Special to Tiger Media Network
The Ad Astra Music Festival has announced its season for July 2022. The festival kicks off with a combined choral performance centered on Kansas aviation trailblazer Amelia Earhart. The Ad Astra Chamber Choir, made up of professional singers and led by artistic director John Irving, works alongside the High School Honor Choir led by Hays-native Shelby Laird, and the perennial Russell Community Choir led by Russell-native and founding artistic director Alex Underwood.
The season includes the festival’s first-ever musical, The Fantasticks, a 90-minute opera in English by Gregory Spears based on Willa Cather’s short story, Paul’s Case, festival favorite Jazz at the Barn, a performance of Handel’s Messiah, Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, and a recital given by Katelyn Mattson-Levy.
This year’s season incorporates more than 60 professional musicians from across the country in addition to local high school students and our volunteer community choir musicians. Venues include The Deines Cultural Center, Trinity United Methodist Church, St. John Lutheran Church, The Old Stone Church in Luray, St. Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Granny Mae’s Barn, and The Russell Elks Lodge. Tickets are $20 for each performance or season tickets for $120. They are on sale now.
To learn more about the performances this season, visit the Ad Astra Music Festival website at www.adastramusicfestival.org.