Cowboys, classical music and conservation converge in Flint Hills

As wind brushed the bluestem grass and blew hats across the prairie, notes from the Kansas City Symphony cut through the air at the expansive 2,200 acres of Deer Horn Ranch south of Junction City, the site of the 12th annual Symphony in the Flint Hills.

Though the event is now in its second decade, new elements kept the crowds guessing. The concert is put on by Symphony in the Flint Hills Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Cottonwood Falls.

Western singer and songwriter Michael Martin Murphey joined the symphony to help set the mood for the evening. He shared his passion for cowboy culture and grassland conservation.

“I bring American folk music and the tradition of it that goes back several hundred years to the table in the same way that those other composers of old brought their folk music forward through their compositions,” Murphey said.

The ranch, owned by John and Mary McDonald, goes on for miles into the Flint Hills, and more than 7,000 people who attended the event roamed a piece of the pasture listening to music, learning about the Chisholm Trail, taking covered wagon rides, enjoying cowboy poetry and talking with people from around the world.

“What a beautiful combination with the symphony and the Flint Hills,” said first-time attendee Brenda Whitener of Basehor.

Christy Davis, executive director of the Symphony in the Flint Hills, wanted people to leave with an understanding about the importance of grass and how it helped fuel the Chisholm Trail.

“Grass is a cultural landscape that’s worth preserving,” Davis said, adding that the symphony gives a hook for visitors to care about the endangered landscape and its conservation.

Stan Lekowski of Kansas City, Mo., said he and his wife enjoy being in the Flint Hills and getting the chance to view it up close. The day allowed them a different view of the Flint Hills, one that wasn’t from the interstate.

“It’s relaxing,” Stan Lekowski said while he and his wife took time to step away from the crowd and hear the music from a distance.

A cattle drive during the concert offered an element of surprise as cowboys drove longhorns across the pasture. And as the sun was setting, Murphey led the crowd in singing “Home on the Range.”

“Almost everyone sings; even if you sound awful, everyone sings,” said Verna McBee of Cheney, who has only missed two of the past 12 symphonies.

At the end of the night, attendees left with Kansas pride and smiling faces.

“I love to see smiling faces,” Davis said.

Editor’s note: The Flint Hills Media Project is an experienced-based class through The Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University.

This story was originally published June 10, 2017 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Cowboys, classical music and conservation converge in Flint Hills."