KCMETROPOLIS.org
Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City
The Wise Women
By Conrad Susa
Friday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 5 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
40^th and Main Streets, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222.  For information visit www.kccivicopera.org .

For eight years running, from 1995 through 2003, the Civic Opera Theater produced an annual holiday show, Conrad Susa's The Wise Women, a modern retelling of the familiar Three Wise Men story from the perspective of the women in their lives.  Featuring a friendly disagreement between the Wise Men and the Wise Women over whether the king they were seeking was a powerful adult monarch or an innocent child, the piece sparkles with an inventive score, audience participation, and lots of opportunities for stirring stagecraft and imagery. 

David Adams, the new producing artistic director of the Civic Opera Theater, is bringing it back this weekend, in a new location, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, with some familiar faces in the cast but also some new singers.  Only an hour long, the piece should enchant the entire family.


Kansas City Symphony
Tuba Christmas 2009
Friday, December 4 at 12:00 p.m. noon
Lyric Theatre
11^th and Central, Kansas City, MO
Free admission
For more information visit www.kcsymphony.org

This annual holiday concert, consisting entirely of the booming tones of tubas, euphoniums and brass baritones, came under the sponsorship of the Kansas City Symphony last year.  The ensemble is made up of enthusiastic players of both professional and amateur status, and its enthusiasm and noise will impress you.



Kansas City Symphony Chamber Players
A Tchaikovsky Holiday
Friday,  December 4 at 8:00 p.m.
Visitation Church
5141 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-471-0400 or online at www.kcsymphony.org.

Symphony associate conductor Steve Jarvi conducts the Kansas City Symphony Players in a chamber music concert inspired by the holidays.  The featured piece is the Meditation on the Chorale "Saint Wenceslas" by Josef Suk, an early 20^th century Czech composer.  Yes, he's the same Bohemian monarch who was the inspiration for the "Good King Wenceslas" carol. Other compositions on the program include Arensky's Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky and Tchaikovsky's own inspiring Serenade for Strings.

Musica Sacra
Christmas Concert
Friday, December 4 at 7 p.m.
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
52^nd and Troost, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.rockhurst.edu/musicasacra.

Musica Sacra's director Timothy McDonald is an expert at uncovering unusual but beautiful works of bygone eras, and this year's Christmas concert by the group is no exception.  McDonald's forces will lead off with a Magnificat, not by Johann Sebastian Bach but by Italian Francesco Durante of a generation later.  He then turns to Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto Grosso in G Minor, which has the subtitle Fatto per la Notte de Natale ("Written for Christmas Eve"). 

The concert continues with Luigi Boccherini's magnificent Gloria, and then concludes with a performance of several traditional Christmas carols arranged by the recently deceased David Willcox, a longtime British chorus master.



Fine Arts Chorale
In the Company of Angels and Snowmen
Friday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. and
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
415 West 13^th Street, Kansas City, MO
Tuesday, December 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Southminster Presbyterian Church
6306 Roe Avenue, Prairie Village, KS
For tickets call 816-254-6222, or online at www.fineartschoralekc.org. 

Director Terri Teal presents her Fine Arts Chorale to the Kansas City community in a holiday concert to be presented twice at two different locations.  This concert "merges ethereal angels with earthbound snowmen," the publicity material says, "emphasizing the foretelling of great news by angels and the whimsy and fun of creating snow people in winter."  Fine Arts Chorale accompanist Geoffrey Wilcken is creating arrangements of familiar carols for the occasion.  The concert will also include In Terra Pax by British composer Gerald Finzi, one of this writer's favorites, and The Rune of Hospitality by Alf Houkum. 



Kansas City Chorale
Holiday Concert
Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
415 West 13^th Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-444-7996 or online at www.kcchorale.org.

The Kansas City Chorale is offering two holiday concerts this season, one on December 5 and another on December 13 and 15, the latter to be described in next week's issue.  The December 5 concert will feature honor choirs from eight area high schools, accompanied in some performances by the members of the Chorale.  It's really a concert more designed for fans of high school choral music (and for the friends of relatives of the young singers) but you will get a chance to hear at least some of the Chorale members.

The Chorale-only holiday concert will be next week, so if you are looking for the true Chorale experience, mark your calendar for December 13 or 15 instead.

Heartland Men's Chorus
Fruitcake
Friday,  December 4 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 5 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 6 at 4:00 p.m.
Folly Theater
12^th and Central Streets, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-931-3338 or online at www.hmckc.org.

This holiday season, according to the Heartland Men's Chorale, "you'll enjoy a confection of sugar and spice, both naughty and nice." The men's chorus is "cooking up a holiday treat that runs the gamut from sentimental to silly. You'll hear your favorite traditional carols, songs from those Christmas television specials you loved as a child and a dash of HMC's irreverent humor. This is one fruitcake you're sure to savor!"

What more could we add?



The Performing Arts Series at JCCC
New Sigmund Romberg Orchestra and Vocal Soloists
A Viennese Christmas
Saturday,  December 5 at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Yardley Hall at Carlsen Center
Johnson County Community College
12345 College Boulevard
Overland Park, KS
For tickets call 913-469-4445 or online at www.jccc.edu.

The New Sigmund Romberg Orchestra is a pops orchestra featuring strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion.  For this Christmas concert it is just by four vocal soloists in performances of a range of holiday favorites.  Some of the selections will be classic operetta favorites, such as the Overture to Johann Strauss, Jr.'s Die Fledermaus and selections from familiar Sigmund Romberg operettas such as The Student Prince and Babes In Toyland.  In addition, the concert will feature excerpts from several Broadway musicals and popular carols of the season.

For those in an audience participation mood this holiday season, a carol sing-along will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Yardley Hall lobby.



Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City
Holiday Concert: Christmas on the River
Saturday, December 5 at 3:00 p.m.
Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
8700 NW River Park Drive
Park University, Parkville, MO
Free admission

The Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City, a Northland-based musical group which performs at Park University, is performing excerpts from Tchaikovsky's always popular Nutcracker ballet, complete with dance performances from the Kansas City Youth Ballet under the direction of Alecia Good. 

Other holiday favorites on the program include compositions by Irving Berlin, Leroy Anderson and John Rutter.  It should be a rollicking good time.



Liberty Symphony Orchestra
Masterworks 2: Holiday Classics
Saturday,  December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Liberty Performing Arts Center
1600 South Withers Road, Liberty, MO
For tickets call (816) 439-4362

The Liberty Symphony Orchestra's holiday concert will include selections from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet, Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, Barber's Die Natale, and arrangements of holiday favorites by Leroy Anderson.  A singalong of Christmas carols is included.



Octarium
Holidays With Octarium
Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Elizabeth Catholic Church
2 East 7^th Street (75^th and Main Streets)
Kansas City, MO
Tickets available at the door or online at www.octarium.org.

Another of this writer's favorite Christmas albums is Hodie, released by Octarium a couple of years ago.  It contains gorgeously calibrated renditions of holiday favorites under the direction of Krista Blackwood.  You are likely to hear a few of the selections on this year's holiday concert, along with other pieces that will charm your ears.  This is one holiday music event not to be missed.

Octarium, by the way, recently released another recording, Modern Masters.  It doesn't feature holiday music, but it would make a good holiday gift.  No points for guessing whether it will be for sale in the lobby.



University of Kansas School of Music
Annual Holiday Vespers
Sunday, December 6 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center, University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Drive, Lawrence, KS
For tickets call 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu.

The University of Kansas School of Music's annual Holiday Vespers concert will be presented twice on Sunday.  This is the 85^th anniversary of the school tradition.



Mid-America Nazarene College Fine Arts Division
Handel's Messiah
Sunday, December 6 at 3:00 p.m.
Bell Cultural Arts Center
2030 E. College Way
Olathe, KS
For tickets call 913-971-3636 or online at www.mnu.edu.

Mid-America Nazarene College presents one of several performances of Georg Frideric Handel's ever-popular Messiah on Sunday afternoon.  The college chorus will be accompanied by singers from the community.  The featured soloists in this year's Messiah  are soprano Mary Jane Wilder-Hardee, mezzo-soprano Sarah Holman, tenor Nathan Granner, and bass Raymond Feener.  Any opportunity to hear Nathan Granner, in particular, is a thrill.



UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
A Season for Giving
Sunday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Visitation Catholic Church
5141 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
Free admission, but donations are requested.

The Conservatory of Music and Dance choirs and trombone ensemble will pair up for this concert benefiting Harvester's, the Community Food Network.  The concert will also feature the Hope Lutheran Bell Choir.  The forces will perform Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, excerpts from Handel's Messiah, Howells' A Spotless Rose, and a number of other classical and traditional holiday favorites.



UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
UMKC Fellowship Brass Quintet
Sunday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO
Free admission.

Five outstanding brass graduate students from the UMKC Conservatory will perform a concert this evening that, for a change, is not devoted to holiday music.  On tap are an excerpt from Bach's The Art of the Fugue, Arnold's Quintet for Brass and Plog's Four Sketches for Brass Quintet among other works.  For lovers of brass music, this should be a treat.


UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
UMKC Graduate Fellowship String Quartet
Monday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO
Free admission.

A quartet of excellent graduate string musicians from the UMKC Conservatory perform a free concert tonight featuring string quartet works of Beethoven, Shostakovich and Arriaga, with Christopher Janwong McKiggan at the piano.



Kansas City Brass
Kansas City Brass Holiday Concert
Tuesday,  December 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch
4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
Free admission.

One of this listener's favorite discs of Christmas music is the one produced several years ago by the Kansas City Brass, a group of six outstanding instrumentalists drawn from the Kansas City Symphony.  Their impeccable playing and unusual arrangements of favorite tunes continues to charm.  This is your chance to hear them live.  The members are Gary Schutza, Jr. and Brian Rood on the trumpet, Steve Multer on the horn, Wyatt Henderson playing the trombone, Steve Stewart at the tuba, and Timothy Jepson as percussionist.

Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons
Tuesday, December 8, at 7:30 p.m.
Unity Temple on the Plaza
707 West 47^th Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.kcchamberorchestra.org.

The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra gives us a break from holiday-themed concerts for Antonio Vivaldi's magnificent The Four Seasons violin concerto, featuring no fewer than four different outstanding violin soloists.  Appearing with the Chamber Orchestra will be violinists Anne-Marie Brown, Tamamo Gibbs, Tony DeMarco and Dorris Dae Janssen.

The Four Seasons is one of the great early examples of "program" music that tells a specific story, or actually a series of stories, through purely instrumental terms.  Each section tells of the adventures of a day in each of the year's four seasons, using nothing more than a violin soloists and a string orchestra.  Listen for barking dogs, hunting rifles, grunting pigs and drunken violinists, among other sounds.  It's great fun, and the Chamber Orchestra has performed this piece on many prior memorable occasions.



Johnson County Community College Concert Band
Tuesday, December 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Polsky Theatre at Carlsen Center
Johnson County Community College
12345 College Boulevard, Overland Park, Kansas
Free admission.

The Johnson County Community College Concert Band is giving a concert of classical favorites this evening.  No information about the selections for the program is available at press time for this issue.

By Don Dagenais

City Classics Music and Dance Columnist; Classical Contributor

A lifelong classical music fan, Don Dagenais is a frequent preview speaker for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and has taught classical music and opera courses at several Kansas City venues. He has served on the boards of directors of a number of performing arts organizations including the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Lyric Opera Guild, UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, Opera Volunteers International, the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City, Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony, Octarium, and the Friends of the Symphony.  He has been the past president of most of these organizations and is current the president of the Friends of the Symphony. 

Dagenais co-authored a history of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, published on the occasion of its 50th anniversary (2007) and has written books on the histories of both the Lyric Opera Guild and Opera Volunteers International, as well as an introductory book for opera novices (Your Passport to the Opera).  He has received several local and national awards for outstanding volunteer work for the arts, including a lifetime achievement award from The Coterie Theatre in 2000, the Kansas City Musical Club's annual award in 2001, a Partners in Excellence Award from Opera Volunteers International in 2002, a Bravo Award from Opera Volunteers International in 2004 and a community service award from the Daughter of the American Revolution in 2008 honoring him for his community service to the arts.

In addition to his music interests, Don is president of the board of directors for the Metropolitan Ensemble Theater and has served on the boards of The Coterie Theatre and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, serving as president of each organization.  He publishes newsletters for seven arts organizations.  When not involved in the performing arts, Don is a senior real estate attorney with Lathrop & Gage LLP in Kansas City, Missouri, where he has practiced law since 1976 after graduating from the Cornell Law School.