The 2017–18 academic year brings the exciting Conservatory Artist Series to the UMKC Campus, Folly Theater, and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The Conservatory Orchestra kicks off the series with Conservatory faculty member Benny Kim, and the UMKC Opera brings to life a classic fairytale.
Our annual fundraiser Crescendo returns with this year’s Dawn of a New Stage, UMKC Jazz Night has the Folly swinging, and our season Finale features the Conservatory Orchestra, dancers, and choirs for Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms.
We are thrilled to welcome the empowering female vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock to the White Recital Hall stage, presented in conjunction with African American History Month.
Get tickets at the Central Ticket Office, umkc.edu/cto or call (816) 235-6222.
2017
October 4, Conservatory Orchestra, directed by Robert Olson
7 p.m., Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Helzberg Hall
The program includes Webern’s Passacaglia Op. 1, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, with Benny Kim, violin, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100.
October 26–29, Fall Opera, Hänsel und Gretel, by Engelbert Humperdinck, in German.
Oct. 26–28, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 29, 2:30 p.m. White Recital Hall
Join UMKC Opera for a flavorful fairytale offering. With delightful, imaginative paper scenery by Jeff Ridenour and mouth-watering projections by Kris Kirkwood, this childhood tale is given a toothsome twist. Director Fenlon Lamb stirs in a couple tricks and Humperdinck’s lush orchestral harmonies combine with charming folk melodies for a pitch perfect treat.
November 10, Crescendo: Dawn of a New Stage
5:30 p.m. patron party/cocktails.
Patron dinner in Brandmeyer Hall follows performance.
7 p.m., concert, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Helzberg Hall
Sponsored by the Friends of the Conservatory of Music and Dance.
The Conservatory’s annual fundraising event for scholarships, with music and dance performed by Conservatory students and faculty, features an exhilarating prism concert with performances in multiple locations around Helzberg Hall. It’s one of the city’s most exciting performances.
2018
February 23, Sweet Honey In The Rock
7:30 p.m., White Recital Hall
Sweet Honey In The Rock® is a performance ensemble rooted in African American history and culture. The ensemble educates, entertains and empowers its audience and community through the dynamic vehicles of a cappella singing and American Sign Language interpretation for the Deaf and hearing impaired. Sweet Honey’s audience and community comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures throughout the United States and around the world, and includes people of all ages, economic/education/social backgrounds, political persuasions, religious affiliations, sexual preferences and differing abilities.
This concert is presented in conjunction with African American History Month, partially sponsored by the UMKC Division of Diversity and Inclusion.
April 19, UMKC Jazz Night
7:30 p.m. Folly Theater
Join the Conservatory jazz bands in a lively collage concert featuring a variety of ensembles that represent the entirety of jazz studies at the Conservatory, directed by Bobby Watson and Dan Thomas.
April 26–28, Spring Dance
7:30 p.m. White Recital Hall, 2:30 p.m., April 28, additional free and informal performance, White Recital Hall
Experience the athleticism, precision, and passion of the Conservatory’s dance ensemble. The extraordinary creativity of the dance faculty’s choreography is combined with our dance students and collaborations with Conservatory musicians.
May 1, Finale, Conservatory Orchestra and Choirs
7 p.m. Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Helzberg Hall
Featuring Conservatory Orchestra and Conservatory Choirs, directed by Robert Olson and Robert Bode, respectively. The exciting program includes Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, directed by Robert Bode, with orchestra and choirs and Conservatory dancers. Stravinsky’s 1930 work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
All White Recital Hall and Folly Theater concerts are $12 for the general public, except for Sweet Honey in the Rock. The White Recital Hall performances are free for UMKC faculty, staff, and all students with ID, except for Sweet Honey. Folly Theater tickets are $5 for UMKC faculty, staff, and all students with ID.
Photo credits: James Allison, Cory Weaver, Howard T. Cash Photography