Trinity United Methodist Church at 1620 N Main St. CREDIT Great Plains United Methodists
By Dan Deming
There was no plan to review Sunday’s Christmas concert by the Stan Kenton Brass at Hutchinsons’ Trinity Methodist Church. But it was so impressive that more people need to know so that, when presented locally for its 50th anniversary, attendance will be overflowing next year.
Consisting of nearly twenty talented musicians from across Kansas, Kenton carols originated in the mid-1970s when Newt Graber, Music Minister at Wichta’s West Heights United Methodist, and Pastor George Gardner had a connection to big band leader Stan Kenton. They persuaded the Kenton family to perform in their church, which was revolutionary then to have big band music in a Sunday morning church service. Graber came to the Hutchinson Symphony looking for additional brass players and found Steve Ambler and Leo Ashcraft.
From there, some of the first musicians to perform Kenton Carols included Charlie Bevan, Bryce Luty, Henry Elder, and Butch Ginest, along with Graber, Ambler and Ashcraft. They got a boost from then Trinity Pastor Paul Matthew, who was one of the first clergy in Hutchinson to provide a history of the carols and host their playing at Christmas time.
A series of the most memorable carols received a heavy brass and delightful drum, piano, bass and stunning percussion performance in Trinity’s sanctuary. The music was greatly enhanced by a meaningful reading of Jesus’ birth and the Biblical Christmas story coupled with a historical background of the music from narrators Randy Doerksen and Allison Johnson, who hosted the event for their church.
The Kenton Brass rendition of “Twelve Days of Christmas” was among the best you would ever want to hear, while a medley of 15 other songs perfectly filled the one-hour program. Wichitas’ Anthony Panek is the artistic and music director for the Stan Kenton Brass Christmas and engineered an exceptional performance, financed by the church, individual donations and with no admission charged. Anyone who enjoys Christmas music and appreciates hearing the old but inspiring, hopeful and meaningful true story of Christmas should put mid-December of 2025 on their calendar to attend the half-century performance they will likely never forget.
