Chanticleer to Perform October 24

Chanticleer Joins 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents Series

Vocal ensemble Chanticleer brings its 40th anniversary tour to Helzberg Hall on October 24, 2018

Chanticleer

 Vocal ensemble Chanticleer. Photo courtesy of Chanticleer

Kansas City, MO – The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts has announced that Chanitcleer will perform on October 24 in the Helzberg Hall. This event is part of the 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents series.

Chanticleer is a 12-person vocal ensemble. Known as “an orchestra of voices” for its seamless blend of 12 male voices ranging from soprano to bass, Chanticleer performs original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, as well as contemporary compositions. Since Chanticleer began releasing recordings in 1981, the group has sold well over a million albums and won two GRAMMY awards.

ABOUT CHANTICLEER

Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker, the San Francisco-based GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble Chanticleer will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2018. The 40th anniversary tour – Then and There, Here and Now – is a panoramic look at Chanticleer’s complete musical history, featuring classical pieces, traditional songs, and modern melodies. Chanticleer was founded in San Francisco in 1978 by Louis Botto. The group performs about 100 concerts each year in the U.S. and abroad. Named for the clear-singing rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer has won several GRAMMY Awards for classical ensemble and classical composition recordings.

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Black Violin to Perform on Oct. 3

Black Violin Joins 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents Series

Hip-hop violin/viola duo Black Violin returns to the Kauffman Center on Oct. 3

Hip-hop/classical duo Black Violin. Photo by Colin Brennan.

Kansas City, MO – The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts has announced that Black Violin will perform on Oct. 3 in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre. This event is part of the 2018-2019 Kauffman Center Presents series.

Black Violin is a duo that combines hip-hop and classical music influences. They will perform October 3, 2018, returning to the Kauffman Center after a sold-out fall 2016 performance. Violist Wil B. and violinist Kev Marcus have crafted a style that’s often described as “classical boom,” aiming to change perceptions of classical and hip-hop music.

Black Violin is currently writing and recording their next studio album, due out in 2018. The band’s most recent record, Stereotypes, debuted at number one on the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart and number four on the Billboard R&B Chart. NPR praised the album and band, saying, “their music will keep classical music alive for the next generation.”

ABOUT BLACK VIOLIN

Black Violin has shared stages with musical acts including Kanye West, Aerosmith and Tom Petty. Black Violin’s music was featured on the Fox TV series, Pitch. The duo places heavy emphasis on educational outreach and perform for nearly 100,000 students annually. The band has partnered with the National Association for Music Manufacturers (NAMM) to continue their advocacy for accessible music education.

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2018 Future Stages Festival Applications Open

Performance group applications are open for the 5th annual Future Stages Festival

Youth performance groups are encouraged to apply through March 5

Learn More

KC Boys and Girls Choirs in Helzberg Hall during the 2017 Future Stages Festival. Photo by Alaina Abplanalp.

KC Boys and Girls Choirs in Helzberg Hall during the 2017 Future Stages Festival. Photo by Alaina Abplanalp.

Applications for the 2018 Future Stages Festival are open now through March 5. More than 800 youth performers sang, acted, and danced onstage at the Kauffman Center during the 2017 annual Future Stages Festival. Performances varied from opera recitals to traditional African dance shows. Groups such as Team Shakespeare from Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and the Kansas City Ballet School participated in the free festival last year, helping to bring in nearly 5,000 festival attendees.

The Kauffman Center is hoping to showcase an even more diverse variety of performance groups for the 2018 festival on Sunday, June 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Applications are open through March 5. Large ensembles with 10 or more youth performers can apply to perform on the main stages of Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Helzberg Hall or the St. Luke’s Outdoor Stage. New this year, youth performers from smaller ensembles will have a chance to participate. Groups with 2 to 9 youth performers will be considered for an additional stage on the Arts District Garage Lawn.

Additional information about the event and applications may be found at kauffmancenter.org/futurestagesfestival. With over 40 percent of last year’s performance groups having been new to the event, the Kauffman Center is reaching deeper into the Kansas City metro area each year with Future Stages Festival. The diversity of performance groups makes a strong impression on youth performers and festival attendees alike.

“Future Stages is a vital experience for the Greater Kansas City community,” said a representative from Crescendo Conservatory, a 2017 Future Stages participant. “The dancers of Crescendo Conservatory are delighted to be included as part of the diverse youth performances offered throughout the festival. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a nationally recognized facility and one that every Kansas Citian should get to know!”

Click here to view images from the 2017 festival, and check out a video of the 2017 Future Stages Festival by KCPT here:

Future Stages Festival 2018 is presented by Premier Partner:

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Additional funding provided by:

    

Festival support provided by:


       

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NEA Awards Grant to the Kauffman Center for Future Stages Festival 2018

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts to receive $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

The NEA award, among 1,023 grants annually, will support the Kauffman Center’s
5th annual Future Stages Festival on June 10th

Youth performers at the 2017 Future Stages Festival. Photo by Jillian Shoptaw.

Photo by Jillian Shoptaw

Kansas City, MO—National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $25 million in grants as part of the NEA’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $25,000 to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. This award is the largest NEA grant awarded to the Kauffman Center in support of Future Stages Festival. The festival is a free community event that provides opportunities for future artists to take center stage at the Kauffman Center. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

The fifth Future Stages Festival will be held at the Kauffman Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 10, 2018. The free, one-day festival invites youth and families to experience a diverse range of performances and arts activities. Future Stages Festival, an extension of the Kauffman Center’s Open Doors Spotlight on Youth program, also provides opportunities for youth and community arts organizations to perform on stage at the Kauffman Center. Since the festival began in 2014, more than 2,500 Kansas City-area youth artists from 60 arts organizations have been featured on Kauffman Center stages.

Presented by Saint Luke’s Health System, Future Stages Festival is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register at kauffmancenter.org/futurestages to receive the latest event updates and schedule for performances and activities.

For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Youth ballet dancers perform at the 2017 Future Stages Festival at the Kauffman Center.

Photo by Cody Boston

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Miranda Sings to Perform on March 25

Miranda Sings joins 2017-2018 Kauffman Center Presents series

The internet comedy sensation and YouTube star played by actress Colleen Ballinger
will perform Sunday, March 25 in Muriel Kauffman Theatre

Get Tickets

Miranda Sings Live ... Your Welcome - Sunday, March 25, 2018 at the Kauffman Center

Kansas City, MO – Today, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts announced that YouTube comedy star Miranda Sings will bring her Miranda Sings Live … Your Welcome tour to Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Sunday, March 25. This event is part of the 2017-2018 Kauffman Center Presents series.

Miranda Sings – a character played by actress, comedian and singer Colleen Ballinger – has become an international phenomenon whose YouTube channel has garnered more than 8 million devoted subscribers and over 1 billion views. Ballinger created the character as a satire of bad but arrogant singers who believe that posting their videos on YouTube will lead to them breaking into show business. The eccentric, narcissistic yet endearing character is known for her overdrawn red lips, questionable advice about singing and life, a deluded self-confidence and over-the-top rants about her family and personal problems.

Tickets for Miranda Sings Live … Your Welcome range from $39 to $89 plus applicable fees and are on sale now. Performance tickets including a VIP meet-and-greet with Miranda Sings are available. Tickets are available through the Kauffman Center Box Office at (816) 994-7222, via the Kauffman Center mobile app, or online at www.kauffmancenter.org.

ABOUT MIRANDA SINGS

Colleen Ballinger has appeared as Miranda Sings on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. As the success of Miranda Sings took off, Colleen began performing live as the character in cabaret venues and theaters, before eventually taking the act on the road in both national and international sold-out tours.

With her New York Times No. 1 bestselling book Selp Helf, and the hour-long comedy special inspired by it, Colleen’s eccentric alter ego continues to grow beyond her YouTube channel. Ballinger served as a writer, executive producer and star of the Netflix original series Haters Back Off!, which premiered in October 2016 and ran for two seasons.

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Colleen Ballinger (left), and Ballinger in character as Miranda Sings (right).
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