Music and visual art will intersect at concerts by the Wichita Symphony Orchestra next weekend. The all American music program will feature "Rockwell Reflections" by composer Stella Sung — musical interpretations of five paintings by the iconic American illustrator Norman Rockwell.

Images of the paintings will be projected on large screens as the orchestra plays. The paintings are included in the exhibit "American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell" currently visiting the Wichita Art Museum.

"There is a whole history of styles of music and art that parallel each other — Impressionism, Romanticism, so many 20th century styles," said Mitchell Berman, the symphony's executive director. "Here we have a living example of that, in which music was composed based on five pieces that are part of the visual landscape of our community right now."

Grammy-winning artist Lyle Lovett will make a guest appearance at the Symphony in the Flint Hills performance on June 12 with the Kansas City Symphony.

Lovett is friends with Edward Bass, the Chase County rancher who is hosting this year's concert. He will perform three numbers with the symphony.

The concert will be on land that Bass owns seven miles south of Cottonwood Falls.

Ballet is the most malleable of the arts. Dancers must be lithe and limber and bend with the creative ideas of a choreographer. The dance steps, too, are often changing — varied over time and shaped by each dancer's particular grace and skill.

Take the ballet "With a Song" by Stan Rogers, created and first performed by Friends University Ballet in 2002. The ballet was set to classic show tunes by Richard Rodgers and featured various pairings of performers, with a corps of 21 converging to dance "On Your Toes" in a finale.

"With a Song" will return to Sebits Auditorium at Friends University today through Sunday, one of three ballets to be presented on the Spring Ballet showcase. But "With a Song" is different than it was back in 2002.

The artist who is so often associated with capturing the iconic American culture of mom, apple pie and allegiance to country didn't always feel that way inside. Norman Rockwell, one of the most published and revered American artists of the 20th century, is known for documenting the American life, or rather, an idyllic American life. The images so many people associate him with come from the covers he did for the Saturday Evening Post — illustrations of Boy Scouts, Thanksgiving dinners and children visiting the doctor.

He captured a nostalgic era of innocence and wholesomeness that many still yearn for today. But Rockwell also saw a dark side of American life, one marked by social injustice and cultural change.

Works exemplifying both will be on view beginning March 7 at the Wichita Art Museum in an exhibition titled "American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell."

Look at the watercolors and acrylics painted by Jim Bray and you'll soon spot some common themes.

That's because Bray has a passion for three primary subjects when he paints: trains and planes; landscapes; and abstract, or experimental, works. What all of the paintings have in common, however, is technical drawing excellence, an evocative use of color and a creative vision.

Thirty of Bray's works representing his passions are on display through March 19 in the Riney Fine Arts Gallery at Friends University. A reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 tonight.