Barr Institute Events
Spring 2019 Events
Harry Partch Ensemble Residency
Harry Partch (1901–74) is one of the most inventive and influential American composers of the 20th century. Musically self-educated and influenced by a wide variety of world cultures, Partch developed his own philosophy of music that worked toward an integration of all the arts. He also created more than 40 new musical instruments that are widely recognized for their structural as well as musical beauty.
A collection of these unusual instruments will be at UMKC for this exciting residency.
Apart from eight years living as a hobo, Partch lived most of his life in his native California and in the Midwest. He never taught, relying for support on grants and contributions, revenue from concerts and recordings of his Gate 5 Ensemble, and odd jobs. That he managed to fashion a cohesive creative world completely independent from the musical and institutional systems that supported most composers remains one of the 20th century’s great accomplishments.
The Conservatory is bringing a collection of Partch’s instruments along with nine performers to Kansas City, February 13–22, 2019. Over the past five years, Partch’s music has received increasing attention, including performances at New York’s Lincoln Center, in Germany, a Grammy Award, and a monograph on Harry Partch by UMKC Conservatory faculty Andrew Granade, a leading expert on Harry Partch. Alumnus Luke Fitzpatrick will perform on Partch’s string instruments, and he is one of only a handful of people who can perform on these instruments. UMKC Conservatory dance students will perform on the February 22 concert.
Residency Schedule. All events are free and open to the public.
(all events in Pierson Auditorium unless otherwise indicated)
February 13, 2019
6-7pm: Opening Reception, 1900 Building
7-9pm: Film showing and discussion, 1900 Building
February 14, 2019
7:30-10pm: “Partch’s Bitter Music…A Valentine’s Concert,” Kansas City Art Institute, Epperson Auditorium
February 15, 2019
5:30-7pm: Microtonal Sound Meditation, 1900 Building
*The Restaurant at 1900 Building will be open after the event. Please consider making a reservation!
February 18, 2019
10-11am: Auditioning student drop-in
11-11:50am: Undergrad Music History class visit
February 19, 2019
10-10:50am: Musicianship IV class visit
11-2pm: Open Rehearsal
2:30-4pm: Castor and Pollux Rehearsal with UMKC dancers
4pm: Artist in Society class visit
February 20, 2019
6-6:30pm: Cockefair Lecture reception
6:30-8pm: Cockefair lecture and performance
February 21, 2019
9-11:00am: KCAI student visit (Jean Ormaza’s Sonorous Boxes workshop and Diana Heise’s Performative Gesture class)
11-2pm: Open Rehearsal
2:30-4pm: Castor and Pollux Rehearsal with UMKC dancers
6:30-7:15pm: “Experiences Collected,” Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
8-8:45pm: “Experiences Collected,” Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
February 22, 2019
7:30pm: “Harry Partch: Barstow Bum to Ancient Greece”
This program is supported in part through funding from:
The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC, The Carolyn Benton Cockefair Chair in Continuing Education . The Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, The 1900 Building: A Karbank Project
Additional support provided by: Kansas City Art Institute The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
During its residency, the Partch Ensemble Instruments will be housed at Pierson Auditorium in the UMKC Atterbury Student Success Center. Partch Ensemble performers will give demonstrations and host classes from UMKC and the Kansas City Art Institute. If you would like additional information on any of these events, please contact Andrew Granade (granadea@umkc.edu) or Paul Rudy (rudyp@umkc.edu)
Spring 2018 Events
Barr Institute Laureate Jennifer Higdon in Residence, April 19–25, 2018
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon returned to the UMKC Conservatory for the second year of her Barr Institute Laureateship, April 19–25, 2018.
Her other laureate residency visits have been September 27–30, 2016, March 14–17, 2017, and Nov. 30–Dec. 6, 2017 .
During her April 2018 visit, Dr. Higdon worked with Conservatory students in a variety of ways.
Thursday, 4/19/18
5:30–6:30 p.m., Percussion Ensemble Dress Rehearsal, White Recital Hall
7:30 p.m., Musica Nova performance, White Recital Hall, FREE
Friday, 4/20/18
2–5 p.m. Composition Forum, room 521, PAC
Monday, 4/23/18
11 a.m.–1 p.m. Wind Ensemble Rehearsal: 30 minutes for Mysterium with Dr. Joseph Parisi
Tuesday, 4/24/18
1–4 p.m. Conservatory Wind Symphony dress rehearsal, Folly Theater
4–5:15 p.m. Music Since 1945, Grant Hall, room 330, with Dr. Andrew Granade
7:30 p.m. Conservatory Wind Symphony performance, Folly Theater, tickets at CTO or Folly Theater
Wednesday, 4/25/18
11a.m.–1 p.m. Wind Ensemble rehearsal: 30 minutes for Mysterium, with Joseph Parisi, Folly Theater
7:30 p.m., Conservatory Wind Ensemble performance, Folly Theater, tickets at CTO or Folly Theater
Jennifer Higdon is a major figure in contemporary classical music, receiving the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in music for her Violin Concerto and a 2010 Grammy for her Percussion Concerto. She has been nominated multiple times for a Grammy. Higdon enjoys several hundred performances each year of her works, and blue cathedral is one of America’s most performed contemporary orchestral works, with more than 600 performances worldwide since its premiere in 2000. Her works have been recorded on nearly sixty CDs. Higdon’s most current project was an opera based on the best-selling novel, Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier. It was co-commissioned by Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia and Minnesota Opera in collaboration with North Carolina Opera. Most recently, Higdon won the International Opera Award for Best World Premiere. She holds the Rock Chair in Composition at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her music is published exclusively by Lawdon Press.
Jennifer Hidgon’s appearance is supported in part through a grant from The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
Fall 2017 Events
Barr Institute Laureate Jennifer Higdon in Residence, Nov. 30–Dec. 6, 2017
Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winning composer Jennifer Higdon returns to the UMKC Conservatory to work with students and faculty throughout the Conservatory. On this visit she visited Prairie Star Middle School, Leawood, Kansas to work with the band students to perform her Rhythm Stand. The students then performed the piece in a side by side concert with the Conservatory Wind Ensemble, directed by Joseph Parisi. The students were thrilled to have the opportunity to interact with Dr. Higdon. They were able to ask her questions ranging from the professional to the personal; all of which she answered with great insight and empathy. This visit also lead to different collaborations between Dr. Higdon and faculty and some of the Conservatory students. These kinds of rich, organic experiences are part of the ethos and mission of the Barr Institute. Our Barr Institute Laureates, including Stephen Hartke, John Corigliano, Steven Stucky and others have had a profound impact on the students and faculty at the UMKC Conservatory. Photos of Jennifer at Prairie Star Middle School, Leawood, KS, by Brandon Parigo, below:
Here is a sample of Dr. Higdon’s residency schedule, below.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
7:30 PM, Musica Nova, White Recital Hall, program included:
HIGDON: Legacy for violin and piano
HIGDON: String Poetic for violin and piano
STUCKY: Nell’ombra, nella luce (In Shadow, in Light) for String Quartet
STUCKY: Album Leaves Op.28 for solo piano
FUJIKURA: Dolphins for saxophone duo
ZHOU LONG: Taigu Rhyme for B-flat clarinet, violin, cello, 3 percussion
Friday, December 1, 2017
1-3 Orchestra readings
3-5 Composer’s Forum: Debriefing the orchestra readings
Saturday Dec. 2
5:00 String Poetic and Legacy for Violin and Piano: Samuel Chun Hang Huang, Violin Cheung Lun Tsui, Piano Recital
7:30 The Conservatory Singers Love Came Down Harvester’s concert
8 PM newEar: Zaka
Monday, December 4, 2017
1:15-2:45 Rhythm Stand rehearsal at Prairie Star Middle School, Leawood, KS
4:00 Interview for the Archives (Dan Morel, Miller Nichols Library LaBudde special collections)
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
9-11 Composition seminar
11-12 Freshman/Sophomore comp lab
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
9-11 Composition seminar
11:30-12:30 Wind Ensemble Rehearsal
6:00 Dress rehearsal of Rhythm Stand with Prairie Star Middle School and UMKC Wind Ensemble
7:30 PM, Wind Ensemble, Rhythm Stand, side by side with UMKC Wind Ensemble and Prairie Star Middle School
Photos of Prairie Star Middle School rehearsing in the Conservatory’s White Recital Hall, by Brandon Parigo
Spring 2017 Events
Barr Institute Laureate Jennifer Higdon in Residence, March 13–17, 2017
March 13–17, 2017, Pulitzer Prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon, our Barr Institute Laureate visits the UMKC Conservatory to work with students and talk at a CBDNA panel.
Monday, 3/13/17
6–7 PM Percussion Ensemble coaching, room 323, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
Tuesday, 3/14/17
9 AM Musicianship IV, “Writing an Opera: Cold Mountain”
11 AM Conducting Seminar, “The World of Conducting from a Composer’s Perspective”
3:30-4:30 PM Opera Scenes, This Little Piggy written by Vince Gover (DMA, Composition)
Wed., 3/15/17
10 AM Late Music History/ Research and Bibliography The Journey of Blue Cathedral
11 AM- 2 PM Lunch interview with Bill Everett and John Tibbetts (for book Performing Music History)
7 PM Words + Music master class with the Coterie Theater and Lyric Opera, Frost Production Arts Center, 712 E. 18th St., KCMO
Thur, 3/16/17
2:40-4 PM Dance Collaboration critiques
6 PM LGBTQ+ Lecture followed by reception. Jennifer’s talk is Inspiration Through Love, This will be a discussion about the history of gays, lesbians, and women in classical music, and how things have changed over time, as well as how identity has affected and inspired the making of art. UMKC Student Union 401BC
Fri., 3/17/17
11:15a AM–12 PM, CBDNA A Forum on Women Composers, Carolyn Barber, University of Nebraska, Jennifer Higdon, and Chen Yi
2 PM: Piano studio coaching (Robert Weirich’s studio)
3–5 PM: Composer’s Forum on music business with Zhou Long, The Business Side of Being a Composer…Bring your Questions!
7:30 PM UMKC Conservatory Wind Symphony concert, Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Click here for tickets to the Conservatory Wind Symphony concert.
Jennifer Higdon’s Residency is made possible by The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
Fall 2016 Events
September 27–30, Pulitzer Prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon, our Barr Institute Laureate visits the UMKC Conservatory to work with students and participate in performances of her work.
Barr Laureate Jennifer Higdon Events, September 27-30, 2016
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
Tuesday, 9/27/16
1:45-3:45 pm, Conservatory Wind Symphony Rehearsal, Oboe Concerto, White Recital Hall
7:25-8:15 pm, Conservatory Wind Ensemble Rehearsal, Road Stories, White Recital Hall
Wednesday, 9/28/16
11-11:50 am, Conservatory Wind Ensemble Rehearsal Road Stories White Recital Hall
12-12:50 pm, Conservatory Singers O Magnum Mysterium Grant Hall, room 122
4-5:15 pm, Artist in society panel discussion: Artistic creation in the 21st century Miller Nichols Learning Center 452
5:30 pm, Percussion ensemble rehearsal: Splendid Wood
7:30 pm, Conservatory Wind Ensemble Concert, White Recital Hall
Thursday, 9/29/16
11am-12:30 pm Freshman/Sophomore Composition Lab
1:45-3:45 pm, Conservatory Wind Symphony Rehearsal
7:30 pm, Conservatory Wind Symphony, White Recital Hall
Friday, 9/30/16
11 am, Brass quintet rehearsal Brass quintet fanfare, White Recital Hall
12 pm, Cons. Singers: O Magnum Mysterium, White Recital Hall
2-5 pm, Composer’s Forum
7:30 pm, Musica Nova, Brass quintet fanfare; O Magnum Mysterium; Smash, White Recital Hall
Jennifer Higdon’s Residency is made possible by The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
Click for photos with Conservatory Wind Symphony.
photos with Conservatory Wind Ensemble.
photos with Conservatory Choir
photos with Graduate Fellowship Brass Quintet
photos of The Artist in Society Panel
photos with the Percussion Studio
Spring 2016 Events
March 3, 11 a.m., Guest Lecture, Carol Oja, Barr Institute Scholar, room 330, Grant Hall, FREE
March 3, 11 a.m., Composer-conductor Tania León presents a guest lecture. Ms. León is Distinguished Professor at City University of New York and artistic director of Composers Now. room 521, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, FREE
March 3, 3 p.m., Tania Leon, master class, room 521, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, FREE
These programs are supported in part through a grant from the Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
March 3, Musica Nova, 7:30 p.m., Musica Nova performs contemporary works, featuring special guest composer Tania León, directed by Zhou Long. Grant Recital Hall, FREE LEÓN: Indigena; LEÓN: A la Par; LEÓN: Alma; MOBBERLEY: The Unpurged Images of the Day; MORA: Retrato IV; GINASTERA: Pampeana No. 2, Op. 21 FREE
March 4, 3 p.m., Presenting Contemporary Art: A Panel Discussion, moderated by the Conservatory’s Barr Institute Scholar Laureate, Carol Oja. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Atkins Auditorium, FREE, The panel includes:
• Tania León, composer; conductor; Distinguished Professor, City University of New York; artistic director, Composers Now
• Carol Oja, William Powell Mason Professor, Harvard University
• Deborah Sandler, general director,Lyric Opera of Kansas City
• Jan Schall, Sanders Sosland Curator, Modern Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
This program is supported in part through a grant from the Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
Fall 2015 Events
October 28–29, Carol Oja, Barr Institute Scholar, is back at the Conservatory for lectures and to do her own research in UMKC’s Miller Nichols Library Special Collections.
Oct. 28: 4:00-5:15 p.m., Conversation with Dean Peter Witte over “West Side Story and The Music Man: Whiteness, Immigration, and Race in the US During the Late 1950s” in The Artist in Society (ANCH 305) class in Miller Nichols Library Learning Center, 351/352.
Oct. 29: 10:00-11:30 a.m., Interactive session with UMKC pianists on African-American composers in Grant Recital Hall
Noon-1:00 p.m., Lunch with interested students.
4:00-5:15 p.m., Presentation: “Negotiating Modernism and Political Activism: Marc Blitzstein and The Cradle Will Rock” in Grant Hall, room, 333
Spring 2015 Events
March 16, 2015 Q&A with John Corigliano, guest composer, Tivoli Theater, 4050 Pennsylvania Ave, Kansas City, MO. The Tivoli shows excerpts of all three Corigliano films, in cooperation with the Conservatory and the Film Studies program at UMKC. Andrew Granade and Paul Rudy are the Conservatory moderators for this, and UMKC’s Tom Poe and Caitlin Horsmon represent Film and Media Arts. 7 p.m. FREE
This program is supported in part through a grant from The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
March 17–20, 2015 Spring Opera, Little Women, by Mark Adamo, 7:30 p.m., WRH. The opera is based on Louisa May Alcott’s book by the same name, about growing up in New England after the American Civil War. Little Women was commissioned by the Opera Studio of Houston Grand Opera. Tickets: $12, $10 seniors, UMKC faculty, staff, and all students FREE with UMKC or student ID. Click here to see photos. | Click here for more photos. (2 different casts)
Mark Adamo’s residency is supported in part through a grant from The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
March 18, 2015 A concert of music by composers John Corigliano and Mark Adamo. 60 minutes of music performed by Conservatory faculty and students, plus at least one special guest performer from the KC Symphony, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A with the composers. Dean Witte will moderate. 5–6:30 p.m., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, FREE but tickets required: nelson-atkins.org. | Click here to see photos.
This program is supported in part through a grant from The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
April 8, 2015 Carol Oja, Barr Institute Scholar, guest lecture, 4–5:15 p.m., GH room 333, and guest lecture, Kansas City Public Library, Plaza branch, 6:30 p.m., FREE
April 9, 2015 Carol Oja, Barr Institute Scholar, guest lecture, 4–5:15 p.m. GH, room 222 | Click here to see photos.
This program is supported in part through a grant from The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
Spring 2014
January 28-February 2, 2014: Barr Institute Laureate John Corigliano residency, including three performances of Corigliano’s Percussion Concerto by the Kansas City Symphony with guest soloist Martin Grubinger, as well as a lecture hosted by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Thursday, January 30. Other events at the Conservatory will be scheduled soon.
Spring 2013
March, 2013: Poster session presented by UMKC graduate students in the Musicology program on the life and music of Paul Creston at the Society for American Music’s National Conference.
January, 2013: Performance and recording of Paul Creston’s Nocturne by Rebecca Sherburn, soprano with Robert Olson conducting the Conservatory Orchestra.
Fall 2012
November 2012: Residencies of Barr Laureate John Corigliano and Ensemble Laureate eighth blackbird, featuring three concerts, masterclasses, lectures and coaching sessions.
October 2012: Residency of Barr Ensemble Laureate eighth blackbird, featuring dozens of coaching sessions, rehearsals, presentations and other events.
Performance and recording of Paul Creston’s Dance Variations by Rebecca Sherburn, soprano with Robert Olson conducting the Conservatory Orchestra.
Spring 2012
June 2012: Residency of Barr Institute Laureate Stephen Hartke, including three performances of his commissioned work The Muse of the Missouri by Michael Stern with the Kansas City Symphony.
April 2012: Residency with Barr Laureate Stephen Hartke, including a performance of The King of the Sun by the Musica Nova ensemble.
Gala opening of an exhibit of materials from the Paul Creston Collection at the Miller Nichols Library, designed by graduate students in the Musicology program at UMKC.
March 2012: Residencies of Barr Laureate Stephen Hartke and Ensemble Laureate eighth blackbird, featuring concerts, masterclasses, lectures and coaching sessions in partnership with the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.
Barr Institute Partner Organizations
Kansas City Chorale, Kansas City Symphony, Miller Nichols Library at UMKC, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Office Port in Kansas City’s Crossroads District
Contact Us
Barr Institute Board Chair (2015-16) Dr. Paul Rudy rudyp@umkc.edu
