The Trinity Irish Dance Company
Harriman-Jewell Series brings a galaxy of stars to Kansas City
With the Harriman-Jewell Series, there’s no need for a space cruiser to experience superb music from the far corners of the universe. For its 61st season, the Series has outdone itself bringing important classical artists from South Africa, Mexico, Europe and, of course, the United States.
“I feel super strong about the season,” said Clark Morris, executive director of the Harriman-Jewell Series. “We’re hitting all of our touchstones with some of the world’s greatest artists. Who could complain about Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell, the Boston Pops and Alvin Ailey?”
The season will begin Oct. 12 with scenes from the opera Fire Shut Up In my Bones by Terence Blanchard. The E-Collective, the Turtle Island Quartet and soprano Adrienne Danrich will be led by Blanchard himself.
“It was a complete sellout at the Metropolitan Opera in New York,” Morris said. “This will be a concert version of that.”
The Series travels to South Africa Nov. 15 for a program of spirituals, freedom songs and classics by Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte and Leonard Cohen.
“The Soweto Gospel Choir is admired all over the world and they’ve had incredible tours of the United States,” Morris said.
It’s always an event whenever Prairie Village native Joyce DiDonato appears on this Series. She’ll pay tribute to poet Emily Dickinson with a commission from composer Kevin Puts Feb. 14, 2026, at the Folly Theater.
“We’ve frequently brought Joyce, and it’s because she continues to do these incredible new inventions,” Morris said. “Every time she comes, it’s very different, and she’s working with different partners. This time it’s Time for Three. They’re a terrific trio and have a ton of energy and style. It’s going to be fantastic.”
Another artist who is always a welcome guest on the Series is violinist Joshua Bell. He’ll appear May 26, 2026. And he’s not coming alone.
“You’re never going to see this again,” Morris said. “Joshua Bell is coming with two other gigastars: pianist Evgeny Kissin and cellist Stephen Isserlis, who’s kind of the Yo-Yo Ma of Europe. We presented Evgeny Kissin some 20 years ago. He doesn’t do a lot of performing in America, I think this trio is only doing four or five dates. It’s a once in a lifetime event.”
The Harriman-Jewell Series is noted for bringing the world’s great orchestras to Helzberg Hall. The Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart will present Star Wars: The Story in Music Feb. 26 and the Minería Orchestra of Mexico will perform Jan. 19.
“We presented the Minería Orchestra a couple years ago, and the audience just went absolutely crazy for them,” Morris said. “They’re going to have a soloist with them, the Venezuelan trumpeter Pacho Flores, who is one of the greatest trumpeters in the world. He’s doing two trumpet concertos, the Haydn trumpet concerto, and a contemporary Latin American trumpet concerto.”
For the all-important dance element of the season, the Series is presenting its longtime collaborators, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, March 16.
“We’ve always considered them almost like a sister organization,” Morris said. “We’ll present the opening night on Friday and then the Saturday gala March 17 will be a Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey presentation. They just do terrific work, and we applaud them and love getting to be co-presenters.”
Dance is also featured on the Series’ annual holiday concert. The Trinity Irish Dance Company will present A Very Irish Christmas Dec. 12 at the Folly Theater.
“It’s an Irish-American company, and they’ll have live music, so that’ll be fantastic,” Morris said. “This is a really high quality artistic approach to Irish music and dance and culture. They’ll be shedding light on the Irish way of celebrating Christmas.”
Morris is rightfully proud of the season he and his team have put together for Kansas City’s enjoyment.
“We’re 61 years old. Who would ever guess that we’d be churning along at this rate? And it’s because of our donors and Kansas Citians. This is a culturally rich community, and we’re very, very lucky.”
For the complete 2025-2026 season, hjseries.org.
– Patrick Neas
