RSS 2.0 FeedJanuary 4, 2012, Classical
Spring 2012 preview: Bands and wind ensembles
Talented wind players and percussionists abound in the Kansas City area. Here are some of their many offerings for spring 2012.
Mnozil Brass, an Austrian brass ensemble, comes to the Lied Center of Kansas for a shtick- and schnitzel-filled performance on March 31.
Fountain City Brass Band, the 2011 U.S. Open Brass Band Competition champions, will conclude their season April 28 with a “Windows of the World” concert at MidAmerican Nazarene University.
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance offers many band concerts and brass-related events. The Conservatory Kids Club offers Peter Schickele’s Hornsmoke (A Horse Opera) performed by the UMKC Graduate Fellowship Brass Quintet on January 28. The Conservatory will also present the UMKC Brass Consortium (February 27), concerts by the Wind Ensemble (February 22, March 21, April 25) and Wind Symphony (March 22, April 26), the Graduate Brass Quintet (April 5), and the Iowa Brass Quintet (April 4).
The University of Kansas bands also offer performances by the Wind Ensemble (February 4, April 24) and Symphonic Band and University Band (March 6, April 26).
Mid America Freedom Band’s spring concert, “Weather or Not,” is April 14 at Unity Temple on the Plaza.
Top Photo: Mid America Freedom Band
Traditional and New Classical, Theatre Contributor
Libby Hanssen holds degrees from University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) and Ball State University (B.M.) in trombone performance and also studied music education at Indiana University. She has studied trombone with Carl Lenthe, JoDee Davis, John Seidel, John Huntoon and Denis Wick, and music education with Brent Gault, Estelle Jorgensen and Katherine Strand.
While at IU, she taught classes in general music, focusing on listening skills and music fundamentals through practical music usage and exploring new sound constructions. During the course of her studies at UMKC, she performed with many ensembles, including the Conservatory Orchestra and Musica Nova. She has also performed with the Kansas City Puccini Festival, the People's Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, the New Jazz Order, the Indiana Wind Symphony and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra.
In 2010, she was a fellow (one of 23 journalists selected from across the US) for the seventh annual National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera at Columbia University’s Journalism School in New York City.
Most of her free time is spent with her three boys (son, dog and husband) and camera, exploring the many fine aspects of Kansas City living. She enjoys listening to KKFI - Kansas City Community Radio and KCUR - Kansas City's NPR station, visiting Kansas City's fine collection of museums and galleries, and scavenging in thrift and antique stores to add to her collection of toy instruments.
She writes for the joy of words and the process of constructing a story, maintaining the blog Proust Eats a Sandwich (www.prousteatsasandwich.wordpress.com). She is working on her first book: Murray Goes to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
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