For Release: April 22, 2009
Contact: Jeff Barker
Kansas City Symphony
(816) 218-2626 or (816) 529-4535
KANSAS CITIANS INVITED TO CELEBRATE AMERICA WITH FREE SYMPHONY CONCERT AND FIREWORKS
Union Station and the Kansas City Symphony to host seventh annual Bank of America Celebration At The Station on Memorial Day Weekend
(Kansas City, Mo.) The midwest’s most popular Memorial Day event, Bank of America Celebration At The Station, returns for its seventh year to Kansas City’s Union Station on Sunday, May 24. Bank Of America Celebration At The Station will feature Music Director Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony performing familiar patriotic music against the backdrop of historic Union Station, with a finale of blazing fireworks above Liberty Memorial. (Rain Date: Monday, May 25).
Grounds will open at 3:00PM for this free community event. Food and beverages will be available for purchase both inside and outside of Union Station, including kettle corn, food from the PB&J Restaurant Group, and Sheridan’s Frozen Custard. Come early to enjoy Memorial Day Weekend activities at the National WWI Museum, the Chronicles of Narnia exhibit at Union Station and the grand opening of the National Archives in the Union Station complex. At 4:30PM, pre-concert entertainment begins with the United States Air Force Brass in Blue. The Symphony takes the stage at 7:30PM for a rousing set of orchestral music to celebrate all things American, including the 1812 Overture, complete with live firing cannons! Special guests this year include Retired Air Force General Richard B. Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Grammy Award-winning bluegrass band Cherryholmes, and local tenor Ben Gulley singing the National Anthem.
Families attending the free outdoor performance by the Kansas City Symphony and the fireworks display are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. Parking for Bank of America Celebration at the Station is available for a nominal charge in the West Yards Parking Garage at Union Station, as well as Two Pershing Square, and surface parking lots of other area business, including Hallmark and Blue Cross & Blue Shield will be available.
For those who cannot attend Bank of America Celebration At The Station, the concert will again be shown live on KCPT Channel 19, starting at 7:30PM on Sunday, May 24. A rebroadcast of the concert
will be scheduled to air over the Fourth Of July Weekend. In addition, numerous public television stations throughout the region will rebroadcast Bank of America Celebration at the Station. Check your local listings for channel and broadcast date and time.
Complete concert and event details are available online at ww.CelebrationAtTheStation.com.
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Event Schedule
Sunday, May 24
| 9:00AM |
The Military Vehicle Preservation Association displays vintage military vehicles on the southeast lawn of the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial. Association members are available to answer your questions about their collection. Displays will include Jeeps, tanks and other vehicles from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Open until 5PM. Information: www.theworldwar.org |
| 10:00AM |
Grand Opening Weekend continues at the National Archives in the Union Station complex. Exhibits include It's Big, spotlighting big events in our region's history. Also featured: The Kansas-Nebraska Act, including the actual document on loan from Washington D.C. Open until 3:00PM. Information: www.archives.gov/central-plains/kansas-city |
| 12:00PM |
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition at Union Station. Explore the science and wonder of Narnia. Open until 5:30PM.
Tickets and details available at www.unionstation.org |
| 3:00PM |
- Event grounds and displays open to the public. Food and beverages are available for purchase both inside and outside of Union Station.
|
| 4:30PM |
- Pre-concert entertainment begins with the United States Air Force “Brass in Blue”.
|
| 7:15PM |
Concert announcements begin |
| 7:30PM |
Bank of America Celebration at the Station concert begins in front of Union Station |
| 8:10PM |
Intermission |
| 8:30PM |
Concert resumes on the Main Stage |
| 9:15PM |
Fireworks begin over National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial |
Concert Program
| Murtha, Paul |
Heroic Fanfare |
| |
USAF Brass in Blue |
| Smith/Damrosch |
"The Star Spangled Banner"
Ben Gulley, Tenor |
| Sousa |
Washington Post March |
| Gould |
American Ballads, Settings of American Tunes for Orchestra
II. Amber Waves (on "America the Beautiful") |
| Copland |
Lincoln Portrait
John Rensenhouse, narrator |
| Steffe/Dragon |
"Battle Hymn of the Republic |
| Greenwood, Lee/Cherryholmes |
"God Bless the U.S.A"
Cherryholmes |
| Various/Hayman |
Sing Out, America (Sing-along)
America the Beautiful
My Country 'Tis of Thee
You're a Grand Old Flag
Yankee Doodle
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
Battle Hymn of the Republic
God Bless America |
| Alford/McAlister |
Colonel Bogey March |
| |
Intermission |
| Copland |
"Hoe Down" from Rodeo |
| Cherryholmes |
Sumatra
Cherryholmes |
| Traditional/Lowden |
Armed Forces Salute
Richard Myers, speaker |
| Traditional/Knox/Schutza |
Taps |
| Mason/Dragon |
"Nearer, My God to Thee" |
| Cherryholmes |
"This is My Son"
Cherryholmes |
| Robinson, Earl/Allen |
"The House I Live In"
Ben Gulley, tenor |
| Tchaikovsky |
1812, Overture solennelle, op.49 |
* Program subject to change.
About Union Station Kansas City, Inc.
Union Station is Kansas City’s signature historical landmark and a civic asset. Renovated and reopened to the public in 1999, Union Station plays a key role in Kansas City’s regional history. A voter approved bistate cultural sales tax, the first of its kind in the country, funded nearly half of the $250 million renovation. The remaining money was raised through private donations and federal funding.
Union Station receives no public funding. Current operating costs are funded by general admission and theater ticketing, grants, private donations, commercial space leases and facility rental. Union Station is a nonprofit 501c3 organization. The Station is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Union Station Kansas City, Inc. also operates the Kansas City Museum in Kansas City’s historic northeast neighborhood.
The meticulously restored facility is, in and of itself, a historical artifact and is open daily to the public for viewing at no charge. Its maintenance is vital to the preservation of Kansas City's regional history. Union Station also serves as a showcase for Smithsonian Institute and other national traveling museum exhibits and houses a science center. An entertainment district at Union Station includes a live theater, the region’s only 3D giant screen movie theater, shops and restaurants. The Station’s reopening has also helped stimulate the area’s urban renewal.
About the Kansas City Symphony
Led by Music Director Michael Stern, the Kansas City Symphony's 80-member orchestra performs more than 50 concerts on three series (Classical, Family, Pops) during its 42-week season, September through June. In addition, the Symphony performs non-series concerts such as educational programs, free outdoor concerts, and outreach performances, and serves as the orchestra for the Lyric Opera and the Kansas City Ballet. Classical performances are broadcast weekly on KCUR 89.3 FM during the Kansas City Symphony Hour, Thursdays at 9 p.m. Visit the Kansas City Symphony online at www.kcsymphony.org.
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