Time once again for weekend calendar picks from KC Studio editor Alice Thorson! Friday night, The Friends of Chamber Music presents the Grammy Award-winning Parker String Quartet at the 1900 Building. The Kansas City Symphony joins mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato at the Kauffman for a program featuring songs by Leonard Bernstein Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City opens its production of the classic play The Miracle Worker (which runs through March 25th) and the Harriman-Jewell Series presents The Staatskapelle Weimar Orchestra at the Folly. Sunday night, Kansas City Chorale performs a program of French choral music and the Matt Otto Quintet play at Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College. For more events this weekend, visit Kansas City’s most comprehensive arts calendar at kcstudio.org/events.
PARKER STRING QUARTET (CQ)
March 16, 2018 @ 7:30 pm
1900 Building
Inspiring performances, luminous sound, and exceptional musicianship are the hallmarks of the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet. Renowned for its dynamic interpretations and polished, expansive colors, the group has rapidly distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation. In demand worldwide, the Quartet has appeared at the most important venues since its founding in 2002.
A Century of Bernstein: JOYCE DiDONATO SINGS BERNSTEIN and BERLIOZ
March 16 & 17, 2018 @ 8:00 pm
March 18, 2018 @ 2:00 pm
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato returns! Our hometown star and international diva joins Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony to present works by Berlioz and Bernstein. Berlioz’s Death of Cleopatra foreshadows the French composer’s dramatic stylings of his later masterworks. Bernstein’s songs display the great American musician’s lyric genius and wit. Berlioz’s swashbuckling Le corsaire Overture and Bernstein’s timeless Symphonic Dances from West Side Story complete this captivating program.
The Miracle Worker
March 17, 2018 @ 7:30 pm
March 18, 2018 @ 2:00 pm
$13 – $23
The White Theatre at the Jewish Community Campus
Annie Sullivan, a lively, stubborn and unlikely Miracle Worker is hired as governess and teacher for Helen (Keller), a blind, deaf and mute child. Helen is trapped in a secret, silent world and tests the limits of everyone around her with frustrating and sometimes furious behavior. Only Annie sees the mind and spirit waiting to be rescued from the dark, tortured silence. With all the patience, creativity and firmness Annie can muster, Helen begins to transform into a brilliantly communicative child with the utterance of a single, glorious word, “water.”
The Staatskapelle Weimar Orchestra of Germany | Kirill Karabits, General Music Director and Principal Conductor
March 17, 2018 @ 7:30 pm | $20 – $70
Folly Theater
The Staatskapelle Weimar has an illustrious history dating back to 1482. Bach, Liszt and countless other luminaries have conducted the orchestra. Under its current music director, Kirill Karabits, the Staatskapelle will perform an all-Beethoven program including the Coriolan Overture and the iconic Symphony No. 5.
Food, Wine and the Music of France
March 18, 2018 @ 2:00 pm | $10 – $70
1900 Building
The lush, modal choral music of France will easily transport you to daydream.
For a more immersive experience, this Sunday afternoon concert offers guests the opportunity to attend a reception at the 1900 Building immediately following the concert. Enjoy the food and wines of France, prepared by the renowned Lon Lane’s Inspired Occasions, and mingle with the Chorale singers.
The post-concert reception will only be offered at the Sunday concert and requires a premium ticket. Please select “Patron Ticket” when purchasing your ticket.
Matt Otto Quintet | Winterlude Series
March 18, 2018 @ 7:00 pm
Polsky Theatre, JCCC
Come warm yourself by the fires of jazz with the Matt Otto Quintet.
Matt has recorded and performed with the GRAMMY-nominated Anthony Wilson Nonet (The Power of Nine, 2006), and performs frequently in Los Angeles with the GRAMMY-nominated Alan Ferber Big Band. He has played on over 50 CDs as both a leader and a side man.
Known for his intricate original compositions, saxophonist Matt Otto began playing piano at age 3 and saxophone at 9. He has been playing jazz gigs since he was 15. He is currently an assistant professor of jazz studies at the University of Kansas and also an adjunct professor at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
