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

An all-star lineup of vocal talents presented in Kansas City has been in a constant crescendo since August. Local choral groups have been consistently performing high-quality concerts; internationally known talents have been imported in the choral and solo recital scenes; and even our local universities have contributed quality concerts, choral and operatic, to the burgeoning and seemingly unstoppable vocal-arts scene. While it may seem that things couldn’t possibly get any better, prepare yourselves, Kansas City voice enthusiasts, for even more exciting talent heading your way in the coming months.

February promises two internationally renowned vocalists in recital via the Harriman-Jewell Series. Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano, will be at the Folly Theater on February 3, with ensemble Europa Galante and director Fabio Biondi for a program entitled “Vivaldi’s Pyrotechnics.” Tenor Juan Diego Flórez will sing a recital on February 19, at the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall with a program yet to be announced. February also brings the Kansas City Symphony’s performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no. 2, “Resurrection” with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus and featured soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists.

March is action-packed with vocal events. Octarium will perform their “Art Local” concert March 2–4, in which the choral ensemble will premier local composers’ pieces, commissioned specifically for the concert—a great event for new Kansas City art! Another local choir, The Kansas City Chorale, will perform “Request Line: Thirty Years of Your Favorites,” March 4, 6, and 13, pulling audience favorites from the past thirty seasons off the shelves and bringing them to life again. The Heartland Men's Chorus presents "When I Knew" on March 24–25, the latest in their series of acclaimed musical documentaries, combining music, narration, and multimedia to explore the many different experiences of the coming out process with special guest Dan Savage. Te Deum’s spring choral concert with works by Schütz, Lotti, and Gorecki takes place March 24–25. Moving away from the choral scene, Prairie Village native Joyce DiDonato will be singing with the Kansas City Symphony March 23–25, in a program entitled “Joan of Arc and Carmen,” which will include, among other pieces, Jake Heggie’s work for voice and orchestra, The Deepest Desire.

April takes a break from vocal events compared to busy March. However, the Harriman-Jewell Series brings to town tenor Giuseppe Filianoti in recital April 21. Filianoti will be singing Italian and German art song repertoire from the early twentieth century, including composers Tosti, Respighi, and Strauss.

The vocal season culminates with final performances from the Kansas City Chorale and Kansas City Symphony and Chorus. On May 12, KC Chorale joins with the Phoenix Chorale for the ensemble’s performance of “The Chorale at the Kauffman,” their first concert held in Helzberg Hall. Finally, June 22–24, Beethoven’s epic Symphony no. 9 pulls together the Kansas City Symphony and Symphony Chorus with featured soloists in what looks to be an excitingly heroic close to a great season of vocal events.

Not included, but worthy of mentioning, are Kansas City’s local universities including KU and UMKC's choirs, Rockhurst's Musica Sacra and the Metropolitan Choral of Kansas City. A myriad of choral, opera, and solo recital performances will be happening at various locations and dates in the upcoming months—be sure to check with each school’s calendar of events to follow up with Kansas City’s future musicians.

Thanks to Kansas City’s great music organizations and concert series and the dedicated work of local performers, the next few months promise some phenomenal voices for the Kansas City community of audiences. The plentiful supply of singers and the consistently high quality with which they perform is continuing to push Kansas City into an age for the arts and music—one dominated by phenomenal musicianship of local, national, and international performers.

Top Photo: Kansas City Chorale

By Tom Marks

Classical Contributor

Tom Marks holds a degree in vocal performance (B.M., summa cum laude) from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is currently pursing a degree in musicology (M.M.), also from the UMKC Conservatory. A graduate teaching assistant, Tom can generally be found
rummaging through books in the UMKC library, exploring potential research topics. In addition to researching music, Tom is an active vocal performer (baritone) and has appeared in various venues throughout the Kansas City area. Recently, Tom has appeared in productions of the Kansas City Metro Opera, Bay View Summer Music Festival in Bay View, Michigan, and UMKC’s choral, musical theater, and opera department.

Outside of the conservatory, Tom is a music intern at the Village Presbyterian Church where he performs solo and choral vocal music and, on occasion, conducts the Village choir. Tom also writes program notes for the Bach Aria Soloists 2011–12 concert series. Future aspirations include a Ph.D. in musicology with an emphasis in early music, particularly of the late Renaissance and early baroque periods.