New Event Package Offers More Variety, Community Reach and Low-Cost Tickets
Kansas City audiences are eager to hear live performances after COVID-19 concerns placed concerts on hold this spring, and our city’s premier performing arts presenter is more than up to the challenge. The Harriman-Jewell Series’ 56th season schedule of 22 events spans from September to May 2021 with many performances by globally acclaimed artists and ensembles among them.
To bring the best to Kansas City has been a promise kept by the Series season after season; that’s nothing new. What is new next season is INSPIRE, a package of six performances that will expand the boundaries of the Harriman-Jewell Series’ artistic variety and community reach, while keeping the cost of tickets low — a package buyer can pay just $63 and attend all six events.
“We wanted to have a broader slate of offerings in order to reach more people in the community with this great art, so we are really excited to do that,” said Series Director Clark Morris. “And as it’s been for the free Discovery Concerts we’ve presented for years, the artistic quality of INSPIRE events will be top drawer and will appeal to new and seasoned audiences,” he said.
The INSPIRE events will be held at the Folly Theater and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Kansas City, and Church of the Resurrection in Leawood:
SEPT. 1: ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO, FOLLY THEATER. Countertenors were opera superstars in the 18th century, and after hearing countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, one understands why. Costanzo has an electric personality and powerful voice that have landed him many roles at the Metropolitan Opera, including memorable turns in The Enchanted Island and Akhnaten. The New York Times calls him “vocally brilliant and dramatically fearless.”
SEPT. 26: BRANDON GOLDBERG TRIO, FOLLY THEATER. Brandon Goldberg started picking out tunes on the piano when he was in preschool, and it wasn’t long before Goldberg’s aptitude for jazz was revealed. Goldberg at age 14 is already a highly respected jazz performer whose debut CD, Let’s Play, was given four stars by Downbeat Magazine. 2020 Grammy-nominated saxophonist Logan Richardson will join with the Goldberg Trio for the concert’s final set to celebrate the music of Kansas City jazz legend Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, marking 100 years since his birth.
OCT. 23: THE DHAMAAL DANCERS AND MUSICIANS OF INDIA, FOLLY THEATER. Direct from the “Pink City” of Jaipur, The Dhamaal Dancers and Musicians of India will bring the colorful heritage of Indian song and dance to Kansas City. Playing traditional Indian instruments including the sitar, tabla and sarangi, and performing dance and even acrobatics in colorful folk costumes, the Dhamaal ensemble will celebrate the opulent palaces and pleasures from the state of Rajasthan.
NOV. 20: INTERNATIONAL BACH ACADEMY STUTTGART, CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION. Like the Sistine Chapel, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is one of the great works of sacred Christian art. This searing oratorio evocatively portrays the suffering and crucifixion of Christ and is considered by many to be the pinnacle of Bach’s vocal works. The emotive and technical challenges of this piece demand the skill of an extraordinary ensemble like the International Bach Academy Stuttgart. Founded in 1965 by Bach scholar Helmuth Rilling, the Academy is acclaimed for its historically informed approach to Bach’s music.
FEB. 18, 2021: THE KING’S SINGERS, FOLLY THEATER. It’s impossible to not feel good after a King’s Singers concert. These six vocalists exhibit the highest standards of musicality and an ingratiating manner that has audiences captivated by their musicianship and charisma. Their program Finding Harmony features music from the 16th century to modern day that claims the common ground among nations, cultures, and causes.
MARCH 14, 2021: ORQUESTA SINFÓNICA NACIONAL DE MÉXICO, HELZBERG HALL. The rich, distinctive classical music repertoire of Mexico offers many delights. The Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto will perform works that are rarely heard in the United States, such as La Noche de los Mayas by Revueltas, which evokes ancient Mayan ceremonies, and Chávez’s Sinfonía India. Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero will join the orchestra to perform her own Piano Concerto No. 1, subtitled the Latin Concerto.
For tickets and more details about INSPIRE events and the entire 2020-2021 season, visit www.hjseries.org or call 816-415-5025.
