Chanticleer Returns to Kauffman

The Friends of Chamber Music proudly welcomes back Kansas City and international favorite, Chanticleer. The lush, rich tones of this impeccable ensemble will delight the audience in Helzberg Hall at the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on November 5th at 8 p.m. Spanning six centuries, the featured program Love Story includes music by de Victoria, Vivanco, R. Strauss, Whitacre, Paulus, Tavener, Ellington and more.

National Geographic speakers resonate with audiences worldwide by sharing stories of exploration and discovery and behind-the-scenes accounts of life on expedition. Speakers offer a wide range of topics that today’s audiences associate with National Geographic – wildlife, exploration, adventure, innovation, world culture and ancient history. Accompanied by award-winning photographs, all presentations deliver a spectacular visual impact.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 – Helzberg Hall
Photographer Annie Griffiths presents ‘A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel’

“I have learned that even without a shared language, it’s easy to let people know that their children are beautiful, their homes are lovely…and that their stories are worth sharing with the world” – Annie Griffiths

Experience the life of a photographer on assignment for National Geographic magazine and meet a true pioneer who figured out her own way to balance work and family. One of National Geographic’s first female staff photographers, Annie Griffiths has worked on every continent except Antarctica, while also raising two children. Perhaps the only professional photographer ever to pack her camera gear in Pampers, she found a way to stay close to her kids without putting the brakes on her career—even if it meant bringing the two along with her on assignment in places as distant as the ruins of Petra in Jordan or the Galápagos Islands.

TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012 – Helzberg Hall
Underwater explorer Kenny Broad presents ‘Extreme Cave Diving: Exploring the blue holes of the Bahamas’

“Underwater caves may just look like dark, eerie holes,” says Broad, “but they can be critical reservoirs of clean fresh drinking water and are integral to the health of the surrounding habitats.” – Kenny Broad

In Kenny Broad’s line of work, exploring submerged caves and blue holes, one mistake can equal death. He and his team must take every precaution to avoid such dangers as stirring up sediments that can wipe out visibility, succumbing to nausea as they pass through a toxic layer of hydrogen sulfide, or getting lost in maze-like passageways with a limited supply of diving gasses.

The need to study blue holes is urgent, as they are among the least studied and most threatened habitats on Earth. Broad’s work combines the study of risk perception, exploration and environmental anthropology.

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012 – Helzberg Hall
Wildlife photographer and filmmaker Mattias Klum presents ‘Being There on Expedition with National Geographic’

“Thoughtfulness begins with seeing. My job as a photographer is to make that seeing easier. What we appreciate and are fascinated by, we will also want to preserve.” – Mattias Klum

Take an awe-inspiring journey around the world, featuring unique perspectives on some of Earth’s natural wonders—the Okavango Delta, Iceland’s glaciers and the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Your guide? One of the most important natural history photographers of our time—and one of National Geographic Live’s most highly acclaimed speakers. Through Klum’s camera lens, you’ll get an up-to-date report on the state of our planet. And, you’ll marvel at the beauty of the natural world captured in striking new photographs and high-definition video from his most recent expeditions to the world’s last wild places.

MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 – Helzberg Hall
Primatologist and Nat Geo WILD TV Host Mireya Mayor presents ‘Pink Boots and a Machete’

Often described in the media as “a female Indiana Jones,” Mireya Mayor is not your typical scientist. Both as an anthropologist working in the jungles of Madagascar, and as a wildlife correspondent for National Geographic, this city girl and former Miami Dolphins cheerleader has found herself sleeping in a rain forest hammock amid poisonous snakes, being charged by gorillas, scaling rocky cliffs and diving with great white sharks. As a two-time Emmy Award-nominated field correspondent for the National Geographic Channel, Mireya Mayor has reported to audiences worldwide on pertinent wildlife and habitat issues.

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SEASON SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION
The National Geographic LIVE Series subscription package includes ticket discounts and priority seating, making this an affordable option for all. Season tickets range in price from $60 to $120. For ticket information, please call Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts ticket box office at (816) 994-7222 or buy online.

ADVENTURE CIRCLE
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will offer an Adventure’s Circle season subscription package that includes priority seating for all four National Geographic Live presentations, an invitation to a private reception with wildlife photographer and filmmaker Mattais Klum, a signed copy of his book and acknowledgement of your support. The package also includes a tax-deductible gift to the Kauffman Center to support National Geographic Live in Kansas City. To learn more, call the Kauffman Center box office at (816) 994-7222 or buy online.

Books will be for sale courtesy of Rainy Day Books. Speakers will be available for signatures.

National Geographic Live! is generously supported by Teresa and Tom Walsh

Making their Kauffman Center debut, Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform in Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, as the first presentation of the Kauffman Center’s Destination Series, which introduces audiences to high quality performing arts experiences offered by performing artists and groups from around the world.

For more than 40 years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of the native South African musical traditions. The nine-member vocal ensemble has recorded 40 albums and sold more than 6 million records. First brought to the attention of international audiences through Paul Simon’s Graceland recording, they have since won three Grammy Awards and an additional 15 Grammy nominations. Their first album Shaka Zulu won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform in Muriel Kauffman Theatre a blend of songs spanning throughout their successful career, as well as songs from their newly released album Songs From a Zulu Farm.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be followed in the Destinations Series by Irish music ensemble The Chieftains in March and Broadway’s international dance sensation Burn The Floor in May 2012.

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Tom Sawyer: A Spectacular World Premiere

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts invites you to be the first to see Kansas City Ballet perform Tom Sawyer – A Ballet in 3 Acts featuring Kansas City Symphony in magnificent Muriel Kauffman Theatre!

Limited additional seating for Tom Sawyer has been released including exclusive box seats! To reserve your seats today please contact 816-994-7222 or purchase online.

The Darwin Project
Friday, October 14
8:00 pm
Helzberg Hall – Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

The Friends of Chamber Music kicks off their 36th Season presenting world-class chamber music to Kansas City, mixing traditional classics with new and innovative programming.

In the opening concert of the 2011-12 season, The Friends proudly joins the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in presenting the debut of an innovative multi-media production: The Darwin Project. Ambitiously comingling acting and live chamber music with projections of historical images and stunning nature photos, the performance explores the life of Charles Darwin culminating in the publication of Darwin’s most famous work, On the Origin of Species.

Co-written by local playwright Jeremy M. Lillig and Avila English Professor Nancy Cervetti, in consultation with scientists Robert Powell of Avila University and Bill Ashworth and Bruce Bradley of the Linda Hall Library,The Darwin Project is directed by Kyle Hatley, associate artistic director for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and features local favorites Gary Neal Johnson as Charles Darwin, Kathleen Warfel as Emma Darwin, and Cinnamon Schultz as the Narrator. The Daedalus String Quartet and the Kansas City Collegium Vocale, directed by Ryan Board, join Alon
Goldstein, pianist in performing works by composers such as Byrd, Mendelssohn, Ravel, Chopin, Debussy, Schumann, and Schubert. Images from Darwin’s life, as well as spectacular photography by field biologists including John Hess, Robert Powell, and Jeff Ackley, serve as the backdrop for the recounting of one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.

The production showcases Darwin’s many and varied connections to music, such as the chamber choir that he often listened to while studying at Cambridge, and his great enjoyment of his wife’s piano music. Emma Darwin was an accomplished musician who had studied with Chopin and Moscheles, and filled their home with lovely music from the Romantic Era.

Join us this season as The Friends Transcend Tradition.