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

 Kansas City Civic Orchestra
An American Celebration
Wednesday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m.
Village Presbyterian Church
6641 Mission Road Prairie Village, KS 

 The Kansas City Civic Orchestra, one of this region's finest community ensembles, will present a midsummer patriotic concert at Village Presbyterian Church on the Wednesday before the Fourth of July weekend. Selections include Dvorak's New World Symphony, often played by American orchestras at such events because the Czech master wrote the symphony while visiting America (thus the "New World"), along with Aaron Copland's famous Fanfare for the Common Man and A Lincoln Portrait, to be narrated by Kansas City's favorite baritone, former Lyric Opera star Brian Steele.

Also on the program is choral composer Randall Thompson's Testament of Freedom with Mark Ball and the Village Presbyterian Church Men's Chorus. This should be an excellent introduction to your Fourth of July weekend. 

Free admission. 

International Institute for Young Musicians
International Piano Competition Honors Recitals
Wednesday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Lied Center
1600 Stewart Drive Lawrence, KS 

The International Institute for Young Musicians, an organization based in California, conducts an International Piano Competition each summer. This year's competition is being held in late June at the Lied Center on the Kansas University campus in Lawrence, and following the completion of the competition a series of three Honor Recitals will be held featuring some of the outstanding young musicians from the competition. 

Free admission. 

Lee's Summit Symphony Orchestra
Booms and Blooms
Friday, July 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Powell Gardens
1609 N.W.  U.S. Highway 50  Lee's Summit, MO

 The Lee's Summit Symphony is featured in a concert which is part of Powell Gardens' annual Booms and Blooms Festival to celebrate the 4^th of July weekend.  The concert will feature traditional patriotic favorites and will be followed by a spectacular fireworks display, according to Powell Gardens.  This is part of a festival which starts at 9:00 a.m. that day and which features a number of other events as well.  Tickets must be purchased to Powell Gardens in order to attend this concert. 

For tickets, visit Powell Gardens.  Details are available at www.powellgardens.org. 

 Parkville Community Band
Fourth of July Concert
Saturday, July 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
8700 NW River Park Drive  Parkville, MO

For another Fourth of July patriotic fix, you can try this community band concert at Park University. No information about the performers or repertoire is available, but we imagine that it will be a rousing good time. 

Free admission. 

 Heritage Philharmonic
Fourth of July Concert
Saturday, July 4 at 8:00 p.m.
Mike Onka Memorial Building Parking Lot
11520 Putnam, Sugar Creek, MO

Another opportunity for a community Fourth of July musical event is in Sugar Creek, Missouri.  The Heritage Philharmonic will present a concert of patriotic favorites. 

Free admission.  For details, see www.heritagephilharmonic.org. 

 Quadrivium
Concert of Contemporary Works
Monday, July 6 at 5:00 p.m.
Grant Recital Hall
5227 Holmes, Kansas City, MO

Each summer the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance hosts a summer workshop for young composition students.  Quadrivium is the ensemble in residence for the composition workshop.On July 6, Quadrivium will present a program of contemporary works for flute, clarinet, cello, and piano as part of the workshop. 

Admission is free. 

 Summerfest
Wildflowers
Saturday, July 11 at 7:00 p.m.
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry  Kansas City, MiO

Sunday, July 12 at 5:00 p.m.
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
1307 Holmes  Kansas City, MO

With most of Kansas City's classical music organizations taking the summer off, the path is always clear for the refreshing sounds of Summerfest, the city's summertime classical music treat.

Summerfest musicians are drawn from the Kansas City Symphony and other local organizations, but also include instrumentalists who come from far and wide to Kansas City just to take place in these unique concerts.  This listener has found Summerfest concerts to be an interesting blend of traditional and newer compositions, and the quality of the small ensemble performances, using a variety of different instrumental combinations, is always first rate.

This year's Summerfest concerts start off with a pair of concerts, one done in the group's traditional venue at St. Mary's Episcopal Church downtown in the shadow of government office buildings, and the other at White Recital Hall on the UMKC campus. 

 The eponymous composition on the program is a trio by Jenni Brandon, a contemporary California composer. Also on the concert is Tempête de sable (Storm of Sand) for clarinet, violin, and viola, by young composer Alexandra du Bois.  The more traditional compositions which are on tap include Handel's Gloria for soprano, strings and harpsichord, and Vivaldi's All'ombra di sospetto.

The Wildflowers trio was commissioned in 2004 by the College of Fine Arts of the University of Texas at Austin to honor the life and work of the former First Lady from Texas, Lady Bird Johnson, who was a promoter of environmental causes and protector of natural beauty.

Alexandra du Bois, still in her early 20's, has already seen her music performed throughout United States, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Canada, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Armenia, and the United Kingdom, in venues such as the Théàtre de la Ville in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Barbican Hall in London, as well as radio programs in six countries including BBC Radio 3 and NPR's Morning Edition.  This is her Kansas City debut, so you will have a first-class opportunity to find out what the excitement is all about. 

For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.summerfestkc.org/

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.