After guiding the transformation of the Kansas City Symphony for 18 years, Shirley Helzberg is stepping down as chairwoman of the orchestra’s board. William M. Lyons, a former president and CEO of American Century Investments, will replace her.
Parts of Friday’s performance of the Kansas City Symphony, led by conductor and pianist Asher Fisch, were plagued by a variety of issues with balance, blend and synchronization. Despite the flaws, the orchestra was able to capture the music's inherent beauty.
It may not be a sacred space, technically speaking, but when the Kansas City Chorale and organist Jan Kraybill join forces for a concert this Friday, Helzberg Hall will be filled with numinous sounds worthy of a cathedral.
The Harriman-Jewell Series presented an eclectic performance Thursday by Cantus, a nine-voice, Minneapolis-based men’s vocal chamber ensemble. “On the Shoulders of Giants” was a polished and rewarding program to hear. The really outstanding voice of the nine belongs to tenor Paul Rudoi, but there’s no weak link in the group.
The very idea of a ballet adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises” ought to invite snickers. Yet there was no derision in evidence when the Washington Ballet gave the world premiere of Septime Webre’s two-act staging at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater.
Four engaging young Canadians known as the Tenors beguiled a capacity crowd Friday night at the Midland Theatre with a polished road show that covered musical territory from immortal tenor arias to American religious music to Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan to Broadway tunes and to original material.
The combination of gold metalwork with blue paint on the wood has a serene and ennobling effect. One could look at it for hours. But when the hammers come out and the otherworldly tinkling and chiming begin, the effect is truly mesmerizing.
The Harriman-Jewell Series presents Jan Lisiecki, an 18-year-old pianist who already has released three recordings and has been packing concert halls around the world. He’ll give a free recital Friday at the Folly Theater.
Kansas City Ballet ended its 55th season with a celebration of American dance, music and hometown talent in “Hey-Hay, Going to Kansas City.” This vibrant company offered an exhilarating trio of pieces on Friday night, including the world premiere of Karole Armitage’s “Energy Made Visible.”
Russia is opening the first opera house to aspire to international significance since the time of the czars. It has accordingly been the object of tremendous scrutiny, particularly after more than 10 years of development, many architects and a government-financed budget that exploded to nearly 10 times the initial estimate.
The most striking element of the Kauffman Center’s “A Night of Tango” was not necessarily the superb talent of the musicians on stage, but the sense of a community eager for the passion and connection inherent to tango.
In her world premiere work with the Kansas City Ballet and Bobby Watson, choreographer Karole Armitage puts her “drastic classicism” into play, along with inspiration from the the painter Jackson Pollock.
The Lied Center of Kansas will mark its 20th anniversary season with an eclectic mix of musical theater, world music and classical performances — including the legendary Hal Holbrook, who returns to the area with his signature performance of “Mark Twain Tonight.”
The Kansas City Symphony, led by its assistant conductor, Aram Demirjian, will accompany the screening of classic clips from the films of Alfred Hitchcock and Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals in Helzberg Hall.
A ballet troupe of men in drag dancing on pointe, chest hairs sticking out from their tutu bodices and pratfalls sprinkled throughout their choreography. Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, which will dance Saturday in Yardley Hall at Johnson County Community College, not your typical company.
Hip-hop violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, a classically trained composer/performer, comes to Kansas City this week to perform and encourage school-age musicians. He spends quite a bit of his time revving up the next generation.
Most of the concerts in the 2011-2012 University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory’s Conservatory Artist Series will be at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. “We’re thrilled to be a part of this historic moment,” Peter Witte, conservatory dean, said.
