LHS student accepted to national arts camp

Lawrence High School sophomore Brian Flescher has been named Emerson Scholar for the State of Kansas for the 2003 session of the Interlochen Arts Camp, a renowned summer arts program for youth in the United States.

The Emerson Scholar program is an audition-based competition that provides full tuition grants for 52 students from across the country to attend the high school division as instrumental music majors.

Brian, the son of Anne Schulman of Lawrence and Eric Flescher of Olathe, will study orchestral percussion at the camp, which in 2003 celebrates its 76th summer of pioneering arts education. Brian is a student of Linda Maxey and John W. Parks.

The camp offers intensive training in creative writing, dance, music, theater arts and visual arts at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, a 1,200-acres campus 16 miles southwest of Traverse City, Mich.

Camp alumni include opera and concert soprano Jessye Norman, “Roseanne” star Sara Gilbert, actor Tom Hulce, “Cathy” creator Cathy Guisewite, vocalist Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, and CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace. Recent graduates include singers Josh Groban and five-time Grammy winner Norah Jones, who will perform as part of the Interlochen Arts Festival this summer.

K.C. Singers to perform justice-inspired concert

Kansas City, Mo. — The Kansas City Singers will present “American: Justice for All” on Memorial Weekend.

The shows are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. May 25 at the Just Off Broadway Theatre, 3051 Central, Kansas City, Mo.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door, or $12 for groups of 10 or more.

The group’s newest concert project presents the music and events associated with the American justice system — from the framing of the American Constitution through the Patriot Act of today. Contemporary choral arrangements are mingled with narratives.

The Kansas City Singers is a professional chorus that performs contemporary arrangements of classical, folk and Americana music.

Call (816) 361-0431 for tickets, or order online at www.KCSingers.com.

Exhibit reveals plan that shaped K.C.

Kansas City, Mo. — A new exhibit that opened Saturday at the Kansas City Museum, “City in a Park: The Plan That Shaped Kansas City,” focuses on the parks and boulevards that were the foundation of the system, specifically Swope Park, Penn Valley Park, the Paseo and Ward Parkway.

The exhibit features photographs, artifacts, maps and blueprints. It was developed by the collections staff of Union Station Kansas City Inc. with the help of local historian Bill Worley and the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department.

Highlights include more than 100 photographs of the city’s park and boulevards, clothes people would have worn for a stroll in the park or a swim, camping equipment, a park bench, a program from the first show at Starlight Theater, an 1890s high-wheel bicycle, a park ranger’s jacket and hat, and one of the “Shh! Tulips are Sleeping” signs.

The exhibit runs through Jan. 4. The suggested donation is $2.50 for adults, $2 for seniors and children 3-17.

For more information, call the museum at (816) 483-8300.

Lawn party to start Topeka Jazz Festival

Topeka — A free jam session will kick of the Sixth Annual Topeka Jazz Festival with the Topeka Jazz Festival Yard Party at 4:30 p.m. Friday on the west side of the Topeka Performing Arts Center, Eighth and Quincy streets.

The party is part of this year’s Downtown Live! Series presented by Downtown Topeka Inc.

Featured artists for the party include the Bram Wijnands Trio from Kansas City, the Washburn University Payless ShoeSource Jazz Combo, and an ensemble that includes drummer Joe Ascione, trumpet player Tiger Okoshi, guitarist Rod Fleeman, bassist Jay Leonhart, tenor sax player Ken Peplowski and pianist Ted Rosenthal.

The party is free and open to the public.

Sessions for the Topeka Jazz Festival begin Saturday and conclude May 26. Tickets are available for single sessions for $25 each, full days for $90 each and all three days for $205 each. Discounts are available for groups and students.

For more information, call (785) 234-2787.