The UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance is pleased to announce its Conservatory Artist Series at the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, giving students an unequaled opportunity. More than 300 Conservatory students from dance, jazz, winds, choral, and orchestra will perform in the Kauffman’s inaugural year, giving these students an unparalleled opportunity to experience this state of the art new hall.

Conservatory Dean Peter Witte notes, “The opening of the Kauffman Center is historic – and UMKC is honored to part of that history.  Muriel McBrien Kauffman’s dream was to create a home for the kind of diverse and exceptional performances our faculty have imagined. In this great era for the arts in Kansas City, we are thrilled to showcase the Conservatory’s greatest strengths, our exceptional faculty and students.”

The Conservatory Artist Series, which continues its focus on collaboration, will sustain our commitment to great performances while celebrating our bonds with leading national and Kansas City arts organizations.  Performances by PRISM Quartet, performing William Bolcom’s Concerto Grosso, a PRISM commission, the Conservatory’s own Concert Jazz Band, performing Bobby Watson’s The Gates BBQ Suite, and Conservatory Wind Symphony, which performs Corigliano’s Circus Maximus will dramatize the Conservatory’s innovative strengths.

Conservatory dancers will collaborate with the Conservatory choirs and Wind Symphony to perform the dazzling Carmina Burana, while the season will wrap up with the stellar Conservatory Orchestra, under the direction of Robert Olson performing Chen Yi’s beautiful Chinese Myths, which also includes the Conservatory’s dancers and choir in addition to four Chinese traditional instrumentalists.

Here’s the lineup of performances in the new Kauffman Center:

Conservatory Artist Series

Sept. 28, 2011 Conservatory Concert Jazz Band, Conservatory Wind Symphony, PRISM Quartet, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m. The Conservatory’s Concert Jazz Band, conducted by Bobby Watson, will perform Watson’s The Gates BBQ Suite. The Conservatory Wind Symphony, directed by Steven D. Davis will perform Corigliano’s Circus Maximus, Symphony No. 3 for Large Wind Ensemble. We also welcome PRISM Quartet, who will perform William Bolcom’s Concerto Grosso for saxophone quartet and winds, a PRISM commission.

Feb. 20, 2012, Conservatory Dancers, Choirs, and Wind Symphony: Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m. Orff’s popular Carmina Burana, conducted by Robert Bode, is an audience favorite for its diverse offerings of love, lust, and the evocative moods of spring. Choreographed by Paula Weber, the dancers evoke the poetry of spring and the Carmina Burana’s cycle of life.

April 28, 2012, Conservatory Orchestra Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m. Under the direction of Robert Olson, this stellar group of Conservatory students always dazzles the audience with amazing artistry. The program includes Chen Yi’s Chinese Myths, a cantata for orchestra with four Chinese traditional instrumentalists, mixed choir and dancers.  The performance will include the Conservatory’s dancers, choir, and orchestra.