Author: Libby Hanssen
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Artist to Watch: Kelly Birch
Kelly Birch, mezzo-soprano, is one of the 2018-2019 Lyric Opera of Kansas City Resident Artists. She recently performed as Kate Pinkerton in the Lyric’s production of “Madama Butterfly” and multiple roles in the Explorations Series’ “High Fidelity Opera.” In February, she’ll appear in the Exploration Series’ “Mack the Knife is the Man I Love.”
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Good Tidings of Great Joy
Q: What do you call 158 trombonists playing holiday tunes? A: A blast! Now, it’s not often that I get to toot my own horn, but last November, when I learned about the inaugural Trombone Christmas Kansas City concert at Union Station, I roused my instrument out of hibernation and signed up before you could finish saying fa-la-la-la la la-la la la.
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Honors: Shawn E. Hansen
Composer and improviser, phonographer and performer, Shawn E. Hansen works outside: outside of convention, outside of expectations, and, sometimes, literally out-of-doors, outside the realm of the traditional concert stage or studio. Hansen received a 2018 Charlotte Street Generative Performing Artist Award.
