UMKC Conservatory performs at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge on March 9

Preview concert takes place March 2 at Kansas City’s Crossroads

KANSAS CITY, MO. — The UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance is on the road to New York. Conservatory students, faculty and alumni will present a concert titled “Crossroads” at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 9 at New York’s renowned Le Poisson Rouge.

As a preview to the New York concert, the Conservatory will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 2 at Office Port, 208 W. 19th St., Kansas City, Mo. The concert will be a focal point of the Kansas City Crossroads Arts District’s First Friday arts event. Tickets will be $10 for the general public and will be available through UMKC’s Central Ticket Office, (816) 235-6222.

The concerts will feature excerpts from “Madame White Snake,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Zhou Long, research professor of Music Composition at the UMKC Conservatory. Through “Madame White Snake,” Zhou bridges an ancient Chinese story to Western culture.

The concerts also will feature the music of Chen Yi, Lorena Searcy Cravens/ Millsap/ Missouri Distinguished Professor of Composition at the UMKC Conservatory; John Corigliano, Composition professor at the Juilliard School of Music and Distinguished Professor of Music at Lehman College – The City University of New York; James Mobberley, Curators’ Professor of Music at the UMKC Conservatory and a Guggenheim Fellow; Paul Rudy, professor of Music Composition at the UMKC Conservatory and recipient of a 2010 Rome Prize fellowship; and Narong Prangcharoen, a teaching assistant at the UMKC Conservatory.

Following is a program outline:

  • PAUL RUDY, “Premiere”
  • NARONG PRANGCHAROEN, “Three Minds”
  • CHEN YI, “Yangko”
  • AMAO WANG and JING ZHOU, “Premiere for Piano and Zheng”
  • NICHOLAS S. OMICCIOLI, “Danza di Fuoco”
  • JAMES MOBBERLEY, “Icarus Wept”
  • ZHOU LONG, “Excerpts from Madame White Snake”
  • JOHN CORIGLIANO, “Etude Fantasy”
  • KEVIN OLDHAM and JOHN KANDER, “Song Set”

Performers:

  • VINSON COLE, tenor
  • AMANDA FREDERICK, soprano
  • RUTH CARVER, mezzo soprano
  • FILIP LAZOVSKI, violin
  • BRENDAN BONDURANT, guitar
  • KEITH BENJAMIN, trumpet
  • JAMES SNELL, percussion
  • NICHOLAS PETRELLA, percussion
  • AMAO WANG, piano
  • JING ZHOU, zheng
  • NATALIA RIVERA, piano
  • CHRISTOPHER MCKIGGAN, piano

Now in its 107th year, the UMKC Conservatory is internationally recognized as a center for artistic excellence, innovation and engagement. The Conservatory is a vital partner in Kansas City’s renaissance as America’s Creative Crossroads, most recently symbolized by the internationally heralded openings of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity.

“Le Poisson Rouge has been hailed by the New York Times as ‘the coolest place to hear contemporary music’ and as ‘a downright musical marvel’ by the Los Angeles Times,” said Conservatory Dean Peter Witte. “We’re honored to be invited to perform and eager to share UMKC’s commitment to living music. We see our Crossroads performance in New York City’s LPR as proof of concept — Kansas City is America’s Creative Crossroads.”

The concerts are sponsored by the Downtown Council of Kansas City, the Crossroads Arts District and the Conservatory Alumni Association. The Downtown Council raised $20,000 from enthusiastic member organizations in just two weeks over the holidays to fund the Conservatory’s travel and lodging expenses for the New York trip.

About UMKC:

UMKC, one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit www.umkc.edu. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.


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