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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City
Mozart: A Biography in Music
Friday, February 5 at 8 p.m.
Hemingway Gallery
103 West 19th St., Kansas City, MO
Sunday, February 7 at 2 p.m.
Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Blvd., Leawood, KS
For more information call 816-235-6222 or online at www.kccivicopera.org (tickets not available online)

This weekend the Civic Opera Theatre presents a concert of Mozart selections at both a downtown and a suburban location. The concert will present Mozart's life, his letters, and his music through script readings as well as operatic excerpts. This program is being produced with the permission of LyricFest, a major presenter of recitals in Philadelphia. The script is written by Suzanne DuPlantis. Among the featured singers are Kansas City favorites David Adams (also the producing general director of the Civic Opera), Un Chong Yi Christopher, Chad Flynn, Sarah Tannehill, Nathan Johnson, Diane Robertson and Sylvia Stoner.

Lied Center at KU
Pilobolus Dance Theatre
Friday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center at The University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Drive, Lawrence, KS
For tickets call 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu

Begun in 1971, the Pilobolus Dance Theatre of Connecticut has become known for its athletic and innovative dance interpretations. Known for its "high-flying antics," according to The New York Times, the company is known for its dances that are developed collectively. They typically involve gymnastics, a unique weight-sharing approach to partnering, group structures, mime, showmanship, and overt and implied humor. At the Lied Center, Pilobolus will perform a program in six pieces, including Redline, Gnomen, Walklyndon, Rushes and the world premiere of Hitched.

UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
Conservatory Orchestra Concert
Friday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.umkc.edu/conservatory

Conductor Robert Olson will present the talented young musicians of the Conservatory Orchestra from the UMKC Conservatory in a program of Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 from his opera Fidelio, along with Prokofiev's monumental Symphony No. 5 and Samuel Barber's interesting 20th century work Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance. As always, these are challenging works, but the outstanding Conservatory musicians led by the talented Robert Olson always seem up to the task. The Prokofiev and Barber have not been heard in these parts for some time, at least according to this writer's memory.

William Baker Festival Singers
Friday, February 5 at 8 p.m.
Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church
7600 N.W. Barry Road, Kansas City, MO
Sunday, February 7 at 2 p.m.
Unitarian Fellowship Church of Lawrence
1263 North 1100 Road, Lawrence, KS
The Kansas City concert is free but with donations collected for a local charity helping the homeless.
For the Lawrence concert, purchase tickets at the door. For more information visit www.festivalsingers.org

The William Baker Festival Singers, an a capella singing group, will perform twice this weekend, in Kansas City and in Lawrence. No information is available about the program for these concerts.

City in Motion Dance
A Modern Night at the Folly: A Choreographer's Showcase
Saturday, February 6 at 8 p.m.
Folly Theater
300 West 12th St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816 474-4444 or 816-931-3330

This writer has found the City in Motion Dance company's annual Choreographer's Showcase at the Folly Theater to be one of the most enjoyable dance evenings in Kansas City. This performance is the seventh annual event and is Kansas City's only adjudicated showcase. It will feature ten of the area's most talented choreographers. Included among the works performed are Michelle Brown, Jeff Curtis, Penelope Hearne, Maura Michelle Garcia, Jane Gotch, Jennifer Owen, Lindsay Pierce, Suzanne Ryan Strati, Patrick Suzeau, and Paula Weber. All should present outstanding creations, but this viewer is especially looking forward to the work of Jennifer Owen of the Owen Cox Dance Group, Michelle Brown of Kacico Dance, and Paula Weber of the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance faculty.

Venue Visitation
Quink Vocal Ensemble
Saturday, February 6, at 8 p.m.
Visitation Church
5141 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call (816) 235-6222 or online at www.umkc.edu/cto

Since the Quink Vocal Ensemble's debut in 1978, this remarkable Dutch group has performed on prestigious concert series around the world. Consisting of five singers, the group has developed a unique sound for a cappella music ensembles. Its repertoire varies from music of the Renaissance and Baroque eras to works by Romantic composers. The ensemble often performs folk song and close harmony arrangements and it concludes its performances with lighter arrangements. In 1983, Quink received its first international recognition when the group was named finalist in a major European music competition. Since then the group has become a frequent guest at music festivals all over the world, and tours the United States twice a year. The group's extensive discography ranges from Renaissance and British madrigals to the works of Rossini and Britten. To this reviewer's knowledge this concert represents the group's debut in Kansas City. The program for the concert has not yet been announced.

Community of Christ Church
Super Bowl Sunday Concert
Jan Kraybill, organist
Sunday, February 7 at 3 p.m.
Community of Christ Church
201 South River Street, Independence, MO
Admission is free. For more information visit www.cofchrist.org/dome_spire/calendar.asp#SuperBowlXI

For the past ten years, Jan Kraybill, the talented organist for the Community of Christ Church in Independence, has been offering a free organ concert on Super Bowl Sunday for those whose leanings are not toward football, or for football fans wishing to enjoy an afternoon of fine organ music before settling in for the game. This year Kraybill's program will range from the early music of Bach and Buxtehude to the Romantic work of Saint-Saens to the 20th century compositions of Leo Sowerby and Noel Rawsthorne. Kraybill's outstanding playing on the superb Community of Christ Casavant organ is always a treat for the senses.

Park University Concert Series
Young International Center for Music Artists
ICM Chamber Orchestra
Sunday, February 7 at 3 p.m.
Park University
Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
8700 N.W. River Park Drive, Parkville, MO
Tickets available at the door. More information online at www.park.edu/calendar/arts

Park University's International Center for Music, led by artistic director Stanislav Ioudenitch, features an outstanding faculty including Ben Sayevich, Martin Storey, Marina Sultanova and Kanako Ito, the Kansas City Symphony's concert mistress. This Sunday, Ito will direct a program featuring young artists from the Center along with the ICM Chamber Orchestra. The program has not been announced, but previous concerts in this series have proven a delight.  Admission is $5 (free to Park University students, staff and faculty).

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.