piano solo resonating with the iconic Moonlight Sonata and more.”
The program will start with a 15-minute presentation by Powell, followed by Tu playing violin with Hillwood on the guitar performing “In the Shadow of the Sun,” a mysterious and melodic piece written by Hillwood with Tu improvising on violin.
The second half begins with Tu playing “Moonlight Sonata” on the violin over a recording of her playing on the piano. Reed will then play guitar and sing a selection of her most popular songs, followed by Tu playing a piano solo arrangement of “Fly Me to the Moon” followed by the third movement of “Moonlight Sonata,” a fast, exciting piece. The program will conclude with Tu playing an orchestral rendition of “Pirates of the Caribbean” using every single key of the piano to show off the song in two minutes.
Tu is a native of Taiwan who started playing the piano at age four and violin at five. She studied music in Shanghai for seven years, then in Taiwan for seven years, followed by two years in Chicago where she earned a performance diploma at Roosevelt University. Following that, she operated a teaching studio in Chicago for three years and still teaches students from Chicago.
In 2018, she was hired as a violinist for Opera in the Ozarks.
“Since then, Eureka Springs keeps calling me,” Tu said. “Although I travel a lot to perform and see my family, I have just kind of settled down in Eureka Springs now. I have been here since 2022.”
Hillwood said it is quite an honor to collaborate with Tu.
“Aviva heard me play at a Doug Powell’s house,” Hillwood said. “She liked the music. Sometime later she asked if she could add to some of my songs. She began to join me at a few gigs at hotels and concerts. She is a joy to play with. She is a gentle spirit, and a top-level player both in violin and in piano. I mostly play with her on the violin. It adds to the shorter notes of the guitar. Aviva is an amazing player many people simply don’t know about yet. She is a great improviser. If someone has not heard of Aviva yet, if they like music they owe it to themselves to listen to her music.”
Hillwood started playing guitar at 15 and played music composed by others until 1993 when he was working on a painting job and fell backwards 15 feet off a walk board and injured his left hand. He got really committed to rehabilitation and, in a year and a half, was playing better than before.
“From that point forward of regaining the use of my hand, I began to discover there was original music in me,” Hillwood said. “From that point forward, my primary focus has been creating instrumental music with an intention to uplift and inspire people. It is pretty much all instrumental.”
A lot of locals know him as Tim Wilson. He chose Hillwood as a more unique name to use for music.
Powell, well known locally for his many talents such as making drums and exquisite wooden kayaks, said he doesn’t necessarily consider his performance to be music.
“What I do is not for entertainment as much as to shift your vibration,” Powell said. “In some ways, all music can shift your vibration, but I am not playing notes or anything recognizable. It is designed to shake things up in your body. It is also not meant so much for people to watch. I tell people to close their eyes. I won’t have any drums. I’m using gongs, RAVs (a metal instrument), Tibetan bowls and Koshi Chimes. My wife, Maya, and I have been doing Sound Healing or a Sound Bath at festivals at The Farm, yoga retreats and other places.
“The first time I met Tim Wilson Hillwood, he heard me play my RAV and was mesmerized. I said, ‘I am not a musician.’ But he said it was music to his ears. Playing Sound Healing instruments, I feel the sound coming through me. I feel what someone might need to lift them up or shake them loose, or whatever is happening to them.”
Tickets are $15 in advance by going to www.avivatu.com. Tickets are $20 at the door. There are free eclipse viewing glasses for the early bird tickets.