College Town. City Life.

UMKC’s weekly arts, sports and culture roundup

Each week, the University of Missouri-Kansas City offers an array of on-campus activities. It’s nothing new. UMKC has a long legacy of hosting countless culturally enriching events. These activities are part of what give UMKC a vibrant campus life, and make UMKC an arts and culture powerhouse. The influence of UMKC-based and UMKC-trained alumni extends well beyond the campus’ edge, so their activities are listed here as well.

Featured Event:

What: Conservatory Wind Symphony
Join the Conservatory Wind Symphony, directed by Steven D. Davis, as it opens the 2015–16 UMKC Conservatory Artist Series. The performance features guest artist ensemble PRISM Quartet and music by local Conservatory composers Nick Omiccioli (alumnus) and Chen Yi (faculty). The symphony will perform Omiccioli: [fuse] for Wind Ensemble; Chen Yi: Ba Yin for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble; Mackey: Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band; and Bernstein, arr. Lavender: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. PRISM Quartet’s residency is supported in part through a grant from The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
Where: Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City, Mo.
When:
7 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4
Tickets are $25 general; $10 for UMKC faculty, staff and students with UMKC or student ID. They can be purchased online or by calling 816-235-6222.


Sept. 30 – Oct. 6

What: Conservatory Wind Ensemble
The Conservatory Wind Ensemble, directed by Joseph Parisi, performs with graduate conductor Chris Kaatz. Pieces presented include Weill: Little Threepenny Music; Ives: Variations on “America;” Vaughan Williams: English Folk Song Suite; and Dello Joio: Variants on a Medieval Tune.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When:
7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 30
Tickets: $8, $6 seniors, UMKC faculty, staff, and all students FREE with UMKC or student ID. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 816-235-6222.

What: Musica Nova
Musica Nova performs contemporary works by the Conservatory’s composition faculty and more, directed by Zhou Long, with special guest ensemble PRISM Quartet. Pieces performed include Simpson: Blood Work; Gibson: Moments; Lee: Black Lacquer; Zhou: Taiping Drum; Chen Yi: Not Alone; Mobberley: Triathlon; Rudy: Like sails to a wind; and Ludwig: Josquin Microludes. PRISM Quartet’s residency is supported in part through a grant from The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 1
It’s free.

What: PRISM Quartet (Master Class)
This is a saxophone master class with Conservatory Artist Series guest ensemble, PRISM Quartet. PRISM Quartet appears with the Conservatory Wind Symphony for the Conservatory Artist Series. PRISM Quartet’s residency is supported in part through a grant from The Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies at UMKC.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When:
1 – 2 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2
It’s free.

What: UMKC Women’s Soccer vs. Utah Valley
A night of celebration will take place to recognize UMKC women’s soccer alumni. There will be a pre-match tailgate for alumni and joining guests. Women’s soccer alumni and their guests can reserve their discounted event tickets by contacting the UMKC Ticket Office at 844-UMKC-FAN.
Where: Durwood Soccer Stadium, 5099 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2
Current UMKC students receive free admission to all UMKC athletic events with ID. Single tickets start at $7 and can be purchased online. 

What: PRISM Quartet (Master Class)
This saxophone master class with Conservatory Artist Series is with the guest ensemble, PRISM Quartet. PRISM Quartet appears with the Conservatory Wind Symphony for the Conservatory Artist Series.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3
It’s free.

What: Jane Solose, piano (Faculty Recital)
This faculty recital features Jane Solose on piano. Performance pieces include Schubert: Fantasy in C Major, D. 605a (“Grazer Fantasie”); Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit; Cardy: The Masks of Astarte (Kansas City premiere); and Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3
It’s free.

What: UMKC Women’s Soccer vs Seattle
Join UMKC Women’s Soccer for the National Parkinson Foundation soccer match. The first 50 fans will receive a Parkinson Foundation seat cushion.
Where: Durwood Soccer Stadium, 5099 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4
Current UMKC students receive free admission to all UMKC athletic events with ID. Single tickets start at $7 with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the National Parkinson Foundation. Tickets can be purchased online. Make sure and use the promo code NPFH15.

What: Alice Anne Light, mezzo soprano
This is a doctoral lecture and recital with the UMKC Conservatory Graduate Fellowship String Quartet: Yee Ling Elaine Ng and Yi-Miao Huang, violins; Me-Chun Chen, viola; and Qizhen Liu, cello. The topic is “Art into Song: Deconstructing Jake Heggie’s Camille Claudel: Into the Fire.” The performance piece will be Heggie: Camille Claudel: Into the Fire.
Where: Hickman Mills Community Christian Church, 5809 East Red Bridge Road, Kansas City, Mo.
When: 2:30 p.m., Oct. 4
It’s free.

What: Resonant Projection Trombone Quartet (Guest Artist Recital)
This guest artist recital features the Resonant Projection Trombone Quartet. The quartet is an artist ensemble for the Edwards Instrument Co. of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Program to be announced from the stage, selected from: Raum: Processional Fanfare; Burkhart: “Venezia” from Italian Postcards; Ewazen: In memoriam per le vittime del terremoto l’aquila; Moondog Hardin: Pastoral; Lindberg: Kinky Creatures; Bruckner, arr. Rose: Two Aequale; Hetfield/Ulrich, arr. Bynum: Nothing Else Matters; Poulenc: Quatre petites prières de Saint François d’Assise; Jobim: Wave; and Meador: Quartet No. 1.
Where: Room 126, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Tuesday, October 6, 2015, 5pm
It’s free.

What: Composers’ Guild
Composition students of all degree levels will present new works. Pieces to be performed include Palen: Through this fleeting world; Palen: Night and DAY; Morel: Meditation; King-Smith: 200 Cars; Sprankle: The Wanderer; Hill: Concerning Beauty….; and Landis: Transit of Venus.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When:
7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6
It’s free.

What: Courtney Burris Ruth, violin
This is a doctoral lecture and recital.
Where: Central United Methodist Church, 5144 Oak St., Kansas City, Mo.
When:
7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6
It’s free.

What: JoDee Davis, trombone (Faculty Recital)
This is a faculty recital featuring JoDee Davis, trombone; with Patricia Higdon, piano; Jay Carter, countertenor; Emily Trapp, piano; and Timothy Howe, professor of trombone at University of Missouri-Columbia. Performance pieces include Weber: Romance; Ziani: “Virgo, Virgo prius” from Alma redemptoris mater; Caldara: “Dovunque il guardo giro” from La passione di Gesù Cristo signor nostro; Telemann: Sonata in F Minor, TWV 41:f1; Gibson: Spark for Trombone and Piano Duo (world premiere); and Šulek: Sonata (“Vox Gabrieli”).
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When:
7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 7
It’s free.

What: Sunday in the Park with George
Sunday in the Park with George by the Kansas City Repertory Theatre is a one-of-a-kind partnership with The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece is an evocative exploration into the importance of heritage and legacy. Inspired by the life of Georges Seurat and his famous painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” and featuring a Grammy award-winning soundtrack, this musical merges past and present into beautiful, poignant truths about life, love and the creation of art.
Where: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through Oct. 4
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the KC Repertory Theatre online.
UMKC Connection: Kansas City Repertory Theatre is the professional theatre in residence at UMKC. KC Rep’s main stage is the Helen F. Spencer Theatre in the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center on the UMKC campus.

What: Hiroshima-Nagasaki: Seventy Years Beyond the Bombings
In memory of the seventieth anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Kansas City and PeaceWorks KC are hosting an exhibit at the Miller Nichols Library.
Where: Link Gallery, ground floor of the Miller Nichols Library, 800 E. 51st St., Kansas City, Mo.
When:
Now through Oct. 4
It’s free.

What: “Transmissions/Signals”
The UMKC Gallery of Art presents “Transmissions/Signals,” the most recent work of Warren Rosser and James Woodfill. Built around a discussion of the extended medium of painting, this work brings focus to the expansive definition that both artists have of the discipline.
Where: UMKC Gallery of Art, Room 204 of the UMKC Fine Arts Building, 5015 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through Oct. 16
Free parking will be available in the Cherry Street Garage, levels 5 and 6.

What: The Miracle Worker
This is an American story of Helen Keller and her teacher. Helen Keller is a child who has been deaf and blind since infancy. She’s alone in a secret world. She’s disobedient and wild. But Annie, a recent graduate from an institute for the blind, senses Helen’s curiosity and cleverly opens her world to language. Together, they show that even the most overwhelming obstacles can be overcome.
Where: The Coterie, Crown Center, Suite 144, 2450 Grand Ave., Kansas City, Mo.
When:
Now through Oct. 25.
UMKC Connection: Two UMKC graduate theatre students founded the Coterie.
For tickets and show times, visit the website.

What: You Can’t Take it With You
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy, Alice wants to marry Tony, the banker’s son and invites his parents to dinner to give their blessing to the marriage. But when Tony’s snooty, high-class parents met Alice’s peculiar extended family – including her grandfather the philosopher, her nutty ballerina sister and the fireworks enthusiast Mr. De Pinna – things become hilariously explosive. Also featuring New Theatre favorites Cathy Barnett, Craig Benton, Deb Bluford, Dodie Brown and Jim Korinke.
Where: The New Theatre Restaurant, 9299 Foster St., Overland Park, Kan.
When:
Now through Nov. 29
For tickets and show times, visit the website.
UMKC Connection: Co-owners Dennis Hennessy and Richard Carrothers are both UMKC graduates and both were presented with honorary doctorates by the UMKC College of Arts and Sciences in 2012.

What: Art in the Square
Art in the Square is an initiative of the City of Kansas City to showcase public art while reinforcing the city’s commitment to investing in local artists. The exhibit represents a unique collection of thought-provoking artwork that ranges from whimsical to innovative. The first Art in the Square exhibit, which will be placed in Washington Square Park, will feature art from five local artists. The public is invited to attend the opening reception from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10 in Washington Square Park. UMKC Associate Dean of the UMKC College of Arts & Sciences Kati Toivanen will have her “Flowering Wall” on display. Toivanen is also a professor in the UMKC Art and Art History Department.
Where: Washington Square Park, Pershing Road and Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo.
When:
Now through Dec. 21
It’s free. For information, visit Art in the Square online.


Tags: .
  • Recent UMKC News

    $20 Million Scholarship Article in The Kansas City Star

    KC Scholars partnership also in U.S. News and World Report … Read more

    Geosciences Professor’s Research Cited in New York Times

    Fengpeng Sun co-authored study on California wildfire seasons The 2015 … Read more

    Bloch Faculty Interviewed on NBC Nightly News

    Brent Never teaches about Kansas City’s racial dividing line Never … Read more

    More