Wichita Symphony Orchestra playing Disney tunes in free parks concerts on Saturday
Just as it did with last week’s “Symphony in the Gardens” at Botanica, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra is continuing its outdoor concerts with the second “Playing Across the Parks” on Saturday.
“It’s a great way for us to offer free concerts in the community,” said Tiffany Bell Rhodes, manager of education and community partnerships for the symphony. “I think doing things outdoors was made necessary by pandemic circumstances, but it’s something we want to continue doing in the future, because people love to be outdoors when it’s nice and we want to be a part of that with them.”
From 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, string quartets will be performing at a total of six parks, in a partnership with the Wichita Park and Recreation Department.
Rhodes said the selections this year have a decidedly family-friendly theme.
“We’ve really intentionally selected music from popular kids’ movies like ‘Encanto’ and ‘Frozen,’ and that’s an effort to make the concerts more appealing to all ages, including young kids,” said Rhodes, who plays cello in one of the quartets. “The environment at these parks is perfect for kids to move and play while they listen to music they recognize. It’s just a great way for kids to have their first interaction with the symphony.”
A quartet of Chelly Graves and Cindy Dantic-Watson on violins, Emily Baldridge on viola and Camille Burrow on cello will play selections from Disney’s “Frozen,” “Toy Story” and “The Incredibles” at:
1 p.m., Linwood Park North (1802 E. Harry)
2 p.m., West Douglas Park (3201 W. Douglas)
3 p.m., Buffalo Park (500 N. Maize Road)
The foursome of Linette Gordon and Elizabeth Wallace on violins, Lillian Green on viola and Rhodes will perform selections from Disney’s “Encanto” and “Moana” at:
1:30 p.m., Central Riverside Park (720 N. Nims)
2:30 p.m., Woodland Park (841 W. 21st St.)
3:30 p.m., Chisolm Creek Park (3228 N. Oliver)
“We really want people who live in these neighborhoods to use the parks and come to these concerts,” Rhodes said. “We want to let people know this is the right concert for your family to attend – all ages are welcome; all ages are going to enjoy this experience.”