KCMETROPOLIS.org
Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Kansas City Symphony Chamber Players
Chamber Players at Webster House
Thursday, June 3 at 6:15 p.m.
Webster House
1644 Wyandotte Street, Kansas City, MO
Free admission; for dinner reservations at Webster House, call 816-221-4713.

The Kansas City Symphony Chamber Players give delightful small scale performances of chamber works at various venues around town throughout the year, and this time they have picked a doozy: the charming Webster House Restaurant in the Crossroads Art District, just a stone's throw from the site of the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts now under construction.   Check out the view of the construction, especially from the second floor of Webster House.  It's awesome.

As for the free music (you don't need to eat dinner there to attend, but this writer attests that the food and ambience are excellent), you will enjoy the Tchaikovsky String Quartet No. 1 and Prokofiev's Quintet in G Minor. Consider the performance a sort of preview to the full-scale performance of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev orchestral works in the full Symphony concert to follow this weekend.



Kansas City Symphony
Season Finale: Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev
Friday, June 4 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 5 at 8 p.m.
Lyric Theatre
11^th and Central Streets, Downtown Kansas City, MO
and
Sunday, June 6 at 2 p.m.
Yardley Hall, Carlsen Center
12345 College Boulevard, Overland Park, KS
For tickets call 816-471-0400 or online at www.kcsymphony.org
Read the KCMetropolis preview here.

Musica Vocale
Honegger's Le Roi David (King David)
Sunday, June 6 at 3:00 p.m.
Temple Beth Shalom
9400 Wornall Road, Kansas City,MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.umkc.edu/cto

Arnold Epley's Musica Vocale, a 32-singer vocal group which performs with a small orchestra, ends its second season this weekend with a performance of a rarely known but widely acclaimed work, the "dramatic poem" (many call it an oratorio) Le Roi David (King David) by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger.  The work features both speaking actors and singers, and of course focuses on the life of the legendary founder of the nation of Israel.

Honneger (1892-1955) counted Le Roi David, written in the early 1920's, as among his most popular works.  A member of the famous French group Le Six (he was an expatriate in France during the World War II years), he combined a flair for French impressionistic orchestral work with Bachian counterpoint to produce a unique musical language.

The concert also features a performance of four motets by the 20^th century American composer Aaron Copland.

Epley and his group should be applauded for bringing these unusual works to the Kansas City concert stage.



Bach Aria Soloists
Lee Hauskonzert Finale
Sunday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m.
Private Home
Tickets, if any are available, can be purchased from the Bach Aria Soloists.
For contact information see the website at www.bachariasoloists.com

For those who have not experienced them, the Bach Aria Soloists' Hauskonzerts feature delightful private performances of outstanding chamber music works in the intimacy of private homes.  These concerts take you back to the gracious day of the 18^th century where such performances were often given in the homes of generous private patrons.  But don't feel intimidated...powdered wigs are definitely not required (although respectable dress is appreciated).

This concert, the finale of the Bach Aria Soloists' 10^th anniversary season, features virtuoso guitarist Douglas Niedt collaborating with Bach Aria Soloists founder and violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane in performances of the works of Corelli, Bach, DeFalla, and more.

These concerts are often sold out way in advance, but check the Bach Aria Soloists at the above number to see if a ticket might still be available.  By the way, the concerts also feature sumptuous food after the concert.  Classical music and food!  What a combination.



Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
Mozart Fest: Mozart's Requiem
With the choirs of Village Church and St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Friday, June 11 at 8 p.m.
Village Presbyterian Church
 6641 Mission Rd, Prairie Village, KS
For tickets call 816-235-6222. or onlie at www.tickets.cto.umkc.edu/public/load_screen.asp

The KCCO has offered a Mozart Fest for several years now, but has never performed Mozart's Requiem in the Orchestra's 23 year history.  With the addition of the Village Church and St. Paul Episcopal choirs, this is sure to be a treat for the ears.

The Requiem Mass in D minor (K. 626) was composed in Vienna in 1791, during the last year of the composer's life. The requiem was Mozart's last composition and is certainly one of his most popular and respected works, although the question of how much of the music Mozart managed to complete before his death and how much was later composed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr or others is still debated - and has become the stuff of legends.



Kansas City Symphony
Symphony in the Flint Hills
Saturday, June 12 at 6:45 p.m.
Bass Ranch in Chase County, KS 
Tickets are available from Flint Hills, Inc. at 620-273-8955. For online information, see www.symphonyintheflinthills.org.

The Kansas City Symphony's annual Symphony in the Flint Hills concert will be given at the South Clements Pasture of the Bass Ranch in Chase County, Kansas this year. According to publicity information, the ranch is just seven miles south of Cottonwood Falls, or eight miles west of Bazaar, Kansas.  This year's theme is "Ranching on the Tallgrass Prairie."

This is the fifth anniversary of the Symphony in the Flint Hills event, and in honor of the occasion, four-time Grammy award-winning artist Lyle Lovett will make a special guest appearance and perform three numbers with the Kansas City Symphony.

The regular priced tickets for this event were sold out within an hour and a half of going on sale a couple of months ago, so you are way too late to purchase one of those.  If you wish to purchase a patron's ticket, however, a few may still be available.  Contact information appears above.



Heartland Men's Chorus
Go West, Young Man
Saturday, June 12 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 13 at 4 p.m.
Folly Theater
12^th and Central Streets, Downtown Kansas City, MO
For tickets visit www.hmckc.org

After highlighting British artists in its last concert, Heartland Men's Chorus returns to the American songbook for the final concert of its 24th season, Go West, Young Man.

HMC will welcome special guests, the Portland Gay Men's Chorus and will swell the number of singers on stage to over 250!Representing both ends of the historic Oregon Trail, the choruses will celebrate the American spirit through the diverse genres of folk music, spirituals and more.



Quixotic Fusion
Live at the Madrid Theatre
Thursday, June 17 at 8 p.m.
Friday, June 18 at 8 and 10 p.m.
Saturday, 19 at 8 and 10 p.m.
Madrid Theater
3810 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
For ticket call 816-235-6222 or online at www.umkc.edu/cto. 
For general information visit www.quixoticfusion.com.

During the classical dance-starved months of summer you will undoubtedly be entertained by this high-flying acrobatic and musical performance.  According to publicity, this new show by Kansas City-based Quixotic Fusion "features all new high-flying aerial contraptions, inventive lighting landscapes and interactive projection installations all performed to our live musical ensemble." Quixotic Fusion has garnered outstanding reviews in its first few seasons and this should be a stimulating and unusual performance.

By Don Dagenais

City Classics Music and Dance Columnist; Classical Contributor

A lifelong classical music fan, Don Dagenais is a frequent preview speaker for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and has taught classical music and opera courses at several Kansas City venues. He has served on the boards of directors of a number of performing arts organizations including the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Lyric Opera Guild, UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, Opera Volunteers International, the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City, Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony, Octarium, and the Friends of the Symphony.  He has been the past president of most of these organizations and is current the president of the Friends of the Symphony. 

Dagenais co-authored a history of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, published on the occasion of its 50th anniversary (2007) and has written books on the histories of both the Lyric Opera Guild and Opera Volunteers International, as well as an introductory book for opera novices (Your Passport to the Opera).  He has received several local and national awards for outstanding volunteer work for the arts, including a lifetime achievement award from The Coterie Theatre in 2000, the Kansas City Musical Club's annual award in 2001, a Partners in Excellence Award from Opera Volunteers International in 2002, a Bravo Award from Opera Volunteers International in 2004 and a community service award from the Daughter of the American Revolution in 2008 honoring him for his community service to the arts.

In addition to his music interests, Don is president of the board of directors for the Metropolitan Ensemble Theater and has served on the boards of The Coterie Theatre and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, serving as president of each organization.  He publishes newsletters for seven arts organizations.  When not involved in the performing arts, Don is a senior real estate attorney with Lathrop & Gage LLP in Kansas City, Missouri, where he has practiced law since 1976 after graduating from the Cornell Law School.