Symphony in the Flint Hills 2015 will be at National Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
The Symphony in the Flint Hills is going back to where it all began.
The organization announced Wednesday that the 10th annual concert by the Kansas City Symphony will be June 13 on the National Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Chase County, Kan., the site of the first Symphony in the Flint Hills concert in 2006.
The Symphony’s executive director, Frank Byrne, said the event will include prairie education activities, guided prairie walks, catered BBQ and the sunset concert by the Kansas City Symphony.
The concert program is still being decided by the Symphony in the Flint Hills board, Byrne said. Approximately 80 members of the Symphony will make the trek to Chase County. Associate conductor Aram Demirjian will be lead the orchestra for the third consecutive year.
The event draws about 6,000 people annually, which Byrne said shows the unifying power of music.
“Not everyone who attends the event might walk in as a ‘classical music fan,’” he said, “but each year we meet many people who have attended for the first time and have been inspired and drawn into the music. They tell us it is an experience they will never forget.”
Rob Manes, director of the Nature Conservancy of Kansas, said in a statement the annual event helps tell the story of the Flint Hills.
“The Symphony in the Flint Hills represents one of the most powerful venues for telling people about the ecological, economic and cultural importance of the tallgrass prairie,” Manes said. “We are all about using good science and collaboration to conserve the lands and waters that are most important to nature and to people.”
As in past years, the governor of Kansas will serve as honorary chairman.
Many years, the event has sold out in 30 minutes, so mark your calendars: Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. March 7. General admission tickets are $90 for adults and $50 for children younger than 12. Tickets can be ordered through KCSymphony.org or 816-471-0400 or at walk-up ticketing at the Symphony’s offices at 1703 Wyandotte St.
For more information, go to SymphonyInTheFlintHills.org.
This story was originally published November 12, 2014 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Symphony in the Flint Hills 2015 will be at National Tallgrass Prairie Preserve."