Category: Articles
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Artist to Watch: Michael Kirkendoll
A grotto in a 13th-century Tuscan monastery. A mechanic’s garage. A floating barge under the Brooklyn Bridge. A haunted Gothic chapel in downtown Kansas City. Wherever he goes, pianist Michael Kirkendoll brings his passion for the music of living composers. Considering that he studied his whole life — well into his doctorate — basically despising new music, the turnabout has been completed.
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Wylliams/Henry Celebrates a Quarter-Century of Excellence in Dance
For any arts organization to reach its 25th anniversary is cause for applause. But such an achievement is perhaps even more notable for a dance company. Dance, one of the most revered art forms, is also among the least understood. But Kansas City’s Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, founded by the late Leni Wylliams and Mary Pat Henry in 1991, has clearly found an appreciative audience.
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So Many Choices
As Kansas City theater companies open their 2016-2017 seasons, here’s what subscribers and prospective theatergoers can expect: Drama. Comedy. Dramedy (or, if you prefer, tragicomedy). Classics (or, if you prefer, old chestnuts). Musicals, new and old. And no shortage of local, regional and world premieres.
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Setting the Agenda: KC Studio Talks to 8 New Top Players at Area Arts Organizations
Jason Seber starts his first year as assistant conductor for the Kansas City Symphony with a full schedule and an attitude to inspire teamwork and embrace challenges. One of Seber’s earliest musical experiences was watching E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the very first non-animated movie he’d ever seen in a theater.