EDUCATION
Family-Friendly Concerts
The South Kansas Symphony and SC Concert Band provide numerous concerts that are appropriate for families of all ages. For the 2010-2011 season, recommended concerts include:
Sunday, September 26 – Festive Cavalcade: Saint-Saens famous Carnival of the Animals will be performed with live dancers, students of Winfield native Susan Camp. Animals that make appearances include a lion, elephant, fish, birds, and donkeys.
Sunday, October 10 – March Madness: The SC Concert Band brings together marches popular throughout the world! You are sure to tap your foot and find plenty of smiles as Dr. Jimmy Leach gives his SC conducting debut!
Sunday, October 31 – Twilight Into Darkness: A popular concert for children of all ages, and selling Richardson auditorium of record ticket sales, Dr. Daniel Stevens and orchestra (all in costume) play favorite music of the Halloween season. The show is kept light enough for the youngest of listeners. This concert’s popular instrument “Petting Zoo” allows kids to experiment with various string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments following the concert.
Sunday, December 5 – Family Christmas Concert A concert for all of your family to gather around the fireplace, enjoy an extra cookie, and enjoy music of the holiday season. The traditional Sleigh Ride will be performed, and this year’s twist includes a 45 minute mini-opera titled Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Friday, April 29 – Night on the Red Carpet: Your kids will be mesmerized by specially designed video clips while listening to favorite songs from classic movies. This year, as we relocate to Stewart Field House, concertgoers will be treated to music from sports-themed movies.
Friday, May 6 – South Kansas Symphony: On the Prairie: An event built for hundreds of fans, this outdoor concert is great for bringing a picnic basket, a Frisbee, and your sunscreen. Families will be treated to concerts by the South Kansas Symphony, the SC Youth Symphony, and other regional talent. Hiking boots are recommended, as families are spending the day on the prairie.
Southwestern College Youth Symphony
For 60+ high school and exceptional middle school instrumentalists, the SC Youth Symphony performs 7-9 concerts per season, including a 2010 tour to Branson, MO.
The Southwestern College Youth Symphony has begun its 5th season scheduled for August 2010 - May 2011. Founder and Executive Director Daniel Stevens began the youth symphony to provide musical training and performance opportunities to talented students in South-Central Kansas and Northern Oklahoma. Based upon the model of the Tulsa Youth Symphony, the SC Youth Symphony strives to maintain a rich heritage of classical music in Winfield, Kansas. The SC Youth Symphony encourages students to achieve musical excellence, function as members of a team, and appreciate the talents of peers in the ensemble. Many musicians make lasting friendships with other members of the orchestra.
For more information, contact Daniel Stevens at Daniel.Stevens@sckans.edu or 620-229-6113.
Community Music School
Our Mission: The mission of the Community Music School at Southwestern College is to nurture the fine arts community of South Central Kansas and North Central Oklahoma with rich, musical experiences for people of all ages. Our vision is to encourage excellence in the arts by offering a wide array of private lessons, master classes, ensembles, performance opportunities, and more on the campus of Southwestern College.
General Information: Located in the Darbeth Performing Arts building on-campus at Southwestern College, the Community Music School (CMS) offers an array of musical activities for students, teachers, and performers of all ages. Any ensemble is welcome to join and be coached. A wide variety of classes are available semester by semester. All band and orchestra participants are invited to join the Southwestern College Concert Band or the South Regional Kansas Symphony by audition with Professor Daniel Stevens. Also, Southwestern has several software programs available for composition and aural skills. There is also a large piano lab available for accompanists and group piano classes.
For more information, visit the Community Music School website.
Summer Music Festival
If you are serious about music, or just serious about having fun with music, this is your summer festival.
Whether you intend to make music for your career or simply want to make music for fun and you are between the ages 14 and 20 (as of Oct. 1, 2010), the Southwestern College Summer Music Festival is for you. Enroll in one of four options - jazz band, choir, orchestra, or praise and worship teams.
The daily Summer Music Festival schedule includes various activities such as: Daily Ensemble Rehearsals (Choir, Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, or Worship Teams), Electives (such as strings and woodwind chamber ensembles, conducting, improvisation, song writing and arranging, music theory, piano ensemble), Sectionals, Technique Class, Practice Time (practice rooms available), Recreation Time (swim, ultimate frisbee, leisure), Drum Circle (interactive community building/leadership experience) and Special Evening Events (movie night, theatre improvisation, jazz concert, talent night for faculty and students).
For more information, visit the Summer Music Festival website.