Children in winter clothing walk on a paved area near a yellow school bus, clutching their student tickets. Other school buses are parked in the background.

Student Matinees

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Fostering a Love for the Arts in Kansas City Youth

a group of children and adults sit in theater seats bathed in blue lighting. Some appear excited, raising their arms towards the stage, while others sit calmly.

Every year, 40,000 students visit the Kauffman Center to experience the performing arts through more than 35 student matinees.

These events include Kansas City Symphony concerts, Kansas City Ballet performances, Lyric Opera of Kansas City performances, Kauffman Center Presents Trailblazing Talks speaker series presentations, and more! Exploring the arts is a crucial component of a well-rounded education and empowers young people to discover their creative potential.

School Performances Presented by Resident Companies

Kauffman Center Presents
Student Matinee Performances

Student matinees cultivate a connection to the arts in young people and the Kauffman Center is proud to host these events for Kansas City’s youth throughout the season. Tickets for Kauffman Center Presents student matinees are offered at the reduced price of $2 per ticket for school groups.

A group of six young individuals stands indoors, smiling at the camera. Four of them are in the foreground, dressed casually, while two more are in the background, engaged in conversation. at the Kauffman Center.

The Kauffman Center will present five student matinees in the 2026-2027 school year: a special engagement with Royal Albert Hall Organist and social media sensation Anna Lapwood in fall 2026 and four Trailblazing Talks presentations in spring 2027.

The Kauffman Center’s speaker series, Trailblazing Talks, features award-winning photographers, explorers, scientists, documentarians and more. Each one-hour presentation is illustrated by stunning imagery and gripping video footage shown on a 40-foot-by-22.5-foot screen in Muriel Kauffman Theatre. Afterward, students get up close and personal with the speaker during a brief audience Q&A session.

Student matinees are recommended for grades 6 – 12. Tickets are just $2 per student. Ticket reservations for the 2026-2027 Kauffman Center Presents student matinees will open on Aug. 3, 2026 and will close for each student matinee either when they sell out or three weeks before the performance date.

Please contact opendoors@kauffmancenter.org with questions.

A woman in a red jacket stands confidently in the center of an ornate, empty theater with dramatic pink and purple lighting.

Organ Concert with Anna Lapwood,
Resident Organist of Royal Albert Hall
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at 10 a.m.

Anna Lapwood MBE — official Organist of the Royal Albert Hall, chart-topping recording artist and social media sensation — brings her trailblazing artistry to Kansas City. You won’t want to miss her performance on the custom-built Julia Irene Dennie – Kauffman Casavant Organ, Opus 3875 in Helzberg Hall. Known across the world for her imaginative, open-minded approach, Lapwood is redefining what it means to be a classical musician today with her joy, authenticity and connection with millions of fans.

Portrait of Quannah Rose Chasinghorse-Potts, in front of sacred Indigenous land near her childhood home on the Navajo Nation. The landform is known as West Mitten, in Monument Valley, Utah. Set aside in 1958, it is a Navajo Nation tribal park, considered sacred by Diné and managed by the nation. Self-management of lands sacred to Indigenous peoples is one major aspect of the Native American landback movement.

Indigenous Wisdom for a Modern World
Kiliii Yüyan, Photographer & Filmmaker
Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2027, at 10:30 a.m.

Coral reefs, rainforests, Arctic tundra — these ecosystems have endured for generations because Indigenous peoples have cared for them. National Geographic Explorer Kiliii Yüyan has faced polar bears with Iñupiat hunters, dived into mangrove shark nurseries, and learned from elders whose knowledge spans hundreds of generations. Drawing from his book Guardians of Life, Kiliii shows that Indigenous ecological wisdom isn’t just heritage — it’s a blueprint for the planet’s future.

A polar bear stands on an ice patch atop rocky cliffs near the ocean, with a waterfall and misty sky in the background.

The Color of Everything
Cory Richards, Photographer
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2027, at 10:30 a.m.

Climbing legend, mental health advocate, and global raconteur, Cory Richards has photographed for National Geographic in the most remote corners of the globe. This epic tale of risk and adventure is told by a man who lives madly to avoid going mad. In this quest, Cory has climbed Everest, paddled Botswana’s Okavango, and battled Antarctica’s katabatic winds to make the first ascent of its tallest tower. His courage and resilience in the face of pain offer a hopeful reframing of what it means to be human.

A woman in safety gear stands on a platform overlooking the ocean, with multiple offshore wind turbines visible in the background under a clear blue sky.

Saving the World with Nuclear Power
Dr. Leslie Dewan, Nuclear Engineer
Tuesday, March 16, 2027, at 10:30 a.m.

As global energy demand rises, scalable clean solutions are critical. Dr. Leslie Dewan reveals how next-generation nuclear reactors — alongside other sustainable sources — can overcome cost, safety and waste challenges — reframing nuclear power as a key driver of a sustainable future. This talk offers a bold, practical vision for powering the world responsibly.

This student matinee is recommended for high school age students. 

An adult puma and a puma cub rest together on grass, looking alert and calm in a sunlit natural environment.

Among Wild Predators
Casey Anderson, Wildlife Filmmaker
Tuesday, April 27, 2027, at 10:30 a.m.

For more than three decades, wildlife filmmaker and National Geographic explorer Casey Anderson has walked toward what most people run from: grizzlies, mountain lions, tigers and other dangerous predators. In Among Wild Predators, Casey takes us on a powerful visual and emotional journey into the hearts of these animals, and into our own hearts as well. Through breathtaking encounters and deeply personal stories, he dismantles the myths that have fueled humanity’s fear of predators and reveals what they truly are: mirrors of our own courage, empathy and survival.

Bus Transportation Assistance

The Kauffman Center’s Bus Transportation Fund helps educators provide arts experiences to their students by eliminating or defraying bus costs.

Any school transporting students to a qualifying matinee or open rehearsal presented at the Kauffman Center can apply for partial bus transportation assistance. Bus Transportation Fund applications must be submitted no later than two business days after the performance.

Apply Today

Several yellow school buses are parked in front of a modern glass building with a curved facade, as seen in at the Kauffman Center.

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