For more information go to adastramusicfestival.org.
Month: July 2019
Founder Alex Underwood explains vision for Ad Astra music festival; opens Friday in Russell
THEATRE KANSAS
TO THE STARS: The Ad Astra Music Festival founder Alex Underwood had a vision.
In the month of July, his hometown of Russell, Kansas would be the setting of a music festival over three weekends that would attract both renowned musicians and young prodigies who would present old and new, rather highbrow works that locals could also be part of. The Kansas motto—Ad Astra Per Aspera—seemed a fitting mission statement.
While the vision has been realized, it has been difficult and accomplished through a lot of networking and pavement pounding. But the result is that each July the stars align in this prairie town as the Ad Astra Music Festival comes to life.
Theatre Kansas turns to Underwood, the artistic director, to tell the festival’s origin story and talk about the upcoming season.
TK: When did you start the Ad Astra Music Festival and why Russell, KS?
AU: I was born and raised in Russell and taught music at Russell High School for four years. I knew I would be spending the summer of 2014 at home and wanted to fill the summer with a few musical projects. That summer’s concert series was successful at which point we decided to name it the Ad Astra Music Festival and make it an annual affair.
TK: Russell plays a big part in the mounting of this festival. Can you explain?
AU: This festival is a massive undertaking for the people of Russell each summer. Volunteers pitch in by hosting our 40 guest artists, shuttling them to and from the Kansas City or Wichita airports, providing meals, donating gym passes, singing in the community choir, buying a celebratory round of drinks after a concert, ushering, organizing, lending us their performance spaces…..The list really could go on, but the point is, the community of Russell is the reason this festival is a success.
TK: You appear to try to appeal to a diverse audience and use a wide range of musicians. Is that accurate?
AU: Yes! We have singers, pianists, string players, jazz musicians, orchestra members—ranging from high school students, local volunteer musicians, local professional musicians, undergraduates selected from a national search, and professional musicians who work at some of the country’s most renowned performing arts institution. Then, our artistic team creates performances where the musicians can collaborate in different combinations to create impactful experiences for our audiences.
TK: Talk about this season’s offerings.
AU: 1) Our opening concert features our high school honor choir, our community choir, and our professional chamber choir. They’ll sing Brahms’ “Liebeslieder Walzer”(Love Song Waltzes) and Libby Larsen’s “Love Songs.” It’s a charming, light, and wonderful way to kick off our season. It’s also a celebration of choral music—which is central to the festival.
2) Jazz at the Barn. We’ve been doing this for four or five years now and it’s been such a success. Brad Dawson, a Russell native, is a fantastic jazz trumpeter who teaches at FHSU and gigs around the country. He invites four of his friends from the Kansas City jazz scene to collaborate with him on this program. It’s 10 miles out in the country from Russell at Granny Mae’s Barn. We serve popcorn and cocktails and have such a lovely time. It’s always one of our most popular events.
3) Anna Pidgorna is the composer we’re commissioning an opera from to be premiered in the summer of 2021. She was in Russell last summer doing some research and interviews as she and her fantastic sister (librettist) create this work about the life of influential Russell High School art teacher, Trudy Furney. This year, the festival is presenting an afternoon of her work—some of the music I fell in love with which compelled me to approach her about this project. I’m looking forward to sharing that with our community.
4) Each year, the festival selects four undergraduate singers from an international search to live in Russell for the month of July and perform. This year, their feature program explores perspectives from the US Civil War: Whitman and Lincoln texts set to music by living composers Richard Danielpour and Jennifer Higdon as well as songs from the time.
5) This year is the third year we’ve produced a fully staged new opera. We’ve selected Missy Mazzoli’s “Proving Up” about a Nebraska family struggling to prove to the U.S. government that they are capable of homesteading their land and thus obtaining the deed. Many Russell County family farms were acquired through this process. The opera is 65 minutes long and was co-commissioned by Columbia University, the Kennedy Center, and Opera Omaha.
6) Each year, the festival features Katelyn Mattson-Levy, one of my favorite mezzos on the planet who happened to live right here in rural [Sterling] Kansas. We also feature pianist Matthew Piatt who is an assistant conductor at Chicago Lyric and San Francisco Operas and happens to be from rural western Kansas. They collaborated last summer on a short song cycle, and I knew then that we had to pair them for a full concert this year. The program is an exploration of four archetypes of women: maiden, mother, enchantress, crone. Hearing brilliant music performed by unbelievably talented musicians is one of the most exquisite listening experiences and this will be just that.
7) What might be the surprise hit of the season is a performance by Unaccompanied – they’re an a cappella/vocal jazz group who met while students at Northern Arizona University. Some of them have been featured on Pentatonix albums, some are music educators, and some are aspiring opera singers. They arrange all of their own music and sound stunning.
We try to end each season with a big collaborative project. This year, we’re returning to our Handel oratorio series and are producing “Theodora.” It’s slightly obscure, but is a heart-wrenching story of faith and love. Handel’s dramatic genius is on full display setting some of the most sublime arias and thrilling choruses in his whole repertory. And we have world-class Baroque performers in to help this come to life.
9) Our final project of the season is a performance of an early-Baroque funeral work by Heinrich Schütz. We’ll perform this at St. Fidelis Basilica in Victoria—one of the “Seven Wonders of Kansas.”
Each ticket for a main stage event will cost $20, and each ticket for a chamber music event will cost $10. Season passes start at $100.
Visit https://www.adastramusicfestival.org/ for more information on this year’s events and prices.
Milford woman hospitalized, 1-year-old uninjured after single-vehicle crash
DICKINSON COUNTY — A Milford woman was hospitalized after a single vehicle accident just before 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Brittany Moche Jones, 23, was driving northbound on Highway 77 when she fell asleep, crossed the centerline and left the roadway. The vehicle struck a culvert before coming to rest.
Jones was transported to Herington Municipal Hospital for treatment of a suspected serious injury.
A 1-year-old passenger in the car was not injured. The KHP said both were properly restrained.
Norton man killed while walking on Kan. highway in hit-and-run accident
NORTON – A Norton man was killed late Tuesday evening as he walked on a Kansas highway.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Tyler J. Kuhn, 22, was walking on U.S. 36 when he was struck by an unknown vehicle in the eastbound lane. The accident occurred just after 10 p.m., the KHP reported.
Kuhn was taken to Enfield Funeral Home in Norton.
Kan. Supreme Court justice announces upcoming retirement
Office of Judicial Administration
TOPEKA — Justice Lee Johnson, who has served on the Kansas Supreme Court since 2007, announced today he will retire September 8.
Johnson was appointed to the Supreme Court after serving on the Kansas Court of Appeals from 2001 to 2007.
“It has been a profound honor and privilege to be a part of the highest court in Kansas, as well as the Court of Appeals, and to serve with so many knowledgeable and collegial jurists on both appellate courts,” Johnson said. “For that indescribable experience, I particularly thank Governors Bill Graves and Kathleen Sebelius for taking a chance on a small-town lawyer. I will miss having the opportunity to interact with all of the fine people in the judicial branch.”
Before Johnson became a judge, he practiced law in Caldwell and served as city attorney for Caldwell, Argonia, and Hunnewell. He is a graduate of the Washburn University School of Law, where he ranked second in a class of 211.
Chief Justice Lawton Nuss said Supreme Court justices are losing a valued colleague.
“Justice Johnson’s unique, thoughtful perspectives frequently caused his colleagues to re-examine their own legal positions,” Nuss said. “While his fellow justices did not often change their minds, Justice Johnson’s views usually contributed to more-closely reasoned decisions by the court. It’s a real loss for Kansas.”
Johnson’s retirement triggers a merit-based nomination process that Kansans voted to add to the Kansas Constitution in 1958.
When there is a vacancy on the bench, the Supreme Court Nominating Commission reviews applications and conducts public interviews of nominees. The commission narrows the nominee pool to three names that it sends to the governor. The governor chooses one nominee to appoint.
To be eligible, a nominee must be:
- at least 30 years old;
- a lawyer admitted to practice in Kansas and engaged in the practice of law for at least 10 years, whether as a lawyer, judge, or full-time teacher at an accredited law school.
The Supreme Court Nominating Commission has nine members. There is one lawyer and one nonlawyer from each of the state’s four congressional districts, plus one lawyer who serves as chairperson. Nonlawyers are appointed by the governor. Lawyers are elected by other lawyers within their congressional districts. The chairperson is elected by lawyers statewide.
When the Supreme Court Nominating Commission reviews nominees for justice, they look at the person’s:
- legal and judicial experience
- educational background
- character and ethics
- temperament
- service to the community
- impartiality
- respect of colleagues
Justices must follow the law and not be influenced by politics, special interest groups, public opinion, or their own personal beliefs.
Justices demonstrate their accountability by following a Code of Judicial Conduct that establishes standards of ethical behavior. They also take an oath of office that includes swearing to support, protect, and defend the U.S. Constitution and Kansas Constitution.
After a new justice serves one year on the court, he or she must stand for a retention vote in the next general election to remain in the position. If retained, the justice serves a six-year term.
The Supreme Court Nominating Commission is expected to announce its timeline for accepting nominations soon.
Officials shut down town in Washington Co. after storm damage
WASHINGTON COUNTY — The small town of Linn has been shut down by officials as they clean up from a storm that moved through north-central Kansas on Tuesday evening.
There are reports of downed power lines and utility poles.
According to Washington County Emergency Management, access at all entry points to Linn have been shut down while cleanup efforts take place.
Harry Russell Fowler
Harry Russell Fowler, age 59, passed away on Tuesday July 9, 2019 at his home in Kensington, KS.
An obituary and services are pending with Simmons-Rentschler Mortuary.
Developers propose $500M arts campus near Kansas Speedway
BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — Developers are proposing a $500 million arts-and-entertainment campus in the Kansas City area with housing for students and seniors.
The Kansas City Star reports that the Bonner Springs City Council this week approved a zoning change that developers needed to move ahead with the 180-acre project. It would be near NASCAR’s Kansas Speedway and the Village West shopping district at Interstates 70 and 435.
The campus would include a for-profit college to train people to work in film and television production and engineering, along with housing for its students. Plans also call for independent living, assistant living and a memory care facility for seniors.
The developers said they also plan to have three hotels, a 7,000-seat concert pavilion, a 1,800-seat performing arts center and an arena for competitive video gaming.
If you thought vaping was safe, Kansas researchers have bad news
A robot at KU’s School of Medicine takes the vapor from e-cigarettes to test it on human cells from lung donors.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service
By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN
Kansas News Service
KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Many people figure vaping spares their health because it lets them inhale nicotine in aerosols instead of sucking in smoke from burning cigarettes.
New research from the University of Kansas casts doubt on that, raising the specter that vaping nicotine may cause some of the same respiratory problems that plague and even kill smokers today.
“Vaping is just considered not harmful, even though there are no data to support that statement,” researcher Matthias Salathe said. “There are more and more data to actually oppose that statement.”
Salathe chairs the Department of Internal Medicine at KU’s School of Medicine, where his lab uses a robot that vapes to test the effects on human cells obtained from deceased lung donors.
The team’s latest research, published last month by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found vaping nicotine damaged the natural ability of those cells to clear out mucus.
That dysfunction leads to chronic bronchitis — and the coughing, shortness of breath and fatigue that come with it. Scientists such as Salathe worry that means the vaping trend sweeping the U.S. could eventually translate into more people developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Commonly caused by smoking, COPD is already a leading cause of death in the United States.
The KU researchers found that the aerosols from nicotine e-cigarettes hurt mucus-clearing abilities in sheep, too. (Sheep were used because of similarities between their respiratory system and that of humans.)
A vaping robot in Matthias Salathe’s lab pulls the aerosols from e-cigarettes to test the effects on human cells.
Credit Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service
Yet the KU research remains at the pre-clinical phase, meaning scientists have more work ahead to answer the question with greater certainty.
Taken in context with other research, though, Salathe sees reason for worry. His lab’s results add to a mounting body of evidence that vaping causes such problems, including evidence from studies on living people who vape.
Getting more definitive answers, though, takes time. Rigorous scientific research can’t move as fast as the vaping craze that now has millions of U.S. teenagers inhaling nicotine. And diseases like COPD play out over years.
“To really know, we need to wait 10 to 20 years, right? To see whether these humans are actually developing the diseases that we predict,” Salathe said. “The question is, now from a policy point of view, is that an acceptable experiment to actually do in the population?”
Tobacco use remains the No. 1 preventable cause of death in the U.S.
More than 20 cities and counties across Kansas have banned the sale of tobacco-related products to people under the age of 21 in hopes of preventing them from becoming hooked.
That’s based on studies that show most people who become addicted long-term begin using nicotine in their teens.
Last month the Kansas Supreme Court upheld local bans on sales to people under 21 in a case brought by vape and tobacco shops against the city of Topeka.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @celialj_LJ or email her at [email protected]. The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on the health and well-being of Kansans, their communities and civic life.
Royals top draft pick named national prep player of the year
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — Bobby Witt Jr. realized a childhood dream, getting selected No. 2 overall by the Kansas City Royals in the major league baseball draft.
The younger Witt added another honor, too, when he and softball pitcher Kelley Lynch were named national prep athletes of the year on Tuesday night.
The son of former major league pitcher Bobby Witt, the Witts are the first father-son duo to be selected in the top three of the draft.
“He pretty much taught me the game since I was little,” said the younger Witt, who pitched and played shortstop. “It’s 90% mental and 10% physical and he’s always taught me that and instilled the hard work.”
Witt Jr. is skipping college to play in the Arizona rookie ball league with an eye on the major leagues.
“It’s been a goal of mine ever since I was little,” he said.
He received his trophy from retired NFL great Peyton Manning, a former winner.
Witt Jr., of Colleyville, Texas, batted .482 with 15 doubles, nine triples and 15 home runs, compiling 55 RBIs — 28 of which came with two outs. He led Colleyville Heritage High to a 39-3 record and the Texas Class 5A state title.
On the mound, Witt Jr. had a 1.80 ERA with five saves in 12 relief appearances, striking out 24 and issuing just three walks in 11 2/3 innings.
Witt’s 55-year-old father pitched 16 years in the majors for Texas, Oakland, the Florida Marlins, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Arizona. He had a 142-157 record with a 4.83 ERA and 1,955 strikeouts from 1986-2001.
The younger Witt had a 4.0 grade point average.
Retired soccer player Abby Wambach presented the girls’ trophy to Lynch.
“I just want you women, you ladies, to understand I stood on the shoulders of giants and so will you,” Wambach said, invoking the names of women’s World Cup champions Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan.
“What Megan and Alex have done in terms of celebrating their victories, being confident, being badass, you all take that into every step of your career because the world is ready for you.”
Lynch, of Sharpsburg, Georgia, is the first softball player to win national athlete of the year honors in the program sponsored by Gatorade.
She led East Coweta High to a 32-2 record and the program’s second straight Class 7A state title last season. She was 17-0 with a 0.27 ERA along with a .436 batting average.
Lynch singled out her mother for “playing two roles the last six years.” Her father, who dreamed of Lynch playing Division I softball, died of cancer when she was 12. She has his date of death — March 7, 2011 — tattooed on the inside of her right arm.
“I felt still attached when I’m on the field,” Lynch said. “I think for sure he’s probably smiling right now. I definitely think of him.”
Witt Jr. and Lynch will appear on the cover of next week’s Sports Illustrated.
The other boys’ finalists were: Jake Smith, football, Scottsdale, Arizona; Liam Anderson, cross country, Larkspur, California; James Wiseman, basketball, Memphis, Tennessee; Omar Hernandez, soccer, Dalton, Georgia; Matthew Boling, track and field, Houston.
The other girls’ finalists were: Ellie Holzman, volleyball, New Orleans; last year’s winner Katelyn Tuohy, cross country, Thiells, New York; Azzi Fudd, basketball, Washington, D.C.; Sophie Jones, soccer, Atherton, California; Jasmine Moore, track and field, Mansfield, Texas.
The winners and nominees will walk the red carpet at The ESPYS on Wednesday night.
Bradley Jay Slagle
Bradley Jay Slagle, age 63, passed away on July 8, 2019 at the Brooklyn Community Estates in Brooklyn, Iowa. He was born on February 15, 1956 in Ness City, Kansas the son of Floyd and Gertrude (Whipple) Slagle.
Brad was a farmer and rancher. He worked as a truck driver for Texaco and Lane County Implement and worked at Beeler Coop. He was a member of the United Methodist Church of Beeler. Brad was a Master Mason in the Anthem Lodge in Scott City. Brad also served a Trustee for the Johnson Township. He married Barbie Josephson on Saturday, December 20, 1975, in Leoti, Kansas.
Survivors include his wife, Barbie Slagle of Brooklyn, Iowa; mother, Gertrude Slagle of Ness City; a son, Eric (Christa) Slagle of Brooklyn, Iowa; a brother, Brent (Tina) Slagle of Ness City; sister, Diana (Everett) Higdon; and eight grandchildren, Devon, Connor, Julia, Arianna, Nora, Liam, Braden and Harper. He was preceded in death by his father and son, Nathan Slagle.
Funeral service will be on Thursday evening, July 11, 2019, 7:00 P.M., at the United Methodist Church, Ness City, Kansas. Burial will follow in the Buda Cemetery. Visitation will be at Fitzgerald Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Memorial contributions may be given to the Buda Cemetery Fence Fund or the United Methodist Church of Beeler.
Kansas junior college president announces plans to retire
OVERLAND PARK (AP) — A suburban Kansas City community college’s president has announced plans to retire just months after controversy erupted over statements he purportedly made about the affluence of its students.
Johnson County Community College said Tuesday that Joe Sopcich plans to step down July 1, 2020. The board renewed his contract last month.
A college spokesman noted that Sopcich turns 65 in April 2020.
Issues arose in February when a Democratic National Committee member live-tweeted remarks he overheard Sopcich make while discussing tuition increases with a college trustee during a breakfast at a Washington, D.C., hotel.
In one tweet, Sopcich was quoted as saying, “Show me anyone who struggles at JCCC..I walk the parking lot and I see a whole lot of very nice cars.”
Sopcich previously described the conversation as “hyperbole.”
Moderate Republican in Kansas House resigning, citing health
State Rep. Larry Hibbard of Toronto told The Hutchinson News that he has chronic hives and has to “get rid of some stress.” Hibbard said he already had planned not to seek re-election next year.
Hibbard is a rancher who won his House seat easily in 2012 but faced a serious Republican primary challenge in 2018.
He voted in 2017 to reverse past income tax cuts championed by former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. He supported GOP tax relief legislation this year but voted to sustain Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of one of the measures.
Hibbard also supported a plan Kelly favored to expand Medicaid.
Republican precinct committee members in Hibbard’s district will name his replacement.