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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

 White Recital Hall at UMKC and the cool, calm of St. Mary's Episcopal Church at 13^th and Holmes, downtown, will soon be heating up with the sounds of Summerfest.  Enjoying their 19^th season in Kansas City, this innovative ensemble continues to delight audiences with a mix of the well-loved and little-known pieces for chamber orchestra. 

Summerfest programming offers a variety of instrumentation and musical styles and emphasizes the performance of lesser-known pieces from all eras, as well as the works, and sometimes personal appearances of living composers.  Since 1993, the group has worked with Dan Locklair, Lee Gannon, David Gommper, Clive Muncaster, Jean Belmont, Michael Kimber, Paul Elwood, Ian Coleman, and Robert Cronin. Many of these composers have been in residence for a portion of the summer season and/or have written a work for members of the ensemble.

 "One of the things we try to do is seek out pieces off of the beaten path." says clarinetist and artistic advisor, Jane Carl. "We search for an eclectic mix and think we've got something for everyone."

Like walking through a Baroque garden, a Romantic landscape painting or an unpredictable Modern field of wildflowers, the 2009 season is inspired by natural beauty.  There is no shortage of material based on this theme, but the Summerfest board of directors carefully sifted through the repertoire and came up with a few surprises. 

Among the unexpected pieces to be performed, contemporary composer Alexandra du Bois' Tempete de sable (Storm of Sand) for clarinet, violin and viola is getting a lot of attention.  Still in her 20's du Bois' has received commissions from the Kronos quartet, the Beaux Arts Trio and Bargemusic to name only a small fraction of the groups who are vying for her time. Kansas City will get their first taste of her works during Summerfest.

It's nice to see a balance of male and female composers on any program and Summerfest seems to take this approach seriously.  From Jennie Brandon's piece Wildflowers, inspired by Lady Bird Johnson's famous Texas fields, to Nancy Galbraith's Incantation and Allegro, creative female composers get the chance to take their place beside the men.

In addition to the hidden gems, this Summerfest line-up includes the well-known masterworks as well.  The Beethoven Septet Op. 20, Dvorak's Selections from Cypresses for string quartet, the Elgar Quintet, Op. 84 for Piano and Strings, and the Vivaldi All'ombra di Sospetto for soprano, flute, cello, and harpsichord are also being featured.  A real crowd pleaser is sure to be Schubert's The Shepherd on the Rock for soprano, clarinet and piano. 

Of the less known works by prolific composers, Giacomo Puccini's Chrysanthemums for string quartet provides an operatic opportunity for the strings to sing.  Georg Frideric Handel's Gloria for soprano strings and harpsichord is enjoying a rebirth along with Attilio Ariosti's cantata the Flowering and Fading of Love.

For more detailed information on  Summerfest programming, read Don Dagenais' City Classics column for July.  http://kcmetropolis.org/issue/july-8-2009/article/classical-column-for-july

Summerfest Schedule 2009

Summerfest I
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

Summerfest II
The Secret Flower
Saturday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m.
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO

Sunday, July 19 at 5:00 p.m.
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
1307 Holmes
Kansas City, MO

Summerfest III
Chrysanthemums
Saturday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m.
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO

Sunday, July 26 at 5:00 p.m.
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
1307 Holmes, Kansas City, MO

Summerfest IV
Cypresses
Saturday August 1 at 7:00 p.m.
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO

Sunday, August 2 at 5:00 p.m.
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
1307 Holmes, Kansas City, MO

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

 Cover photo by Will Berndt.

By Megan Browne Helm

Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor

Megan Browne Helm grew up singing, dancing and acting.  Inspired by Emma Kirkby as a high school student in St. Louis she went on to study voice and sing with the Collegium Musicum at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she also had a radio show of contemporary classical music on WOBC.  At the University of Kansas she had the pleasure of working with former Kings’ Singer, Simon Carrington in his Collegium Musicum and Oread consort. Years later, she was a choral fellow at the Yale School of Music’s  Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  She is currently singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy. 

 As a freelance music and culture writer her work can be found on KCMetropolis.org, presentmagazine.com, the Lawrence Journal World, Shawnee Magazine, Leawood Lifestyle Magazine and KC Parent.  She was one of 26 journalists in the country chosen as a NEA Institute Fellow for Classical Music and Opera at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Her current interest is how classical music remains relevant through active collaborations with artists in different fields, including science.  She also sees a connection between classical music, travel and food as a way to engage all of the senses in a 360 degree cultural experience.  She blogs at raworganum.wordpress.com.