A Pecatonica native is conducting his first Star Spangled Spectacular concert at a theater he hasn’t performed at in 50 years.
Kevin Stites is a nationally renowned Broadway and Pops conductor. He will conduct the Rockford Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming holiday concert at Starlight Theater. His musical journey took him to New York for 25 years. He came back home in 2020. He said a musician friend who is a part of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra let them know that he was back in town.
“And I contacted them and said,' I would love to do some work with you since I'm back in the area,'” he explained. “And they needed a conductor for two concerts.”
Stites has worked with RSO since he’s been back in town. He conducted last year’s Holiday Pops and said he is slated to do it again.
He said he won’t be the only one at the concert representing that small town. The Pec Playhouse Theatre will play an important role.
“They lost their theater due to a roof collapse in 2020,” he said. “It was a real bad year for them. They have a rebuilding plan now and they're going to actually build a new space and to get their name back out in the world, they are volunteering and staffing this July 3rd concert.”
Stites said the last time he performed at the Starlight Theatre was in 1974.
“They had just moved from its previous location to the location it's in now. It was just a basement with a deck on top of it. That's all that was finished.”
The Star Spangled Spectacular will take place at 8 p.m. on Wednesday July 3 at Rock Valley College’s Starlight Theatre, 3301 N. Mulford Road.
You can hear more of the conversation with Stites later this week.
