The Knights present: Fall Music Festival
Plato once said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” In these troubling times we are very happy to bring to St. Marys a little more life with music. The Knights of the Immaculata together with many other St. Mary’s Academy students and volunteers have been fantastic, organizing and running the event. We all wholeheartedly invite you to join us for the last two days of the Festival this weekend, September 26 and 27, not only for the great music, but also for the fun, food, games, and company!
The 2020 Fall Music Festival was planned at first as a postponed version of the annual spring concert performed by the Academy high school boys’ sodality, the Knights of the Immaculata. When the popular Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival was cancelled this year, an all-Academy Music Festival was proposed and students from both schools immediately took up the idea with lively enthusiasm, resulting in a parish-wide event, providing a rare opportunity to come together as a community and to raise money for the Academy.
St. Mary’s is teeming with both talent and its own living, musical culture, but like many things in Kansas, that is not always apparent. During the opening weekend, the students of St. Mary’s College brought to the stage choral pieces from their recent fundraising CD. The Festival is also bringing songs and performances out of living-rooms, off back porches, and away from campfires onto the stage for all to enjoy. Nearly 200 different musicians will perform over the course of the four-day event, which began last weekend and concludes this Sunday. Nearly half of these participants will be St. Mary’s Academy students and graduates singing in large groups and small ensembles, as well as performing vocal and instrumental solos and sacred polyphony. Some of the more musical families of the community will also share a taste of what clean-up time probably sounds like in their kitchens, and several priests, teachers, and Academy staff members will share their training and astounding artistry. This coming weekend will continue the festive harmony with more performers and songs, including a special guest appearance by Fr. Bourbeau with some of his students from Kentucky.
Please note that the music starts earlier this Sunday, with the first set at 4:00 p.m. The tantalizing eats made by students will be available throughout both evenings starting at 3:00 p.m.
