SONG OF THE PRAIRIE

SMOKE AND SYMPHONY HERALD THE CHANGING OF THE SEASONS IN THE KANSAS FLINT HILLS, WHERE FLAMES RENEW THE LAND, AND MUSIC CONNECTS US TO IT.

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As I silently rise from my folding chair on the prairie, raindrops begin to fall on the song lyrics in my program, as if to say, "You won't be needing these." A few hundred yards in front of me, under a soaring white canopy and a blanket of gray sky, the Kansas City Symphony conductor raises his baton. More than 80 musicians launch into the unmistakable first notes of "Home on the Range," followed by a chorus of 7,000 voices. Since 2006, Symphony in the Flint Hills has popped up on a different Kansas ranch each June, and this song-this moment-has become a staple. As we reach the misleading "skies are not cloudy all day," the conductor loses the spotlight to a cattle drive crossing the gently rolling hills.