SKS To Present "Through the Ages": Featuring Dvořák's New World Symphony

The South Kansas Symphony, Inc. (SKS) continues its 2024-25 season on Sunday, April 27. The concert, sponsored by Larry & Linda Hahn, begins at 3pm in Richardson Performing Arts Center (RPAC) at Southwestern College, inside Christy Administration Building.

The performance will begin with “Old Ironsides, Champion of the Seas” by Jeremy Woolstenhulme followed by the feature performance of Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, “From the New World”.

The concert theme, “Through the Ages,” is intended to take listeners across the landscape of our nation's history together. “Old Ironsides, Champion of the Sea” paints a musical portrait of the historical Navy warship the USS Constitution, nicknamed Old Ironsides, while “From the New World” is among the results of Dvorak’s aim to express the American sound. 

“Timeless melodies sing across the entire symphony, with themes inspired by Native music, African American spirituals, and even little tastes of Dvorak's native home of Bohemia,” shares SKS conductor Dr. Michael Christensen. “This symphony and its original themes stand over 130 years later as among the most recognizable in the entire history of symphonic works.”

Tickets are $10 and may be purchased online at southkansassymphony.org or at the RPAC Box Office the day of the performance. Children under 12 years of age are free with an adult, and Southwestern College, Cowley College, and PreK-12 students, staff, and faculty may attend for free with their school ID. 

Southwestern College is also providing an on-campus shuttle service for the performance. Concert attendees may park in the Keyhole Drive (bottom of 77 steps), the ADA parking area east of Stewart Field House, or the parking area east of the White PE Building/Indoor Swimming Pool. A bus will pick up guests before the performance and return guests to their cars afterward. 

Members of the symphony include Southwestern College and Cowley College students and alumni, community members, and high school students. They represent Winfield, Arkansas City, and surrounding communities like Belle Plaine, Derby, Dexter, Wellington, and Wichita.

Visit southkansassymphony.org to learn more or to purchase advance tickets. Information is also available on the symphony’s Facebook page.