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

Quality Hill Playhouse
Christmas in Song
Performances through December 24
Quality Hill Playhouse
303 W Tenth St, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, call 816-421-1700 or visit online at www.qualityhillplayhouse.com.

This writer is a big fan of Kent Barnhart’s Quality Hill Playhouse. At this time of year when holiday favorites normally supplant more traditional classical fare at concerts by our classical music organizations, Barnhart presents his annual Christmas show. The show is always very popular and features vocalists Molly Hammer, Lateesha McDonald Jackson, and Lindsey McKee, along with Barnhart himself at the piano. It's sure to tickle your fancy with holiday compositions both familiar and unusual. Prior reservations are a must, as many performances are sold out.

 

Musical Theater Heritage
A Spectacular Christmas in Concert
Thursday, December 1 through Sunday, December 18
Off Center Theater, Crown Center
2450 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, call 816-842-9999 or visit online at www.musicaltheaterheritage.com.

George Harter’s Musical Theater Heritage group brings a holiday program to Crown Center, featuring Lauren Braton, Jeremy Watson, Richard Gibson and other talented local singers and actors.

 

Kansas City Ballet
The Nutcracker
Saturday, December 3 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 4 at 1:00 p.m.
Friday, December 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 10 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 11 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
(continues through December 24)
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
1601 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, call 816-931-2232 or visit online at www.kcballet.org. 

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is one of the most popular ballets ever written and has been a holiday favorite in Kansas City for many years. The Kansas City Ballet presents one of the most spectacular productions of the ballet in the Midwest. This year, you have a chance to see it as you have never seen it before, redesigned for the magnificent new Muriel Kauffman Theatre in the Kauffman Center. There are lots of performances, but tickets always go fast and many dates will be sold out. Youngsters old and new will appreciate the charm and grace of Tchaikovsky’s timeless score and the choreography of the Ballet’s artistic director, William Whitener, in this exciting new space.

 

Musica Sacra
Magnificat (Song of Mary)
Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Francis Xavier Church
52nd St and Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, call 816-235-6222 or visit online at www.rockhurst.edu/mtickets. 

Timothy McDonald’s Musica Sacra chorus presents a special holiday treat, with Antonio Vivaldi’s beautiful setting of the Magnificat (Song of Mary). In addition, the ensemble will perform Behold, I Bring You Good Tidings by the Baroque master Henry Purcell and Kommst du, Licht der Heiden (Come, You Light of the Gentiles) by Dietrich Buxtehude. As always, Musica Sacra’s holiday concert concludes with traditional Christmas carols.

 

Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
Christmas by Candlelight
Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
Friday, December 2 at 8:00 p.m.
Old Mission United Methodist Church
5519 State Park Rd, Fairway, KS
For tickets, call 816-960-1324 or visit online at www.kcchamberorchestra.org.

Bruce Sorrell’s Kansas City Chamber Orchestra will present Corelli’s Baroque-era Christmas Concerto in the friendly and picturesque confines of the Old Mission United Methodist Church as part of its candlelight concert series. Also on tap are “Winter” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (while not exactly a Christmas piece, at least it is appropriate for the time of year) plus Bach’s Suite No. 3, Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins and Two Cellos and Handel’s Entrance of the Queen of Sheba from his 1749 oratorio Solomon, which rivals the famous Messiah for the pure beauty of its music.

 

Heartland Men’s Chorus
Holiday Glee
Friday, December 2 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 4 at 4:00 p.m.
Folly Theater
300 W 12th St, Kansas City, MO
Tickets are available online at www.hmckc.org. 

The Heartland Men’s Chorus, led by Joseph Nadeau, always performs with zest and spirit, nowhere more so than in its annual holiday concert. Expect some traditional Christmas selections along with some unusual fare, if past experience is any guide. This program takes its lead from the television show Glee, so those familiar with the show may have some idea of what to expect. Bring your own seatbelt.

 

Kansas City Symphony
Handel’s Messiah
Friday, December 2 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 4 at 2:00 p.m.
Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
1601 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, call 816-471-0400 or visit online at www.kcsymphony.org.

Aside from the Nutcracker, the most popular piece of classical music during the holiday season is surely George Frideric Handel’s magnificent oratorio The Messiah. Riotously popular from its first performance, the oratorio continues to enchant today just as it has for over 300 years.

In years past, the Messiah as performed by the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony Chorus, and the Independence Messiah Choir has been presented at the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence, Missouri. This year, however, the Symphony is holding all of its performances in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center, so the 95-year tradition will move to Helzberg Hall. Associate conductor Steven Jarvi conducts. The soloists are Joelle Harvey, soprano, Leah Wool, mezzo-soprano, Gregory Warren, tenor and Lee Poulis, baritone.

 

Kansas City Young Audiences
A Gilbert and Sullivan Christmas Carol
Saturday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 4, at 2:00 p.m.
St. Theresa’s Academy Auditorium
5600 Main St, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, call Young Audiences at 816-531-4022.

Kansas City Young Audiences continues its 50th anniversary celebration with a fundraising performance of A Gilbert and Sullivan Christmas Carol this weekend.  What, you say?  You didn’t know that Gilbert & Sullivan wrote a Christmas Carol?  Well, you’re right…sort of.  The two English masters of comedy in music never actually set a Christmas Carol, but they did write lots of songs which could be adapted to the story, or so compiler Gayden Wren thought. So he took many of the popular Gilbert & Sullivan tunes and re-set them to new words, adapting them to the Dickens favorite.

The work is directed by Linda Ade Brand and led by Kip Niven as Scrooge, Deb Bluford as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Rick Truman as Tiny Tim.  Also in the cast are Kevin Albert, Jeanne Averill, Victoria Botero, Amy Cahill, Larry Greer, Cynthia Hyer, Joshua Lawlor, Brian Steele, Sylvia Stoner, William Grey Warren, Joe Winans, and Toby Wright.

 

Turtle Island Quartet and Te Deum
Solstice Celebration: A Festival of Lights
Turtle Island Quartet and Te Deum
Saturday, December 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Polsky Theatre, Carlsen Center
Johnson County Community College Campus
12345 College Blvd
Overland Park, Kansas
For tickets, call 913-469-445 or visit online at www.jccc.edu/TheSeries.

The Turtle Island Quartet and Te Deum, an eight-voice local chorus, perform a join concert focusing on the Festival of Lights, a tradition in both Jewish and Hindu traditions. The concert also includes old English carols and other classical gems.

 

Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City
A Celtic Christmas on the River
Sunday, December 4 at 3:00 p.m.
Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
Park University
8700 NW River Park Dr, Parkville, MO
Tickets available at the door. For more information, visit http://www.kcphilharmonia.org/

The Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City, led by Travis Jürgens, presents its holiday concert this afternoon with guest vocalist Connie Dover, a popular folk ballad singer who specializes in songs of the British Isles and similar repertoire.

 

UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
A  Season for Giving
Sunday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Visitation Church
5141 Main St, Kansas City, MO
Free admission, but monetary donations or donations of non-perishable food items to Harvesters, the Community Food Network, are requested. For more information, visit http://conservatory.umkc.edu

The combined choirs of the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance are hosting a program of holiday music to benefit Harvesters, the Community Food Network, which serves those less fortunate throughout the Kansas City area. The ensembles to be featured include the Conservatory Concert Choir under the direction of Charles Robinson; the University Singers and Conservatory Singers directed by Robert Bode; Canticum Novum and Amphion, directed by Jacob Narverud, and the Kansas City Children’s Chorus directed by Rebecca Penerosa. Instrumental groups are included as well. They should certainly fill the dome of Visitation Church with sound.

 

Kansas City Chorale and various school choirs
Family Christmas Concert
Sunday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
1300 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, call 816-235-6222 or visit online at www.kcchorale.org.

Members of the Kansas City Chorale join forces with the honors choirs of eight area high schools to present a Christmas program this evening. Chorale fans should note that although the Chorale may sing some separate numbers, this concert is not the annual holiday concert of the Kansas City Chorale, which will be performed on December 11 and 13 (see below).

 

Schola Cantorum, William Jewell College
Evensong
Sunday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
415 E 13th St, Kansas City, MO
Free admission. For more information, visit http://www.jewell.edu/william_jewell/gen/william_and_jewell_generated_pages/Music_Department_Welcome_p5400.html

William Jewell College’s Schola Cantorum vocal group performs tonight; no programming information is available as of the deadline for this issue of KCMetropolis.org.

 

Heritage Choir and Concert Choir of MidAmerica Nazarene University
A Christmas Celebration Concert
Sunday, December 4 at 3:30 p.m.
Bell Cultural Arts Center
2030 E College Way, Olathe, KS
Free admission, but tickets are required; obtain them online at www.mnu.edu/bellcenter.

The two choirs of MidAmerica Nazarene University present a “new annual tradition” this year with a joint concert of holiday favorites.

 

University of Kansas School of Music
87^th Holiday Vespers
Sunday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas, University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Dr, Lawrence, KS
For tickets, call 785-864-3436 or visit online at www.music.ku.edu.

The University of Kansas School of Music presents its annual Holiday Vespers concert at the Lied Center on the University of Kansas campus this evening.

 

UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
UMKC Graduate Fellowship String Quartet
Sunday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry St, Kansas City, MO
Free admission. For more information visit http://conservatory.umkc.edu

 The always-stimulating UMKC Graduate Fellowship String Quartet offers one of the few non-holiday related concerts at this time of year. The group will be performing Haydn’s “Lubkowitz” Quartet, Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, and String Quartet No. 5 by John Corigliano, who will be in residence at the Conservatory next year as Barr Laureate.  

 

UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
UMKC Jazz Bands Combined Concert
Monday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry St, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call (816) 235-6222, or online at http://conservatory.umkc.edu

The Conservatory Concert Jazz Band, directed by Bobby Watson, and the 11 O’Clock Jazz Band, directed by Dan Thomas, present a combined concert this evening which should keep your toes tapping during the holiday season.

 

Friends of Chamber Music
Tallis Scholars
Tuesday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
416 West 12^th Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, call (816) 561-9999 or online at www.chambermusic.org. 

This columnist remembers being enchanted by the otherworldly sounds of Britain’s Tallis Scholars years ago on KXTR radio and wondering who in the world this group was. Since that time, local audiences have had the extraordinary good luck of hearing the group live, in-person here in Kansas City many holiday seasons, courtesy of Cynthia Siebert’s Friends of Chamber Music. 

This year’s concert will present mostly ancient Christmas music structured around settings of the Magnificat with diverse masterpieces by composers from across Europe. Enjoy the music of Taverner, Praetorius, Palestrina and others. 

 

Topeka Symphony Orchestra
’Tis the Season
Wednesday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m.
White Concert Hall
Washburn University Campus, Topeka, KS
Tickets available at (785) 232-2032 or online at http://topekasymphony.org.

Guest conductor David Feltner leads the Topeka Symphony in its annual holiday concert with guest artist Jeff Kready, a Broadway performer known for his roles in Billy Elliott, Sunday in the Park with George, Les Miserables and other shows. According to publicity material, the orchestra will bring you “traditional chestnuts along with a few surprises.”

 

UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
Conservatory Wind Ensemble
Wednesday, December 8 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry St, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call (816) 235-6222, or online at http://conservatory.umkc.edu 

Joseph Parisi brings the Conservatory Wind Ensemble to the White Recital Hall stage for one of the few non-holiday related concerts of the month. The ensemble will perform Chen Yi’s Suite From China West and the music of Zwilich, Uhl, Grainger, and Bennett.  This group is always outstanding.

 

Owen/Cox Dance Group
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
Friday and Saturday, December 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 11 at 2:00 p.m.
(also being performed the weekend of December 16–18)
H&R Block City Stage
Union Station
30 West Pershing Rd, Kansas City, MO
Tickets available online at http://owencoxdance.org/

Is it possible to do a satirical take-off on Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker while at the same time showing reverence to the story? Be your own judge at the Owen/Cox Dance Group’s irreverent look at the Nutcracker story and tradition. The zany Owen/Cox production offers a stark and highly entertaining contrast to the “straight” performance of the Nutcracker being offered by the Kansas City Ballet. 

Co-founders Jennifer Owen, dancer, and Brad Cox, composer/pianist, present an offbeat take-off of the Tchaikovsky masterpiece (actually, based the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann).  Performances the past two years have delighted a growing audience.

Jennifer Owen’s charming and often uproarious choreography is set to clever Tchaikovsky take-off music supplied by fifteen musicians of the People’s Liberation Big Band, horn sculptor Mark Southerland, artist Peregrine Honig, and students from the Paseo Academy of the Performing Arts.

 

Octarium
Holidays with Octarium
Saturday, December 10 at 3:00 p.m.
Powell Gardens
1609 N.W. U.S. Highway 50, Kingsville, MO
Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Parkville Presbyterian Church
819 Main St, Parkville, MO
For tickets to the Powell Gardens concert, call 816-697-2600, extension 209. For tickets to the Parkville concert, tickets are available online at www.octarium.org.

Octarium, Kansas City’s prized eight-voiced a capella singing group, sings its annual holiday concert at 3:00 p.m. at Powell Gardens, then repeats the concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Parkville Presbyterian Church. To this listener’s ears, Octarium is one of the finest a capella choral music experiences around, as demonstrated by its holiday CD released several years ago, copies of which will probably be available at these concerts. Krista Blackwood and her eight singers bring truly elegant sounds to everything they sing.

 

Fine Arts Chorale
Celebrate the Holidays with Jan Kraybill
Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Visitation Church
5141 Main St, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call (816) 235-6222, or online at http://fineartschoralekc.org.

Community of Christ organist Jay Kraybill joins Terri Teal’s Fine Arts Chorale to perform familiar Christmas carols as well as more unusual holiday fare. In the first half, the Chorale will sing familiar Christmas carols, each verse from a different composer, and Kraybill at the organ will respond antiphonally with another setting of the tune. The concert’s second half will feature pieces for choir and organ.

 

Lied Center Performing Arts Series
Songs of the Season: The Celtic Tenors
Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center, University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Dr, Lawrence, KS
For tickets call (785) 864-3436 or online at www.music.ku.edu 

The Celtic Tenors are a crossover group known for singing classical, operatic, and popular songs.  “Performing a program of traditional folk and contemporary holiday favorites, The Celtic Tenors seasonal concert will take audiences on an emotive journey and provide a thoroughly uplifting experience,” the Lied Center tells us. Since their debut in the year 2000, the Celtic Tenors have established an international presence with their recitals throughout the world and five recordings.

 

UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
UMKC Graduate Wind Quintet
Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry St, Kansas City, MO
Free admission. For more information visit http://conservatory.umkc.edu

The UMKC Graduate Wind Quintet will play the woodwind quintet by Elliott Carter and also the works of Tomasi, Milhaud, and Briccialdi.

 

Metropolitan Chorale of Kansas City
Holiday Miracles
Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Stone Church
1012 West Lexington Ave, Independence, MO
Tickets available at the door.  For more information, visit http://mcckc.edu/blueriver/humanities/music/

Rebecca Johnson will lead the Metropolitan Choral of Kansas City in a concert of holiday favorites, plus “special guests galore,” according to the publicity material for this concert. Perhaps one of them will be in a red costume?

 

Kansas City Women’s Chorus
Annual Holiday Concert
Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 p.m.
Folly Theater
300 W 12th St, Kansas City, MO
Tickets available online at www.kcwomenschorus.org.

According to information from the Kansas City Women’s Chorus, “the women will perform seasonal favorites, beautiful choral classics, and some funny surprises thrown in.”

Lee’s Summit Symphony
Holiday Magic
Saturday, December 10 at 4:00 p.m.
Summit High School Bernard C. Campbell Performing Arts Center
400 S.E. Blue Parkway, Lee’s Summit, MO
Tickets available at Hy Vee East and West in Lee’s Summit, and online at www.lssymphony.org.

The Lee’s Summit Symphony performs its annual holiday concert this afternoon. At press time no information about the programming was available.

Liberty Symphony Orchestra
Holiday Concert
Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Liberty Performing Arts Theatre
1600 South Withers Rd, Liberty, MO
Tickets available at 1-888-711-TICKETS or online at http://www.libertysymphony.org/

The Liberty Symphony Orchestra presents its holiday concert which will include the Toy Symphony, selections from the Nutcracker, and Sleigh Ride, among other favorites of the season. Tony Brandolino is the music director.

 

Fountain City Brass Band
Bells-a-Plenty X
Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Bell Cultural Arts Center
MidAmerica Nazarene University Campus
2030 E. College Way, Olathe, KS
Free admission, but tickets are required; obtain them online at www.mnu.edu/bellcenter. For more information visit http://fcbb.net

This concert is the tenth installment of this award-winning group’s holiday program. Joseph Parisi of the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance faculty is the director of the brass band, which is among the most-decorated brass bands in the country.

 

Octarium
Lessons and Carols
Sunday, December 11 at 3:00 p.m.
St. Mark Hope and Peace Church
3800 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO
Tickets available online at www.octarium.org.

This holiday concert by Octarium is a benefit presented in conjunction with Friends of St. Mark and Tulips on Troost.  Proceeds from the concert will aid St. Mark's neighborhood outreach programs.

 

Northland Symphony Orchestra
Holiday Pops
Sunday, December 11 at 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Park Hill South High School
4500 NW River Park Drive, Riverside, MO
Free admission. For more information, visit http://www.northlandsymphony.org

The Northland Symphony Orchestra gives two holiday concerts, one at 3:00 and one at 4:30 p.m., both featuring choirs from local schools, and both performed at Park Hill South High School.

 

Kansas City Chorale
Gaudete! Rejoice!
Sunday, December 11 at 2:00 p.m.
Redemptorist Church
3333 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO
Tuesday, December 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Asbury United Methodist Church
5400 West 75^th Street at Nall, Overland Park, KS
Tickets available at (816) 235-6222 or online at www.kcchorale.org.

The Kansas City Chorale presents two performance of its annual holiday songfest, which will feature medieval holiday compositions along with popular carols and classical holiday music. Charles Bruffy’s group always gives outstanding performances, and in past years the Chorale’s holiday concerts have been among the highlights of the holiday season performances.

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.