By Kathy Oswalt-Forsythe
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO) musicians are collaborating with the Vicksburg Community Schools to present a community performance on October 10, 2024, in the Performing Arts Center.
The KSO in Your Community program connects rural communities with the orchestra through music, collaboration, and interactive programming. The program is designed to foster long-term connection between a professional arts organization and local student artists. It also celebrates community appreciation.
The October 10 event features a quintet of the orchestra’s musicians – a string quartet and a clarinet. Throughout the event, students will collaborate with the musicians.
The first part of the evening is KSO’s introduction to the community, featuring a Mozart piece performed by the quintet and the Musical Storybook “Jammin’ in Kalamazoo” written by local authors Sonya and Sean Hollins with original music composed by Branford Marsalis.
In the next part of the event, KSO members interact with local student musicians, and the final part of the night will feature the Musical Storybook “Dear Street” which celebrates community through the music of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and letters from local students. The performances will last about an hour. Singers from Vicksburg’s grades 4 to 12 will join in song as orchestra musicians accompany them for the finale. Those performances will also last about an hour.
A pre-concert hour encourages student involvement. There will be activities such as Leta G. Snow Instrument Petting Zoo with high school helpers. Some Vicksburg students will also perform, and student art will be displayed.
“The VCS Fine Arts Department is excited to collaborate with members of the Kalamazoo Symphony to bring this special concert to the Vicksburg Community.,” said Patty Heintzelman, VCS Fine Arts chair. “The Vicksburg Community has a strong history of supporting the arts, and when the KSO reached out about this opportunity, not only was the whole department on board, so was the administration. In addition to partnering with the KSO, the Vicksburg Fine Arts Boosters have also extended a helping hand to help make this a special event for our community. Our goal is to fill the seats of the auditorium for this special event. We are looking forward to October 10 and we hope to see you there.”
The concert offers free registration with a “pay what you want” option when registering. All proceeds will go to cover the cost of KSO musicians and there is no cost to the district for the performance. The district is donating the use of the space for the event.
Pre-concert activities will begin at 6 p.m.
Student music performances on stage begin at 6:45 p.m. The program begins at 7 p.m.
Visit KalamazooSymphony.com for updates on registration.
