Time for another batch of weekend calendar picks from KC Studio editor Alice Thorson! Tonight, attend a free lecture on the renovation of the White House by Harry S. Truman at the Truman Library. Tomorrow night, dance company MOMIX performs at the Lied Center, saxophonist Donny McCaslin plays at the Folly and Performing Arts Series at Johnson County Community College presents Trio Virado. On Saturday, hear cellist Daniel Veis and pianist Helena Veisova play Brahms in the Graham Tyler Chapel at Park University. And on Sunday night, Midwest Chamber Ensemble performs Schubert’s “Trout” Quartet. For more ideas this weekend, visit Kansas City’s most comprehensive arts calendar at kcstudio.org/events.
The Hidden White House
April 6 @ 6:00 pm | Free
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
n 1948, President Harry Truman, enjoying a bath on the White House’s second floor, almost plunged through the ceiling of the Blue Room into a tea party for the Daughters of the American Revolution. A handpicked team of the country’s top architects conducted a secret inspection of the troubled mansion and, after discovering it was in imminent danger of collapse, insisted that the First Family be evicted immediately. What followed would be the most historically significant and politically complex home-improvement job in American history. While the Trumans camped across the street at Blair House, Congress debated whether to bulldoze the White House completely.
Indefatigable researcher Robert Klara reveals what has, until now, been little understood about this episode: America’s most famous historic home was basically demolished, giving birth to today’s White House. Leaving only the mansion’s facade untouched, workmen gutted everything within, replacing it with a steel frame and a complex labyrinth deep below ground that soon came to include a top-secret nuclear fallout shelter.
The story of Truman’s rebuilding of the White House is a snapshot of postwar America, undertaking a job that changed the centerpiece of the country’s national heritage. The job was by no means perfect, but it was remarkable – and, until now, all but forgotten.
A book signing will follow the program. Books are available for purchase in the museum store. Admission is free; no reservations are necessary; seating is first come, first served; light reception at 6:00; program begins at 6:30.
MOMIX: Opus Cactus
April 7 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm | $14 – $40
Lied Center of Kansas
Known internationally for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton. For 20 years, MOMIX has been celebrated for its ability to conjure up a world of surrealistic images using props, light, shadow, humor and the human body.
The company has worked in film and television, recently appearing in a national commercial for Hanes underwear and a Target ad that premiered during the airing of the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. With performances on PBS’s Dance in America series, France’sAntenne II and Italian RAI television, the company’s repertory has been broadcast to 55 countries.
Folly Jazz Series: Donny McCaslin Group
April 7 @ 8:00 pm
Folly Theater
Donny McCaslin grew up in in Santa Cruz, CA; inspired by his father, a pianist and vibraphonist, he started playing tenor saxophone at 12 and began touring Europe and participating in the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival’s California All-Star band while in high school. His first record as a leader, Exile and Discovery was released in 1998 and he has recorded eleven solo albums. In 2014, McCaslin played tenor and soprano saxophone on David Bowie’s single “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime).” Subsequently he would play saxophone on Bowie’s 2016 album Blackstar.
TRIO VIRADO FLUTE, VIOLA AND GUITAR
April 7 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm | $21 – $25
Polsky Theatre, JCCC
Trio Virado is a fresh new collaboration of three of the most distinguished artists on their instruments of flute, viola and guitar.
Amy Porter, Juan-Miguel Hernandez and João Luiz are artists widely sought after for their musical performances on recordings and the concert stage. Joining together, they form a concert trio experience with emotion and love of music that radiates electricity and takes the role of instrumental chamber music to new heights. Their repertoire breaks boundaries between cultures and genres: from 21st-century premieres to Latin tangos to works from the classical canon arranged by João Luiz and others.
Park University International Center for Music Faculty Recital Concert — Cellist Daniel Veis and Pianist Helena Veisova
April 8 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm | Free
Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel-Park University
The International Center for Music at Park University will host a faculty recital concert featuring the husband and wife duo of cellist Daniel Veis and pianist Helena Veisova on Saturday, April 8. The concert will be begin at 7:30 p.m. in Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the University’s Parkville Campus. Admission to the concert is free.
The concert will pay homage to composer Johannes Brahms who wrote all three selections Veis and Veisova will perform. Brahms passes away 120 years ago on April 3, 1897. The concert is scheduled to feature the following program:
- “Cello Sonata No.1 in E Minor, Op. 38”
- “Cello Sonata No.2 in D Major, Op. 78”
- “Cello Sonata No.3 in F Major, Op. 99”
Veis, assistant professor of music/cello in the ICM, is widely recognized as the finest Czech cellist since winning first prize at the 1976 Prague Spring Competition and the silver medal at the prestigious 1978 Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. After years of performing as a soloist with major orchestras and at numerous festivals, Veis was appointed permanent cello soloist of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1989. Later, he became professor and vice dean at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and toured and recorded as a member of the Dvorak Piano Trio. He gives master classes worldwide and is frequently invited to serve on juries of international competitions.
Veisova graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She began to perform at age 12 with her father, legendary violin virtuoso Vaclav Snitil, and later won second prize at the international radio competition Concertino Praga in the piano trio section. Veisova subsequently started her permanent collaboration with her former trio partner and future husband, Veis. According to The Strad, “Veisova is a pianist of excellent command of her instrument, of supreme musicality and of perfect coordination when playing with other musicians.”
Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet
April 9 @ 7:30 pm | Free
Lutheran Church of the Resurrection
In keeping with our season’s theme of “fives,” this concert will feature Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet with pianist Charles Dickinson. A trio of local students will perform the first movement of Carl Reinecke’s Trio in A minor for Oboe, Horn, and Piano.
