'It's just incredible': Sunflower Music Festival is more than 9 days of great music

With an eye on influencing the future, the Sunflower Music Festival is highlighting the past and focusing on the present to bring people together through free events in Topeka this week.

"We talk a lot about diversity in our audiences, and I've been on numerous symphony boards throughout the country. And we just never achieve that," said native Topekan and board member David Woods.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary, Sunflower will strive to change that by highlighting the legacy of Black music and musicians, and by including audiences who might not otherwise be exposed to the music it performs.

Eight students will receive free lessons, instrument use for three years

Nationally acclaimed African-American conductor André Raphel will conduct.

Music from such Black composers as Florence Price's "Symphony No. 2" and William Grant's "Symphony No. 1" will be performed.

And one night will be completely devoted to jazz music.

Woods, who is a retired dean of fine arts for universities in Oklahoma, Indiana and Connecticut, helped bring the idea to fruition by writing a grant to the Topeka Community Foundation asking for funds to bring underserved families to the festival, provide them dinner and Sunflower T-shirts.

The National Endowment for the Arts now assists the project as well.

"I pursued combining our efforts with the Brown versus the Board and they (at the site) were thrilled," he said. "The superintendent there was so excited, and they're so happy that we're going to do this concert. We're bringing 50 young students from 5 to 15 years old to that concert from the Deer Creek Center."

At 3 p.m. Wednesday, the festival will present music written by Black composers in the auditorium at the Brown v. Board National Historic Site, 1515 S.E. Monroe St. Admission is free, but seating is limited to 100.

"After the festival, we are going to select eight of those students for free music lessons and free instrument rentals for three years," he said. "It's just incredible.

"Last year we had a smaller grant to start this program, and we brought many, many children and families from the Topeka Housing Authority to the concerts. And after they went once, they came back. And they loved it. They absolutely loved it.

"So that's what this is about. And we are also streaming the concerts again to a diverse audience in Topeka."

Blanche Bryden Foundation's program brings together students

For years the festival has brought together students to pursue opportunities that might otherwise not be available.

Each year, high school and college-age musicians hone their skills, working with professional musicians and Washburn faculty, participating in master classes and performing on stage.

This is thanks to a grant from the Blanche Bryden Foundation, which provides assistance to organizations like the Boys & Girls Club of Topeka, the Marion Dental Clinic and Meals on Wheels.

During her lifetime, Bryden supported causes benefiting children, art, health and animal welfare in Topeka.

"The students have to submit videos of their playing as part of their application," said the program's coordinator and Washburn University strings instructor Zsolt Eder. Submissions are evaluated by faculty. This year, 23 students were selected.

"It's competitive to get in," Eder said. "It's not like we can take everyone, of course. The Blanche Bryden Program was designed to be a smaller scale, but intensive sort of experience."

The camp tends to be a good recruiting tool for the university's music department.

"Who knows, maybe they'll they'll end up coming to Washburn one day," Eder said.

A big plus for the campus is White Concert Hall.

"I love our concert hall,"  Eder said. "As really most professional musicians will tell you, like 90% of the halls that you play in don't have really great acoustics. So, to come across a hall that does have really good acoustics and sounds really great, it's really fun to play in.

"In some ways, it may be a little intimidating because it's a big hall. But I think that the students really get to feel what it's like to be a performing musician.

"It's a real treat. And we have that at Washburn University."

The students also have the opportunity to watch professional musicians' rehearsals for insight into how they conduct themselves.

The students will perform at 3 p.m. June 25 as part of the festivities.

"I just love seeing the improvement over the course of the week," Eder said, "and the improvement goes a lot faster than otherwise, you know, because because it's an intensive week, and that's all they're there to do."

Here is how to attend Sunflower Music Festival at Washburn University

The festival, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, will run through June 25. All but the 3 p.m. Wednesday performance at the Brown v. Board of Education Historic Site, will be held at White Concert Hall, 1700 S.W. Jewell Ave.

Doors will open one hour before the start of each performance. All performances are free.

For more information go to the Sunflower Music Festival website.

Catheryn Hrenchir is a feature writer for The Topeka-Capital Journal. She can be reached at chrenchir.gannett.com or (785) 817-638.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka's Sunflower Music Festival is more than 9 days of great music