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

The performances listed below are, of course, only a few of the many outstanding classical music opportunities that will be coming your way for the rest of the winter and the spring.  Among other groups we will be featuring in upcoming concerts will be the Fine Arts Chorale, Kansas City Wind Symphony, Heritage Chorale, UMKC Conservatory of Music (non-Signature Series performances), the Heartland Men's Chorus, Heritage Philharmonic, the Philharmonia of Kansas City, the William Baker Festival Singers, the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, and many others, including the community orchestras and choirs of Liberty, Lee's Summit, Topeka, Lawrence and the Northland, among others. Please continue to watch each weekly edition of this column for more details on these and other performances.  Happy listening!



Bach Aria Soloists
Private homes in Kansas and Missouri
For tickets call 716-820-1473 or online at www.bachariasoloists.com

The Bach Aria Soloists, led by the brilliant violinist Elizabeth Suh-Lane, performs two concerts this spring. One, on March 28, entitled Inspired by Bach, features the music of former Kansas City Symphony music director and conductor William McGlaughlin, who introduce the stories behind the genius of Bach, Bartok, Mendelssohn and others. 

The other concert, set for June 6, features UMKC Conservatory professor and master classical guitarist Douglas Niedt in performances by Corelli, Bach, DeFalla and more.  Concerts are performed in private homes to limited audiences, so you must have tickets ahead of time to attend.

City in Motion Dance Company and Owen/Cox Dance Group
Folly Theater
12^th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-2882 or online at www.cityinmotion.org

City in Motion Dance Company will sponsor its annual Modern Night at the Folly on February 6. Among the groups featured will be one of this reviewer's favorites, the Owen/Cox Dance Group, performing Jennifer Owen's Fuga Tanguera. 

City in Motion will also present a 25^th Anniversary Concert on April 11 at the Gem Theatre in the 18^th and Vine District.

The Friends of Chamber Music
Various locations, but primarily the Folly Theater
12^th and Central Streets, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-9999 or online at www.chambermusic.org

To get you back in the swing of classical music after an abundance of holiday fare over the last month, The Friends of Chamber Music invites back the impressive Takacs String Quartet on January 9 for a performance of works of Beethoven and Haydn.  Other ensembles appearing with The Friends this spring are Tafelmusik, performing Baroque favorites on January 31 accompanied by images from the Hubble Space Telescope in a program called Music of the Spheres, the Artemis String Quartet on March 12 playing works of Beethoven, and the Venice Baroque Orchestra on April 23 performing concerti by Vivaldi, Geminiani, Tartini and Albinoni.

Trio Medieval, an unusual three-woman vocal ensemble, will appear on April 18 for A Worcester Ladymass.

Among the soloists appearing soon are pianists Stephen Prutsman (February 12) and Kevin Kenner (April 9).  This listener, however, is most awaiting a joint concert on March 5 by Behzod Abduraimov and Stanislav Ioudenitch, the former a recent winner of the London International Piano Competition Grand Prize, and the latter, of course, one of "our own," and a Gold Medal winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.  What's better, tickets for that one are only $10 (free for subscribers)!

The effervescent Rob Kapilow also appears in January (16-17) for a What Makes it Great" program featuring the music of Chopin and pianist Gilles Vonsattel.

Harriman Jewell Series
Folly Theater
12^th and Central, Kansas City, Missouri
For tickets, call 816-415-5025 or online at www.harriman-jewell.org

 The Harriman Jewell Series features two of today's most virtuosic performers in pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin and cellist Yo Yo Ma this spring. Hamelin appears on February 19.  This listener eagerly awaits his every performance in Kansas City (he has been here under the auspices of the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance and the Kansas City Symphony before), as he is one of the most spectacular keyboard artists performing today.  Both his recordings and live performances are things of wonder.  For this recital he will tackle Haydn, Mozart, Liszt, Faure and Alkan.  The first four are just obligatory recital composers...you will want to wait for the Alkan, whose excruciatingly difficult pieces are specialties for Hamelin.

Yo Yo Ma appears on March 18 with pianist Kathryn Stott in pieces by Schubert, Shostakovich, Franck and others.  The performance is sold out, but you can call to put your name on the waiting list.

In addition to these soloists, several acclaimed Russian ensembles will appear, including the Russian National Orchestra on February 25 playing symphonies by Dvorak and Tchaikovsky, the Moscow State Radio Symphony on March 6 performing an all-Tchaikovsky program, and the Moscow Festival Ballet on May 1 in Coppelia.

Vocal music fans have a treat in store as tenor Michael Schade and baritone Russell Braun sing a joint recital on April 10.  No word on the program yet, but this duo has gotten rave reviews in other cities where they have appeared; both are acclaimed international opera stars.

To top it off, Harriman is offering a free Discovery Series concert on February 13 featuring violinist Rachel Lee, a student of Itzhak Perlman and considered to be one of the most promising young stars to watch.



Kansas City Ballet
Lyric Theatre
11^th and Central Streets, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-931-2232 or online at www.kcballet.org

The Kansas City Ballet gives two performances this winter and spring.  The winter program (February 25-28), features Val Caniparoli's Lambarena, billed as an "irresistible fusion of Johann Sebastian Bach and traditional African rhythms," along with Robert Hill's choreography of contemporary composer Lowell Liebermann's Piano Concerto No. 2 and The Moor's Pavane by Jose Limon, loosely based upon the Shakespeare story of Othello. The piece utilizes music by British baroque composer Henry Purcell.

The spring program (May 6-9) is entitled George Balanchine's Who Cares? and includes the eponymous piece set to "15 show stoppers by George Gershwin." Also appearing on the program is the Donizetti Pas de Deux choreographed by the late Todd Bolender and A Solo in Nine Parts by Jessica Lange, with music of Vivaldi. Most eagerly anticipated, however, is a world premiere by choreographer Toni Pimble to music by Ernest Bloch.



Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
Various locations in Fairway, Kansas and Prairie Village, Kansas
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.kcchamberorchestra.org

Kansas City Chamber Orchestra conductor Bruce Sorrell always has interesting repertory up his sleeve, and this spring offers a prime example with an iconic American piece, a world premiere and a Mozart classic.

The American icon, on April 29, is Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, one of this listener's "desert island" compositions (although where one would find the orchestra to play it on a desert island is a bit of a mystery).  The world premiere is The Twelve Kisses by composer Forrest Pierce, taken from the passionate Biblical love poem Song of Solomon, as sung by sparkling soprano Sarah Tannehill, one of Kansas City's vocal treasures for which we should count our blessings. Also on this program will be Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony.

The Mozart classic in the KCCO's repertory this spring is the Requiem Mass, written by the composer for himself (although commissioned for another), and left incomplete at his death.  For magnificent choral writing it just can't be topped.  The concert is June 11.



Kansas City Chorale
Various locations in Kansas City, MO and Overland Park, KS
For tickets call 816-235-6222; information is available online at www.kcchorale.org (no tickets available online).

Kansas City's premiere a capella vocal ensemble will usher in the spring season on March 6-7 with a concert entitled Sing to Love, featuring Brahms' second book of the romantic Liebeslieder Waltzes.  The Chorale recorded an entire CD of Brahms a few years ago, which is one of this writer's favorite listening pleasures.  Conductor Charles Bruffy has a special affinity for this music, so it should be a real springtime treat.

The Chorale wraps up its season on May 16 and 18 with The Rhythm of Life, a performance for which the group is joined by Valerie Dee Naranjo, percussionist on NBC's Saturday Night Live Band and Broadway's Lion King.  Hmmm.  Sounds like a departure from the usual classical format, but it should be...well...rhythmic.



Kansas City Symphony
Lyric Theatre, 11^th and Central, Kansas City, MO
Yardley Hall at Carlsen Center, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas
For tickets call 816-471-0400 or online at www.kcsymphony.org.

The Kansas City Symphony has several outstanding soloists in store for us in the coming months, but principal among them are violinist Gil Shaham and pianist Simone Dinnerstein.  The weekend of January 22-24, Shaham will perform not one but two of this listener's favorite violin concertos, those of Prokofiev (No. 2) and American composer Samuel Barber.  Dinnerstein, who appeared in Kansas City last year with The Friends of Chamber Music to great acclaim, will play the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 (May 14-16). 

Other prominent soloists this spring include cellist Camden Shaw and violinist Josef Spacek in the double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra by Brahms (January 8-10), pianist Benedetto Lupo in the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 18 (January 15-17), and flutist Emmanuel Pehud playing a world premiere by Luca Lombardi (February 19-21).  Violinist Karen Gomyo plays the Sibelius Violin Concerto (February 12-13), pianist Robert Levin performs a piece by the underrepresented (at least on orchestra stages) contemporary composer George Crumb (March 5-7), and soprano Heidi Grant Murphy sings in another Barber piece, the memorable Knoxville: Summer of 1914 (April 9-11).  Another soloist playing works of an American composer is violinist Jennifer Koh performing Jennifer Higdon's The Singing Rooms (May 21-23).

Among the symphonic works to be heard at the Symphony this winter and spring are the Dvorak No. 7 (January 8-10), the Schubert No. 5 and the Mozart No. 39 (January 15-17), the Shostakovich No. 1 (January 22-24), the Beethoven No. 8 (February 19-21), the Mahler No. 4 (April 9-11), and the impressive Prokofiev No. 5 (June 4-6).

What are the particular gems to watch for?  This listener is eagerly awaiting the classic Sibelius Finlandia and Stravinsky's dazzling ballet score Petroushka (both on February 12-13), Aaron Copland's monumental Symphony No. 3, utilizing the dazzling fanfare theme from Fanfare for a Common Man (March 5-7), and the always-mesmerizing Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faun (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) by Debussy (May 21-23).

In addition to the above, the Symphony Chamber Players, led by sparkling assistant conductor Steve Jarvi, will perform Grieg's magisterial Hollberg Suite (March 26).



Lied Center
University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Drive, Lawrence, KS
For tickets call 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu

Among the classical music performances at KU's Lied Center this spring are a recital of the works of Rossini, Berlioz, Mozart and other composers by American mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, of the Metropolitan Opera and other international companies, on January 24; a dance program by Ballet Folklorico on January 28; a modern dance performance by Pilobolus Dance Theater on February 5; and pianist Haochen Zhang, a winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, on February 16.

Also performing at the Lied Center this spring are the Albers Trio, a collaboration of three string-playing sisters performing the music of Mozart, Beethoven and "an expressive contemporary work by composer Ross Bauer" on March 7; and the celebrated modern music Kronos Quartet (strings) on April 13 performing the works of Terry Riley, among others.



Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Lyric Theatre
11^th and Central Streets, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-471-7344 or online at www.kcopera.org

The Lyric Opera's spring season consists of two of the great classics of the repertoire. On March 20-28 the Lyric Opera will produce Verdi's Rigoletto, featuring acclaimed Metropolitan Opera soprano Mary Dunleavy (last year's star in La Traviata) as Gilda. Renowned baritone Richard Paul Fink, famous around the world for his portrayal of the doomed hunchback, will bring his interpretation of the title role to Kansas City.  Tenor David Pomeroy, a Lyric Opera favorite, will sing the Duke of Mantua, including the famous aria "Donna e mobile," one of the most popular tunes ever penned.

Mozart's Don Giovanni will be the final production of the season from April 24 through May 2.  Baritone Keith Phares, a stylish and handsome young star, and a Lyric Opera veteran of several productions (most recently The End of the Affair), will take on the title role with acclaimed up-and-coming star Andrew Gangestad as his sidekick Leporello.  It should be great fun, with a bit of tragedy mixed in, as Mozart intended.



Musica Sacra
St. Francis Xavier Church
52^nd and Troost, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.rockhurst.edu/services/musicasacra

Timothy MacDonald will conduct his Musica Sacra forces for two concerts this spring.  The first, on February 20, features the "sweet" Music of Salzburg in a performance of works by Mozart and Michael Haydn. The second, set for April 18, will include Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Baroque masterpiece Te Deum and the Vespers by Mozart.  This listener is most eagerly awaiting the second, as Charpentier's gorgeous music is not often heard in these parts, and any vocal piece by Mozart is worth waiting for.



newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble
All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church (and other venues)
4501 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222. Visit www.newear.org for information (no tickets available online).

New Ear upholds Kansas City's reputation, such as it is, for modern music performances, and this spring continues that tradition with two concerts.  On March 13 the group performs the music of UMKC Conservatory professors and composers Chen Yi and Zhou Long, along with other Chinese-American composers, in a program entitled China Rising.

On May 1 the group performs Regenerations, a program "curated" by James Mobberly, featuring work of Mobberly and his students, along with Charles Ives and Edgar Varese. This concert will come just a week after the UMKC Conservatory Orchestra performs a new commission by Mobberly (see above), so it will be a heavenly few days for Mobberly fans.



Octarium
St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church
2 East 7^th Street, Kansas City, MO
For information see www.octarium.org

On February 20, Octarium, the superb eight-voice a capella choir directed by Krista Blackwood, will offer something different in a concert entitled Mass-tiche. The group will perform several different "pastiche" masses.  A "pastiche" is a piece of music constructed from fragments by various different composers.  Pastiches were once quite popular in theaters and concert halls across Europe.  A pastiche mass, for example, might include a "Kyrie" from one composer, a "Gloria" from another, and so on. With settings exploring similarities with settings through time, Palestrina paired with Part, Machaut with McMillan, this concert should prove to be an intriguing evening of music and history.



The Performing Arts Series
Johnson County Community College
Yardley Hall, Carlsen Center, Polsky Theatre
12345 College Boulevard, Overland Park, KS
For tickets call 913-469-4445 or online at www.jccc.edu/TheSeries

The Performing Arts Series at Johnson County Community College includes Philharmonia of the Nations, conducted by Justus Frantz, on February 13; the Martha Graham Dance Company in Clytemnestra on March 13; the Palestrina Choir, Irish and Boys' and Men's Choir from Dublin on April 16; and the always impressive Brentano Strong Quartet with Charles Neidich, clarinet, on May 1.

What most entices this listener about the spring Yardley Hall concert series, though, is a performance of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, which many believe is the "Great American Opera," on February 26-27, performed with full orchestra.  Details about the singers are not available at this time, but Porgy and Bess is always a treat, and Kansas City performances are all too infrequent.



Signature Series
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry, Performing Arts Center , Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.umkc.edu/cto

 The Signature Series at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance features young performer Stefon Harris and his group Blackout on January 30.  In a departure from the usual classical-oriented theme of the Signature Series concerts, this concert stars "one of the most important young artists in jazz," according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Concerts this spring also include the elegant tenor Vinson Cole, Kansas City's own international opera star, on February 27; the Imami Winds, a wind quintet which is "meaningfully bridging European, American, African and Latin American traditions," on March 27; and the traditional year-ending Finale Concert on April 24 with Robert Olson and the Conservatory Orchestra, premiering a new composition written by Conservatory composer James Mobberly in honor of the late Todd Bolender of the Kansas City Ballet.


Top photo: Jean Lamon and Tafelmusik presented by The Friends of Chamber Music on January 31.

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.

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