The Kansas City Symphony performs Prometheus and other works Sept. 9. (Kansas City Symphony)
Award-winning artists, exceptional collaborations, international connections
From canonical to cutting edge, the Kansas City performing arts scene is set for an exciting 2026-2027 season. This autumn, enjoy award-winning artists, exceptional collaborations and international connections, all presented right here at home.
Sept. 9: Fresh off their second European tour, the Kansas City Symphony presents a one-night-only performance of boundary-pushing 20th-century works in Prometheus. Alexander Scriabin invented the light organ for his 1910 tone poem, Prometheus: The Poem of Fire. George Li is the piano soloist, with Luke Kritzeck handling production design. But they present two other fascinating works as well: Luciano Berio’s Sequenza V is a tribute to Europe’s last great clown, written for solo trombone, and Edgard Varèse’s Déserts is a forerunner in the marriage of technology and symphonic music. www.kcsymphony.org
Sept. 18-19: Midwest Trust Center hosts the annual New Dance Partners: The Ultimate Collaboration, presenting four new works with the area’s top dance troupes. Each year since 2013, they’ve invited choreographers from a range of heritages and backgrounds, bringing a world of inspiration to Kansas City dance, with extraordinary results. This year, we’ll see new work from Caili Quan with The Kansas City Ballet, Christopher Page-Sanders with Owen/Cox Dance Group, Jennifer Owen with Störling Dance Theater, and Katarzyna Skarpetowska with Wichita’s Regina Klenjoski Dance Company. jccc.edu
Sept. 19: Friends of Chamber Music begins their 51st season with American Landscapes at the Folly Theater. Artistic co-directors Hyeyeon Park (piano) and Dmitri Atapine (cello) are joined by four of their internationally acclaimed chamber music colleague-friends for an American celebration, featuring Samuel Barber’s Serenade for String Quartet, Op. 1, Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor, Op. 6, and Antonin Dvořák’s String Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 97 “American.” chambermusic.org
(clockwise from top left) Scott Lee on viola, Danbi Um on violin, Hyeyeon Park on piano, Masumi Rostad on viola, Chad Hoopes on violin and Dmitri Atapine on cello. (Friends of Chamber Music)
Sept. 27: The Lied Center of Kansas presents opera star Pretty Yende in recital. Originally from South Africa,
she has risen swiftly through the ranks of world-class opera houses and tackled many of the biggest
roles in the repertoire. She also holds the distinction as the first African musician to perform at the coronation of a British monarch. lied.ku.edu/event/pretty-yende
Oct. 4 and 6: In their first ever collaborative performance, Kansas City Chorale and Te Deum join forces to present Alexander Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week. KC Chorale with Phoenix Bach Choir, (now Phoenix Chorale) released a recording of the work in 2007, which earned a Grammy Award. These combined forces perform at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Oct. 4) and Village Presbyterian Church (Oct. 6). te-deum.org/concerts/gretchaninoff. For more, see Concert to Come, page 44.
Oct. 9: The Harriman-Jewell Series presents cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan in recital at the Folly Theater. Each artist has appeared on the series before, but together should be a particularly exquisite event. They’ve performed as a duo since 2008 and recorded multiple albums, featuring the cello/piano work of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Frederic Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, so they have a large selection of favored repertoire to draw from in this duo appearance. www.hjseries.org
Oct. 16-25: The Kansas City Ballet opens their season with audience favorite The Wizard of Oz, presented in Muriel Kauffman Theatre. This whimsical, candy-colored production cost $1 million when it premiered in 2018, but the story’s staying power and impressive design appeal to both seasoned and new ballet fans.
www.kcballet.org
Nov. 7: Ensemble Ibérica features composer and pianist Carolina Calvache’s blend of jazz, classical, and Latin folk for a concert at the 1900 Building. Along with the ensemble’s regular collaborators, the concert will include performances by members of their Emerging Artists Collaborative. www.ensembleiberica.org
Nov. 7, 13, 15: Lyric Opera of Kansas City taps into centuries-old favorites this season and brings back their first-rate 2016 production of The Marriage of Figaro. Leslie Travers’ design (set and costumes) marries classical elegance with 21st-century versatility, in the same way Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s score emphasizes the humor and heartache in Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto. www.kcopera.org
Nov. 13: Bach Aria Soloists, which welcomes vocalist Lindsey Lang into the ensemble this season, presents “In Her Own Words” at the Truman Public Auditorium of the Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch. The concert includes music from women composers through the ages, animated by actor Cinnamon Schultz Paulette through the composers’ written words, both public and private. The concert is free, with registration. bachariasoloists.com/events/in-her-own-words
