The South Kansas Symphony has announced its 2025-26 season, which will include a world premiere and an expanded schedule with performances in Winfield and three surrounding communities.
The orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Michael Christensen, will perform seven concerts this season, four of them at Southwestern College’s Richardson Performing Arts Center in Winfield.
The season opens Nov. 2 in Winfield with a program featuring Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Prairie Journal. The symphony will then travel Nov. 15 to Chaparral Junior/Senior High School in Harper County, thanks to a partnership with The Arts Center in Anthony.
On Dec. 7, the ensemble will take part in Southwestern College’s annual Winterfest concert, a free Christmas performance that also features the college’s choir, pep band and other musical groups.
The second half of the season will spotlight local musicians. On March 1, the symphony will perform Camille Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony with Dr. James Leland on organ, along with George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue featuring pianist Stephen Butler.
The finale will introduce Malaqatin Meetings, a new work by Kansas-based composer Dr. Susan Mayo. The piece will premiere April 26 in Winfield, followed by performances April 27 in Peabody and May 19 at Cowley College in Arkansas City.
Mayo, a longtime cellist with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, is also known as a composer and community arts organizer.
Concert sponsors include Mike and Linda Harvey/Family Wealth Management, Curtis and Sparla Dick, The Arts Center in Anthony, Gail Burden, OD, Dr. Bryan and Debbie Dennett, Larry and Linda Hahn, the Kansas Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Trust Company of Kansas.
Tickets and more information are available at southkansassymphony.org or on the symphony’s Facebook page.
The South Kansas Symphony includes students and alumni from Cowley College and Southwestern College, community members and high school students from Winfield, Arkansas City and nearby towns including Belle Plaine, Derby, Dexter, Wellington and Wichita.
The South Kansas Symphony is a nonprofit, governed by a volunteer board and conductor, and offers low-cost live music opportunities for the South Central Kansas region.
