Broadway conductor Kevin Stites to lead Rockford Symphony Orchestra for Star Spangled Spectacular

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Kevin Stites wants you to experience “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a way that brings new meaning to words you’re used to hearing sung at the start of sporting events.

Instead of kicking off the upcoming Star Spangled Spectacular concert with the national anthem, he has placed the song toward the end of the show. The nation’s anthem will be sung by Bethany Thomas, a Chicago-based singer and actress, following a reading by state Rep. Maurice West of the Gettysburg Address accompanied by Rockford Symphony Orchestra.

“After the Gettysburg Address, hearing that fresh arrangement of the national anthem will be like you’ve never heard those words before,” said Stites, a longtime Broadway and touring conductor who hails from Pecatonica. “So often we toss off the national anthem at the beginning of things — it’s simple what we do before the first pitch or the kickoff — I didn’t want that. I wanted it to become dramatic and to listen to the words as if we’ve never heard them before.”

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Stites is joining the Rockford Symphony Orchestra as its special guest conductor for this year’s Star Spangled Spectacular, which is slated for 8 p.m. Wednesday at The Bengt Sjostrom Theatre, typically referred to as Starlight Theater, 3301 N. Mulford Road on the Rock Valley College campus.

Stites has conducted for Broadway, touring productions and big-name shows, including six seasons at Radio City Music Hall conducting the famed Christmas Spectacular. After 25 years in New York, he returned to his home in Pecatonica about four years ago.

He’s worked with RSO several times before, perhaps most notably a 2017 show with Kristin Chenoweth of “Wicked” and “Glee” fame. He also conducted the most recent Holiday Pops. He said growing up in Pecatonica, he considered the Rockford Symphony Orchestra as the “epitome of the local arts scene.”

“Any show with the RSO is moving to me because this area is where I grew up, this is my home,” Stites said. “To be coming back and being able to stand in front of this orchestra is an honor.”

Now, he’s put together a show designed to take advantage of the Starlight Theatre’s retractable roof.

“This is the kind of thing that feels right to be heard out in the open air,” he said.

The show will feature pieces from composers Morton Gould, Aaron Copland, Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein. By design, not all the songs are overtly patriotic, but they are chosen for their uniquely American sound, Stites said.

“It’s patriotic in the fact that these composers to me represent American musician that crosses the bridge from classic American music to Broadway,” he said. “I really chose things that I thought everybody would want to hear.”

He said the concert will be accessible to attendees whether they’re seasoned orchestra fans or just looking for a pre-Fourth of July night out.

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One of the highlights of the annual show is the medley of military songs, when service members and veterans are called on to stand as their branch’s official song is played.

You’ll also hear John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare,” which has become synonymous with the Olympic games.

“I wanted to do something that reminds us no matter what party we are, somehow we as a country manage to pull together during the Olympics,” he said.

The show, particularly its second half, will have plenty of tunes you recognize from televised Independence Day shows.

“If A Capital Fourth and Boston Pops esplanade concert had a baby, it would be this concert,” he said. “I’ve chosen composers that I believe represent the epitome of what we as a country have to offer musically.”

If you go | Star Spangled Spectacular

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 3

Where: Starlight Theatre at Rock Valley College, 3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford

Cost: $25-$50; $15 with valid student ID; $10 for youth younger than 18

Info/tickets: Go HERE

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas