One Funny Mother stars comedian, former Miss New Jersey, and married mother of three, Dena Blizzard, in her hilarious solo comedy show about the trials and tribulations of motherhood and marriage. An outrageous and side splitting 80 minutes of sass that follows Dena on her hilarious journey through a day of cleaning as she prepares for her big “Girls Night Out.” Along the way she laments how her life and marriage have changed since becoming a mother of three, wrestling with the eternal question, “Have I gone crazy since having these kids?” The answer is a hysterical, “laugh ’til your face hurts” comedy that you won’t want to miss!

One Funny Mother has toured the United States and was named “Best One Woman Show” at the 2015 United Solo Festival in New York City. Current reviews include “PLENTY OF LAUGHS!” - NY Times, “I cannot think of the last time I laughed this hard and much and felt validated,” - Motherhood Later, and "The men were out in full force too, trumpeting along to all of Dena's inclusive humor," - NY Theater Guide.

One Funny Mother is a great “Girls Night Out” or date night for anyone that IS a mom, HAS a mom or is MARRIED to a mom.

Suitable for mature audiences ages 14+ for adult themes, language and alcohol use.

Armand, a young countryman crosses paths with the ravishing courtesan Marguerite in a chance meeting that leads to a passionate, but doomed love. Val Caniparoli’s popular adaptation of this classic story is set to the romantic score by Frédéric Chopin, and deftly depicts the saga of beauty, extravagance, jealousy, deception and heartbreak. Alexandre Dumas’ tragic tale has inspired many adaptations, including the 2001 hit movie Moulin Rouge! starring Nicole Kidman as well as Verdi’s popular opera La Traviata.

ETHEL is an adventurous string quartet determined to find common creativity through collaboration and community, and their six-year collaboration with Taos Pueblo flutist Robert Mirabal pioneers a new musical experience of interweaving cultures. Musician, writer, singer, storyteller and poet, Mirabal is one of Native America’s most dynamic artists and a three-time Grammy Award winner. The warm, inviting sounds produced in their groundbreaking album The River (2016) are an immersive flow of music, narrative and ritual.

“My relationship with ETHEL is family and it’s forever,” Mirabal says on the official music video for The River.

The River was recorded in a retreat in Taos Pueblo, with each musician bringing original poetic or musical contributions with special meaning to the group. The result is a compilation of deeply genuine, generous and heartwarming music. Their contemporary spin on Native American themes is thought-provoking and evokes inclusion through the metaphor that “the river” connects all people.

From his early years with the Jackson 5 to his mega-hit album “Thriller” and beyond, Michael Jackson stormed the airwaves with hit after hit. “The Music of Michael Jackson” takes you through each era of this storied performer’s 40-year career — from “ABC,” “I’ll Be There” and “Got to Be There” to “Beat It,” “Thriller” and “Billy Jean.” This amazing evening of music is dedicated to the King of Pop. Tickets for this Kansas City Symphony concert start at $40.

Brent Havens, guest conductor

James Delisco, vocalist

Thomas Rosenkranz is Area Coordinator of the Keyboard Division and Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance (UMKC). He regularly performs in important musical centers in America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Recent tours have taken him to the Lincoln Center Festival, Shanghai New Music Week, Hong Kong Modern Academy, Vianden (Luxembourg), MusicARTE (Panama) and the Octobre Musicale and International Festival of Carthage (Tunisia). He has been a soloist with the Indianapolis Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Lebanon, and the Sichuan Philharmonic (China) among others. He twice served as Cultural Ambassador on behalf of the United States Department of State and was the recipient of the Classical Fellowship Award from the American Pianists Association. He is currently the Co-Director of the Maccagno Piano Days Festival and Competition in Italy.

In an eclectic repertoire encompassing the solo and chamber music literatures, Rosenkranz is equally at home in the standard repertoire as in the music of our time. His latest recording on Oberlin Records, Toward the Curve features commissioned works for piano and electronics alongside his solo improvisations. Other notable recordings include the premiere recording of Paul Lansky’s Textures on Bridge Records and Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich with Ensemble Signal on Harmonia Mundi (France). He has been a member of the artist faculty at the soundSCAPE Festival in Italy since 2006 where he leads courses in contemporary music and improvisation.

This appearance is made possible through funding from the UMKC Student Government Association and the Edwards Instrument Company. Join us for a master class from 4:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m. on Monday, February 25 at Central Presbyterian Church, preceding this concert.

In this charming musical adaptation of the beloved book, Mr. and Mrs. Popper’s lives take an adventurous turn when a mysterious box arrives on their doorstep with a penguin inside. Not long after, the local aquarium sends over a female penguin and soon, the Poppers are hearing the patter of 20 little feet. What starts for Mr. Popper as a giant bill for canned shrimp leads to an imaginative journey across America – one that ends in the Antarctic to place the penguin colony in a “life they were meant to lead.”

Exceptional talent and dedication characterize the Conservatory's faculty. The 80-plus faculty are performers, educators, and healers devoted to helping each student flourish. Faculty accolades include a Pulitzer Prize, Guggenheim awards and fellowships, Grammy nominations, Carnegie Hall premieres, performances at the Kennedy Center, choreography for the Dance Theatre of Harlem and Radio City Music Hall, and the prestigious Charles Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Assistant Professor of Saxophone Zach Shemon enjoys a versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, and pedagogue. Recent appearances include performing as a concerto soloist in Russia with the Saint Petersburg Palaces International Music Festival Orchestra and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing John Adams’s Nixon in China under the composer’s baton. In Kansas City, Shemon has performed with the Kansas City Symphony and with the contemporary chamber music ensemble, newEar.

2019 marks Shemon’s 12th year as the alto saxophonist of the PRISM Quartet. Since joining the ensemble, PRISM has released numerous recordings on the Albany, innova, Naxos, New Dynamic, New Focus, and XAS labels and performed on many of the world’s leading festivals for contemporary music including the Bang on a Can Marathon, Beijing Modern Music Festival, and SONiC Festival. Shemon has performed with the quartet as a soloist with the Arizona State Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Cornell Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, and UMKC Conservatory Wind Symphony, among others. PRISM is also committed to educational outreach and has held residencies at top music institutions around the world including the Beijing Central Conservatory, Curtis Institute, Eastman School of Music, Hartt School, University of Michigan, Princeton University, Rice University, Tianjin Conservatory, UMKC Conservatory, and Yale University, among others.

Music Director Michael Stern has embarked upon his second decade with the Kansas City Symphony, hailed for its remarkable artistic ascent, original programming, organizational development and stability, and the extraordinary growth of its varied audiences since his tenure began. Over the last five seasons, Stern and the orchestra have ushered in a new era and have performed to critical acclaim and sold-out audiences in their performance home, Helzberg Hall at the $413 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

This fun and engaging program will be specially adapted so families and friends of all abilities may enjoy symphonic music in a safe and welcoming environment. Tickets are $10 per person.

Joseph Genualdi began his formal training at age 11 with Broadus Erle. At age 14 he started high school at The North Carolina School of the Arts studying violin with Vartan Manoogian. Upon graduating from high school, he was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he continued his violin studies with Jascha Brodsky and Ivan Galamian. During his years at Curtis, he formed a life long relationship with Felix Galimir.

At age 22, Genualdi won the audition as associate concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony. During his time in San Francisco he became a founding member of the Muir Quartet, under the aegis of the Wardwell Fellowship at Yale University. The Muir Quartet captured international attention by winning the first prizes of Le Concour’s D’Evian and the Naumberg Award. A performance seen on national television from the White House served to increase recognition for the ‘Muirs’. The Muir Quartet and pianist Jean Phillipe Collard Genualdi won the Grand Prix du Disque for their recording of the Frank Piano Quintet (EMI-­?Angel). With the Muir, then later the Los Angeles Quartet, and the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Genualdi has performed extensively throughout North America and Europe, also appearing at numerous festivals including Marlboro, Nimes (France), Spoleto (Italy), Cheltenham (GB), Bravo!Colorado, Angel Fire, Affinis (Japan), EuroArts (Leipzig), Arkansas, Ravinia, and Skaneateles.

Genualdi collaborators and mentors include Menahem Pressler, Pina Carmirelli, Felix Galimir, Midori, Gil Shaham, Michael Tree, Oscar Shumsky, Raphael Hillyer, Mieczyslaw Horsowski and Richard Wilson. Of particular note and guiding influence was his association with Rudoph Serkin.

Thomas Rosenkranz is Area Coordinator of the Keyboard Division and Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance (UMKC). He regularly performs in important musical centers in America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Recent tours have taken him to the Lincoln Center Festival, Shanghai New Music Week, Hong Kong Modern Academy, Vianden (Luxembourg), MusicARTE (Panama) and the Octobre Musicale and International Festival of Carthage (Tunisia). He has been a soloist with the Indianapolis Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Lebanon, and the Sichuan Philharmonic (China) among others. He twice served as Cultural Ambassador on behalf of the United States Department of State and was the recipient of the Classical Fellowship Award from the American Pianists Association. He is currently the Co-Director of the Maccagno Piano Days Festival and Competition in Italy.

In an eclectic repertoire encompassing the solo and chamber music literatures, Rosenkranz is equally at home in the standard repertoire as in the music of our time. His latest recording on Oberlin Records, Toward the Curve features commissioned works for piano and electronics alongside his solo improvisations. Other notable recordings include the premiere recording of Paul Lansky’s Textures on Bridge Records and Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich with Ensemble Signal on Harmonia Mundi (France). He has been a member of the artist faculty at the soundSCAPE Festival in Italy since 2006 where he leads courses in contemporary music and improvisation.

Last years BB&B event was our first time at the American Jazz Museum.  There is plenty of space in the Atrium, atmosphere, music and appetizers.  Participants are encouraged to come in costume but if you don't have a mask or beads you will get them there.  We will have a contest for King and Queen, raffle and dancing to the band.   Join us as we are setting the stage for Mardi Gras is to the Jazz Museum as St Patrick's Day is to Westport.

Bring friends and co-workers to the Kansas City Symphony for a FREE chamber music performance featuring music from the Baroque period. From a Johann Christian Bach quintet to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestra Suite No. 2 with the famous Badinerie, we’ve got your Baroque fix covered. Come early for a drink at in the Kauffman Center’s Brandmeyer Great Hall with its panoramic views; cash bars open at 5 p.m. Reserve your free general admission tickets in advance starting January 15 by visiting kcsymphony.org. Sponsored by Lead Bank.

by Stephen Karam

Breaking with tradition, the Blake clan gathers for Thanksgiving dinner in lower Manhattan at their daughter’s new apartment. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle duplex, family tensions reach a boiling point and the secrets that bubble up threaten to change this modern American family forever.

Perhaps no decade had more personalities to its music than the 1950s. From the crooners who dominated the early years (Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Perry Como) to the rise of rock-and-roll and pop stars (Buddy Holly, Connie Francis, Jerry Lee Lewis), and from the heyday of many jazz legends (Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday) to classic musicals such as GUYS AND DOLLS, MY FAIR LADY, and WEST SIDE STORY, this decade had it all – and so will this dynamite cabaret revue!

Rossini’s William Tell Overture gallops out of the gate in this energetic Kansas City Symphony concert, followed by pianist Alessio Bax who returns to perform Barber’s technically demanding Piano Concerto. Mendelssohn’s boyhood trip to Scotland inspired his Symphony No. 3, “Scottish.” Esteemed conductor Edo de Waart leads us through Mendelssohn’s lilting score with its impressions of ancient palace ruins, an old bagpipe melody and lively Scottish dances. Tickets from $25.

ROSSINI Overture to William Tell

BARBER Piano Concerto

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”

Edo de Waart, guest conductor

Alessio Bax, piano

Young musicians compete on stage in Helzberg Hall for the opportunity to perform with the Kansas City Symphony. Cash prizes nearing $2,000, including an Audience Favorite prize, will be awarded. The preliminary round takes place Saturday, February 2 at the Bell Cultural Events Center at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, and is open to students ages 13-18. The Symphony must receive applications by Wednesday, January 23 at 5 p.m. Visit kcsymphony.org for more information and free tickets.

The 36th Annual Folly Jazz Series presents: Kurt Elling Quintet

INDIVIDUAL TICKETS GO ON SALE AUGUST 13TH

Named by the New York Times as “the standout male vocalist of our time.”, Kurt Elling performs at the historic Folly Theater on March 9th. A GRAMMY winner and 12-time GRAMMY nominee, Elling has been awarded two German Echo Awards, two Prix Billie Holiday from the Academie du Jazz in Paris, the Dutch Edison and the Edison Oeuvreprijs. He has been named Jazz Ambassador by the nation of Poland. Within the United States, Kurt was named “Male Singer of the Year” by the DownBeat Critics Poll for fourteen consecutive years and by The Jazz Journalists Association on eight occasions. The Washington Post confirmed the acclaim declaring, ”Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, he has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz.”. A new recording from Kurt Elling entitled THE QUESTIONS was released in March of 2018.

BAND LINE-UP

KURT ELLING – VOCALS

STU MINDEMAN – PIANO

CLARK SOMMERS – BASS

ADONIS ROSE – DRUMS

JOHN MCLEAN – GUITAR

About Alexander Melnikov: Alexander Melnikov has had a life-long interest in historically-informed performance practice. His major influences in this field include Andreas Staier and Alexei Lubimov. Melnikov performs regularly with distinguished period ensembles and artists including the Freiburger Barockorchester, Musica Aeterna and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. He has also long been associated with the works of Shostakovich, and his landmark recording of the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues was cited as one of the most import recordings of the twentieth century. About the program: “I believe the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues to be the single-most important piano works of the last century,” Melnikov once told Cynthia. Inspired by Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier and a secret love affair, Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues contain some of his most tender, noble, and transcendental writing.