Ten years after his death, these performing artists pay tribute to Richard Harriman

It’s been 10 years since Kansas City lost a man who shaped the city’s cultural life like few others. On July 10, 2010, Richard Harriman died of leukemia. Harriman was the founder of the nationally acclaimed Harriman-Jewell Series.

Harriman presented many historic firsts in Kansas City, including Luciano Pavarotti’s international recital debut. That legacy continues under the leadership of executive and artistic director Clark Morris, Harriman’s protege.

Born in 1932, Harriman, an Independence native, graduated from William Jewell College in 1953. He served in the Army, then earned an M.A. from Stanford University. He then studied at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford University, steeping himself in the work of Shakespeare.

Harriman eventually became an English professor at William Jewell College. In 1965, he and his teaching colleague, Dean Dunham, founded the William Jewell College Fine Arts Program. The first concert, on the campus of the college, featured two stars of the New York City Ballet: Edward Villella and Patricia McBride. The series was renamed the Harriman-Jewell Series in 2006.

Although he’s been gone for 10 years, Harriman’s accomplishments, character and personality are still fondly remembered. A soft-spoken, courtly man, Harriman could become instant friends with almost anyone, and that included the many artists he presented on his series, like pianist Emanuel Ax.

“He was always full of kindness and support,” said Ax in a phone conversation. “There was always such a personal touch on his part. Richard would come in his car and pick you up at the airport, but that was just the beginning of it. You felt you were surrounded by friends. You were with a friend and you were surrounded by friends. Kansas City was always an incredibly friendly place to play.”

Ax remembers his first visit to Kansas City when he connected with Harriman on a favorite subject.

“I had been to Columbia University, as well as Juilliard, and I liked Shakespeare a lot, and it turned out that Richard was a Shakespeare scholar,” Ax said. “He was such an all-around interested man. Richard was interested in everything: music, theater, literature.”

The love and friendship Ax felt for Harriman led to the pianist giving a benefit recital for the Richard Harriman Programming Fund just a few months after Harriman died.

“I was very pleased to do it,” Ax said.

Ax, widely known for his generosity, currently is performing recitals online for patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

“I just want to take people’s minds off things a little bit, doing some playing for an ICU and things of that sort,” Ax said. “I wish I were a doctor or a nurse, but I’m not, so all I can do is provide a little bit of escape for people, and I try to do that.”

Another artist whose life was profoundly shaped by Harriman is dancer and choreographer David Parsons. Harriman championed the Kansas City native from the beginning of his career, presenting Parsons Dance on its first national tour in 1985. Parsons Dance would subsequently become a fixture on the Harriman Jewell Series.

“What a guy,” said Parsons in a phone conversation. “The first thing you thought when you met Richard was that he’s a gentle giant. He was tall! And he was so sweet and had this calming effect on you. I just adored his personality.”

Parsons says Harriman gave him solid advice and, perhaps most importantly, steady gigs.

“We came to Kansas City 15 times,” Parsons said. “That’s the kind of thing that gives you confidence. There’s a lot pitfalls in this business and a lot of things that can tear you down, but Richard was one of the shining stars in my career.”

Before he founded Parsons Dance, Parsons was a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Years before Parsons Dance appeared on the Harriman-Jewell Series, Parsons says he made his debut on Harriman’s series with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in a memorable Music Hall performance.

“Also happening that night was a professional wrestling event at Municipal Auditorium, which shares a hallway with the Music Hall,” Parsons said. “I distinctly remember tiptoeing in my little tights to go on stage and seeing a giant professional wrestler in his fancy outfit all sweaty and his head bloodied, and his opponent was yelling at him, ‘You were supposed to duck!’”

Parsons Dance is scheduled to make its next appearance on the Harriman-Jewell Series on Sept. 9, 2021. That is just one of many great performances Morris and his fearless team are planning in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the wise, calm spirit of Richard Harriman guiding them every step of the way.

Ax, for one, is confident in the future of the Harriman-Jewell Series.

“Clark (Morris) was very close to Richard, and certainly he has the same warmth and personal touch,” Ax said.

“It’s a seamless continuation in every sense, which I think is so wonderful. It doesn’t happen all the time, so this is very special. I think Kansas City is lucky to have the series and I’m looking forward to coming back to Kansas City many times.”

For more information about the Harriman-Jewell Series, visit www.hjseries.org.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.