… a little Sunflower History ...
We would like to share a very personal account of the birth of the Sunflower Music Festival. Janna Lower, one of the founders and a perennial performer in the Sunflower, wrote this article when we celebrated our twentieth anniversary. We reprint this for you because nobody says it better…
“Twenty years ago when Charles Stegeman and I casually described to Russ Patterson our idea for a music festival, little did we know that we had shared our dream with the one person in the country who not only could, but would make it happen!
It was March of 1987, and I was back in Kansas City during Spring Break from the University of Michigan, where I was pursuing my doctorate degree. Russ and his wife Teri invited Charles and me to dinner at their home, and at some point in an evening full of the stories and anecdotes that musicians regale each other with, we shared with Russ our vision of a summer music festival. Charles and I had already participated in quite a few of them, and thought we had some ideas that would not only make the experience more rewarding for the musicians, but the audience as well.
We told Russ that night (with not a little modesty!) that we thought we had as friends some of the finest musicians in the country, and if only we could all get together at the same time and place, there would be some incredible music-making. In fact, we thought so highly of our friends, that fundamental to the concept of our festival was that they would perform not only in the orchestra but as the concerto soloists as well. This would distinguish our festival from most others, where big-name artists are dropped in for solo appearances and depart immediately afterwards. We thought it would be more meaningful for an audience to hear musicians in different contexts – soloist, chamber musician, orchestra member – and really get to know them. After performing a concerto with the orchestra, the musician would re-take his seat in the orchestra for the second half; and chamber music concerts would balance chamber orchestra concerts – sound familiar? We tossed around various ideas, all hypothetical of course, until well past midnight.
After our evening together, I went back to Michigan; Charles continued his busy schedule as Associate Concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony, and we both promptly forgot our dinner conversation. Not a month later, Russ called, and to our utter amazement said, “Remember that idea for a music festival you told me about? Well, call all your friends! We’re going to have that festival in Topeka in just a few months!” Russ had pulled off a miracle as far as we were concerned, but he was really just doing what he was uniquely gifted at: galvanizing people and places to create something new. We learned with astonishment that the admonition “Be careful what you wish for” took on a whole new significance when we wished for a music festival with Russ Patterson in the room! He made our wish come true.
I had more time than Charles at that point, so I got on the phone and called all those marvelous friends of ours and told them about our new festival. And with two months notice, they came, from all around the country, willing to take a chance on something new. And just like that, the Sunflower Music Festival was born. Incredibly, some of those “original” friends are still here with Charles and me and have not missed a year yet: Peter Stempe, Mark Tanner, Kirt Saville, and James Rivers. Other musicians have come for ten years or more: Richard Beene, Nic Tsolainos, Steven Thomas, Brian Lewis, Grace Bahng, and Dave Everson. And along the way, new friends have joined us, all touched by the warmth of the welcome we receive from Topekans. And so we return, year after year, eager for the reunion of friends not just on stage but in the audience as well. Thank you, Russ Patterson, for creating this amazing music festival; thank you, musicians, for 20 years of music-making and friendship, and thank you, Topeka, for giving us all a second home.”
Janna Lower, 2006
Sunflower Music Festival Founders
| Janna Lower | Russell Patterson | Dean Hodges | John Green | Floyd Hedberg | Charles Stegeman |
