RUSSELL – The Ad Astra Music Festival colors central Kansas with classical music during the month of July.

Bringing over 60 artists from all around the country, Ad Astra is a unique music festival, spanning three weekends in July and integrating emerging young artists, community members, and professional musicians.

The second weekend of performances includes The Elements on July 20, Cannonballs Fly on July 21, and Semiconsciousness and Bach Cantata 70 on July 22.

The Elements features the 2018 Young Artists and captures the essence of Franz Schubert’s music with selections about wind, earth, fire, and water. The recital will also feature local Kansans’ art to accompany the music of Schubert.

Cannonballs Fly explores pieces about war and peace, featuring the 2018 String Quartet. Notably, “Black Angels,” by George Crumb, is one of the most terrifying string quartets of all time, depicting the brutal violence and political unrest at the height of the Vietnam War.

Semiconsciousness, a concert comprised of only music composed in the last decade, wrestles with dreams, memory, and inner monologue. Brilliant New York-based soprano Madeline Healey will join Yale voice teacher Gene Stenger and San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellow in collaborative piano César Cañón in this daring and thrilling concert.

To close the weekend, the Sunday Evening Series presents Bach Cantata 70, bringing the music of the Lutheran home to St. John Lutheran Church in Russell. To learn more about our performances, please visit adastramusicfestival.org/calendar.