New leaders at Botanica, WSO share anticipation for Symphony in the Gardens

Tim Storhoff wasn’t in his current position when last year’s Symphony in the Gardens took place at Botanica.

But the event’s reputation is something that attracted him to the position of executive director and CEO of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

“When I saw the job advertised (last year) was right around when Symphony of the Gardens was happening,” Storhoff, in his job since August, said.

“And it was one of those things that proved to me how rich of a community Wichita was and made me excited to come here.”

Lynette Zimmerman, meanwhile, had just been announced as the new executive director of Botanica.

“It was good to be amongst friends who understood the importance of being a community partner,” she said.

This year’s Symphony in the Gardens, on Friday, May 16, is titled “Timeless Romance,” with full orchestra performances of Bizet, Strauss, Bizet and two from John Williams, as well as a pair of Tchaikovsky performances — “Sleeping Beauty Waltz” and “The 1812 Overture” — the latter with a fireworks finale.

But it’s the smaller, intimate moments, both musically and visually, that Zimmerman and Storhoff see as a selling point for the evening.

“The first group that they’re going to see is when they will be greeted by the brass quintet,” Storhoff said, “and from there, whether they go right or left, they will find from great kind of food and drink stations and more ensembles right around the corner.

“It can really kind of be a guide your own experience, follow the map to find out which ensembles you want to hear, what you want to taste,” he added.

Zimmerman continued, “As somebody wanders into the garden there’ll be activations in the meadow next to the button fountain. There’ll be activations in the plaza, sort of that communal space. Everybody comes together there throughout the garden but ultimately leading to the grand lawn for the experience there for the final elements, the concert.”

Symphony in the Gardens was born in 2021 during COVID, where an outdoor venue like Botanica could help audience members keep their distance and yet enjoy the music, although it was only small ensembles the first year.

Although Storhoff and Zimmerman agreed that their groups share many audience members, both see it as a way to attract symphony fans to Botanica and garden buffs to WSO.

“To speak quite candidly, I think we have some very strong intersections between the two audiences. And I think there’s also an audience that lives in the green space and our space here at Botanica that loves music, that loves that experience in the gardens that this event attracts,” said Zimmerman, a classically trained trombonist. “They may not be interested in going into a concert hall for that traditional classical music experience, but they want to be outside. They want to be out in nature. And this really allows them to do that. So I think that’s an important fusion of our audiences.”

Blue Moon Catering will provide the food for the event.

“They’ve got just an amazing spread. Think sliders, think Asian fusion, a lot of everything, of course, is mobile, so you’re walking around, you can carry it with you. But there’s a lot of good collective work there and they have not shown me the dessert menu,” Zimmerman said. “All I know is it’s going to be fabulous.”

Zimmerman and Storhoff see Symphony in the Gardens as a prime example of groups working together as a benefit to the community.

“I think we’re stronger together than we are as two separate entities and I think it has a really fun impact by kind of taking what we normally do out of Century II — bringing music to unexpected places and showing our musicians and different formulations, different small ensembles,” Storhoff said. “It allows people to engage with the music in a whole new way and hopefully discover Botanica in a new way as well with the musical accompaniment.”

The excitement about the event has gotten the two talking about a possible encore in the fall.

“What will it look like in a year from now? How many times can we perform together? What does that look like? What makes sense?” Zimmerman said. “Because for me, activating the gardens with music is an important aspect of what we do, and I certainly want to do more of that.”

“This is truly a partnership where we are splitting costs,” Storhoff added. “We are sharing revenue; it is conceived of together from the ground up. The programming is happening together, it is not one organization tacking onto another. Truly it’s two organizations coming together to make something really magical happen.”

SYMPHONY IN THE GARDENS

When: 6 p.m. Friday, May 16

Where: Botanica

Tickets: $130 for general admission (performances, hors d’oeuvres and two drink tickets); $199 for VIP (complementary open bar and VIP parking, plus reserved seats for the finale concert), from wichitasymphony.org or botanica.org

This story was originally published May 4, 2025 at 6:23 AM.