Fall 2019 brings a lot of exciting changes to the UMKC Conservatory . . . new world-renowned faculty, a new name, and the UMKC Theatre Department has officially joined us! It is thrilling to have all of the UMKC performing arts under one umbrella, and we all look forward to the collaborative possibilities the future holds.
2019
Sept. 29
Conservatory Wind Symphony, directed by Steven D. Davis. The program features Conservatory faculty Zachary Shemon performing Joel Love’s Solace, A Lyric Concerto for alto saxophone and wind ensemble. Shemon is a member of the lauded PRISM Quartet and enjoys a versatile solo and chamber performance career. Love’s music is the only two-time winner of the PARMA Recordings Composition Competition. Grammy-nominated composer Adam Schoenberg’s Picture Studies was commissioned by the Kansas City Symphony and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Schoenberg based this work on eight works of art from the museum. The evening opens with Donald Hunsberger’s transcription of Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, featuring the beautiful Helzberg Hall organ. 7 p.m., Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Helzberg Hall.
Oct. 23 – 27
An Italian Straw Hat, by Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel, translated by Felicia Londré, directed by Ian Crawford, Groom-to-be Fadinard gallops all over Paris on his wedding day in search of a straw hat to replace one his horse has inadvertently eaten. Followed in hot pursuit by his Fiancée, her blustering father and a giant wedding party of her country relatives, Fadinard makes his way through increasingly ridiculous situations to try to save his big day. In a new translation by Felicia Londré, with a contemporary pop music score, this hysterical French farce is not to be missed. UMKC Theatre, Graduate and Undergraduate Production, 7:30 p.m., Spencer Theatre, 2 p.m., Sunday
Nov. 8
Crescendo: Together We Rise
Join us for the Conservatory’s annual fundraising event for scholarships, with exciting performances by Conservatory students and faculty.
6:30 p.m. Patron Dinner
8 – 9 p.m. Performance
Dessert and cash bar in Brandmeyer Hall follow the performance.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Conservatory of Music and Dance. Call 816-235-1247 for sponsorship information.
8 p.m. performance, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Helzberg Hall
2020
March 19 – 22
Spring Opera, Albert Herring, by Benjamin Britten. This comic chamber opera’s libretto is based on Guy de Maupassant’s novella Le Rosier de Madame Husson but is set in the English countryside. 7:30 p.m., March 19 – 21, 2:30 p.m., March 22, White Recital Hall.
April 14
UMKC Jazz Night
Join the Conservatory jazz bands in a hot collage concert featuring a variety of ensembles that represent the entirety of jazz studies at the Conservatory, directed by Bobby Watson and Mitch Butler. This is ALWAYS a must-see, great night of jazz with our talented students and faculty.
7:30 p.m., Folly Theater.
April 30 – May 2
Spring Dance
The dance faculty combine their creative choreography with our talented dance students and collaborate with Conservatory musicians to create innovative performances that you won’t want to miss.
7:30 p.m., Spencer Theatre, 2:30 p.m., Saturday, free and informal
May 4
Finale
The program, featuring the Conservatory Orchestra and Choirs, includes Leonard Bernstein’s gorgeous Chichester Psalms and Ravel’s choreographic symphony, Daphnis et Chloé. The choirs are conducted by Conservatory Professor Emeritus of Choral Music Eph Ehly, and the orchestra is conducted by Visiting Professor of Music and Director of Orchestras, Kevin Noe.
7 p.m., Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Helzberg Hall
For ticket information contact the Central Ticket office, 816-235-6222. For tickets to the Crescendo performance, contact the Kauffman Center Box Office, 816-994-7222. conservatory.umkc.edu
–Jessica Riggins
