College Town. City Life.

Jazz drummer, composer and educator Joe Chambers will perform in concert April 8 with two UMKC-based bands: the Conservatory Concert Jazz Band, directed by Bobby Watson; and the 11 O'Clock Jazz Band, directed by Dan Thomas. Photo Credit: James Allison.

UMKC’s weekly arts and culture roundup

Every 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 has made UMKC an arts and culture powerhouse. The influence of UMKC-based and UMKC-trained artists extends well beyond the campus’ edge, so their activities are listed here as well.

Featured Event: Jazz Concert Featuring Joe Chambers

Jazz drummer, composer and educator Joe Chambers will perform in concert April 8 with two UMKC-based bands: the Conservatory Concert Jazz Band, directed by Bobby Watson; and the 11 O’Clock Jazz Band, directed by Dan Thomas.

Chambers has worked with some of the most influential jazz figures of the last several decades. His works have been performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. As a sideman and leader, Chambers has recorded more than 500 albums and CDs. He has performed and recorded with Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Andrew Hill and many more.

Chambers is the first Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz in the department of music at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. His most recent recording, Joe Chambers Moving Pictures Orchestra Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, was nominated for a Grammy.

The evening’s performance will include selections from Joe Chambers Moving Pictures Orchestra, Cherry Juice, (Thad Jones); The Outlaw, (Horace Silver, Arr. Chambers); Magic Flea, (Nestico); Good Morning Irene, (Dale, Arr. McConnell); Queen Bee, (Nestico); Two As One, (Thad Jones); Tu-Way-Pock-E-Way (Chambers); Ecaroh, (Horace Silver), (Chambers); Vanguard Revisited, (Lussier); and student compositions and arrangements.

The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. April 8 in the White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo. Tickets are $8; $6 for seniors; UMKC faculty, staff, and all students free with a UMKC or student ID.

What: The Conservatory Concert Jazz Band and the 11 O’Clock Jazz Band, featuring jazz drummer, educator, and composer Joe Chambers.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Monday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
Get more details.

Friday, April 5 – Thursday, April 11

What: “Finding Leonardo,” a lecture with art historian Robert Simon. In 2011, a newly discovered Leonardo da Vinci painting was authenticated. Discovered in an undisclosed estate sale in the United States, the painting passed into Robert Simon’s possession. He subsequently launched a two-year research project on the work. His lecture will present an explanation of the step-by-step process of technical examinations, documentary research, and stylistic analyses that went into the work’s authentication.
Where: Atkins Auditorium, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Friday, April 5, 6 p.m.
It’s free, but tickets are required. Get more details.

What: “Srimary Ptructures” is Justin Beachler’s first solo exhibition at Dolphin Gallery. A painter and conceptual artist based in Kansas City, Mo., Beachler’s work has recently been shown at such Kansas City gallery spaces as Fokl, Spray Booth Gallery and The Base Gallery.
Where: Dolphin Gallery 1600 Liberty St. Kansas City, Mo. 64102
When: Exhibit runs through May 11
UMKC Connection: Beachler is a graduate of UMKC’s Art and Art History program.
 Get more details.

What: “Santa Muerte” is a new exhibition concentrating on the dramatic increase in violence over the past two decades in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez. An insatiable drug war, volatile political status and widespread poverty have morphed the city into a hellish breeding ground for murder and femicide, consequently reshaping urban cultural identity. Artists from both Mexico and Texas offer their perspectives on the current situation.
Where: Fine Arts Building, room 203, 5015 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Through April 5.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: A Master Class with Keith Sweger, professor of bassoon at Ball State University.
Where: Grant Hall, Room 122, 5227 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Friday, April 5, 4 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945”
Where: Dean’s Gallery, Miller Nichols Library, 800 East 51st St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Through April 10.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Senior Recital with Brandon Scott Russell, tenor; and Lee D. Thompson, piano.
Where: St. John’s United Methodist Church, 6900 Ward Pkwy, Kansas City, Mo.
When: Friday, April 5, 7:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Senior Recital with Hayden Smith, trombone; and Dan Velicer, piano.
Where: Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Saturday, April 6, 2:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Senior Recital with Zoë Melcher, mezzo soprano; Lee. D. Thompson, piano; and Anna Hacker, soprano.
Where: Country Club United Methodist Church, 400 West 57th St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Saturday, April 6, 2:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Concerto/Aria 2013 Winners Concert. Each year the UMKC Conservatory has a Concerto/Aria competition, open to all Conservatory students. Finalists compete for a winning slot in the Concerto/Aria Winners Concert, during which the students perform with the Conservatory Orchestra.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Saturday, April 6, 7:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Master’s Recital with Nabil Pettit, piano.
Where: Grant Recital Hall, 5227 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Sunday, April 7, 2:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Senior Recital with Laura Brekke, trombone; Dan Velicer, piano; and Kyle Hall, trombone.
Where: Old Mission United Methodist Church, 5519 State Park Rd, Fairway, Kan.
When: Sunday, April 7, 7:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Kathleen McGowan, trombone Master’s Recital with Dan Velicer, piano; and the UMKC Graduate Fellowship Brass Quintet: Dustin Williams and Charles Calloway, trumpets; Matthew Haislip, horn; and Brielan Andersen, tuba
Where: Old Mission United Methodist Church, 5519 State Park Rd., Fairway, Kan.
When: Monday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Composers’ Guild new music by student composers of all degree levels.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Conservatory Choirs: For the Children. The Conservatory Concert Choir presents For the Children, the third annual concert to benefit Operation Breakthrough, directed by Charles Robinson, with guests the Blue Springs South High School Chamber Choir (Jason Bean, conductor), Shawnee Mission East High School Chamber Choir (Ken Foley, conductor), Santa Fe Trail Middle School Bel Coro (Debra Hill, conductor) and the Sunset Ridge Elementary School Fifth Grade Choir and Percussion Ensemble (Lisa Tironi, conductor).
Where: Visitation Catholic Church, 5141 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Thursday, April 11, 7:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Musica Nova, directed by Zhou Long, featuring the music of guest composer Bernard Rands.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Thursday, April 11, 7:30 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Drums in the Night is UMKC Theatre’s Undergraduate Spring Production. Written to reflect the mood of disillusioned German troops returning from WWI, Bertolt Brecht’s comic drama Drums in the Night eerily foreshadows our soldiers’ reappearance after an invisible decade in the Middle East to a nation divided by class, opportunity and outlook.
Where: Studio 116 of the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: April 5-14.
Get more details.

What: Jill Bell will speak as part of the visiting designer lecture series in UMKC’s Art and Art History Department. Jill Bell Brandlettering creates original, custom lettering solutions of any kind (logos, titles, fonts, taglines, handwriting) for all of the usual suspects: advertising, entertainment, packaging, editorial, corporate, publishing, government as well as other designers and most of the major type houses.
Where: Fine Arts Building, Room 106, 5100 Rockhill Rd., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Monday, April 8, 4 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Tad Carpenter will speak as part of the visiting designer lecture series in UMKC’s Art and Art History Department.  Carpenter, along with Dan Padavic, joined forces in 2006 to create the screen printing studio Vahalla Studios, which specializes in silkscreen goods.
Where: Fine Arts Building, Room 106, 5100 Rockhill Rd., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Wednesday, April 10, 4 p.m.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: “Weekend Comedy,” starring Cindy Williams of “Laverne and Shirley,” features two couples who rent the same Catskills cabin for the same weekend by mistake.
Where: The New Theatre Restaurant, 9299 Foster, Overland Park, Kan.
When: Through June 16.
UMKC Connection: Co-owners Dennis Hennessy and Richard Carrothers are both UMKC graduates and both were presented this year with honorary doctorates by the UMKC College of Arts and Sciences.
Get more details.

What: The Kansas City Repertory Theatre presents: Carousel. The Rep’s Associate Artistic Director Kyle Hatley and The Living Room, one of Kansas City’s most imaginative small theater companies, are bringing their beautifully re-envisioned production of Carousel to Spencer Theatre for a second production, complete with “in-the round” seating. Carousel tells a universal story of love, longing, and doing our utmost for the people we care about, even if it leads to difficult choices with tragic outcomes.
Where: Spencer Theatre, Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Through April 6.
UMKC Connection: The KC Rep is UMKC’s professional theatre in-residence.
Get more details.

 


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