SKS To Present "Through the Ages" in Ark City

The South Kansas Symphony, Inc. (SKS) will conclude its 2024-25 season on Tuesday, May 20 with a special performance at Cowley College. The concert, sponsored by The Trust Company of Kansas, begins at 7pm in the Brown Center Auditorium. 

The May 20 concert will be an encore performance of the symphony’s April concert at Southwestern College, featuring “Old Ironsides, Champion of the Seas” by Jeremy Woolstenhulme and 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 Brown Center 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. 

Members of the symphony include Cowley College and Southwestern 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.