Hard Hat Concerts are coming our way soon

Date: September 12, 2008

Author: Kauffman Center

When he joined the marching band instead of taking high school PE, Christopher McLaurin didn’t realize that he was making a career choice.  With his first set of “sticks” in hand at 15, McLaurin marched off toward music studies that would take him through Juilliard and the New World Symphony.

Now the principal percussionist with The Kansas City Symphony, McLaurin is making a similarly bold decision to found the Kansas City Symphony New Music Group.  Interested in a Hard Hat Concert?  They are right around the corner.

As a symphony percussionist, Christopher McLaurin has rattled tinfoil, broken glass in a trash can and tooted a taxi horn.  He has also played more than 100 other instruments, some of which require him to use both hands and both feet.  This versatility might provide hints as to why he’s interested in “new music.”

“While not a rigid rule,” McLaurin explains, “symphonies mostly play music that is 75 years or older.  On the other hand, training for younger musicians now includes a focus on what is called ‘new music.’ It stretches our technique and endurance, as well as the minds and hearts of our audience. Many of us are looking for the chance to play more ‘new music’ during our professional lives.”  

So McLaurin and the symphony have issued an open invitation to fellow members of the orchestra to become part of The Kansas City Symphony New Music Group.  And, as an avid Kauffman Center booster, this chamber music group (which will have up to eight members at any performance) will play several benefit performances for the new performing arts center. “We're very excited to put on these concerts to bring awareness and excitement to what the Kauffman Center will do for the symphony.”

“We’re already preparing some of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s work,” McLaurin says.  “And we’re looking forward to showcasing works by a range of modern composers, from last century's pioneers like Stravinsky and Varese, to living mavericks like Charles Wuorinen, Chen Yi and Zhou Long.”  Award-winning composers Chen Yi and Zhou Long are both on the faculty at UMKC.

McLaurin grew up outside of San Francisco and realizes that his interest in music came late. When he picked percussion in high school, he admits thinking that he thought it would be relatively easy to pick up. “Little did I know how complex percussion work is,” McLaurin admits now.  Percussionists must become proficient on dozens of instruments, each having its own technique. 

He began college thinking he would become a music educator. But a professor noted his intensity.  “I kept demanding more and more from my music,” McLaurin said.  That professor urged him to consider music as a full-time profession. 

“I couldn’t help wondering what a musician did and whether anybody would pay me to do it,” McLaurin says now.  But he took the leap and after graduating from college was admitted to Juilliard. Later he studied with teachers at the Cleveland Orchestra and was admitted to the world-class training ground that is the New World Symphony.  He was thrilled to be selected by The Kansas City Symphony as its principal percussionist in 2007.

“I’m really excited about what’s going on here in Kansas City.  A musical home like the Kauffman Center will bring out all the detail and character of what we are playing on stage.  It’s a musician’s dream,” McLaurin says.  “So our group, supported by funding from the Symphony’s Community Connections Initiative, is eager to support the Kauffman Center with this series of Hard Hat Concerts in the near future.”

McLaurin is also a cyberspace booster of the Kansas City Symphony. Facebook users can join the fan page he has set up.  Search for “Kansas City Symphony” and select “Join.”