The Kansas City Symphony (KCS) is a United States symphony orchestra based in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The Symphony performs at the

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at 16th and Broadway, near the Power & Light District, the T-Mobile Center and the Crossroads Arts District. Its construction was a ...

, located at 1601 Broadway Boulevard.

History

Kansas City's first symphony orchestra was the Kansas City Symphony, formed in 1911 for

Carl Busch Carl Busch (29 March 1862, Bjerre – 19 December 1943, Kansas City) was a Danish-born American composer and music teacher sometimes associated with the Indianist movement. He was an important figure in the musical life of Kansas City, Miss ...

. It ceased operations at the start of World War I, as many of the musicians were sent to War. Kansas City's second symphony orchestra was the Kansas City Philharmonic, founded in 1933 and dissolved in 1982. Only months later, seeing the necessity for a new symphony orchestra, businessman and philanthropist R. Crosby Kemper, Jr. founded the Kansas City Symphony. Kemper chose a group of other prominent Kansas Citians, including

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...

Chairman and CEO

Donald J. Hall, Sr. Donald Joyce Hall (born July 9, 1928) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and majority shareholder of Hallmark Cards, the world's largest greeting card manufacturer and one of the world's largest privately held companies. Ha ...

and

H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R Block operates approximat ...

co-founder Henry W. Bloch, to be the founding trustees; together, the first board established the Symphony's initial endowment. They also promulgated the Symphony's mission, to "advance and advocate the art of classical music for the enrichment of the community." In 2002, the Kansas City Symphony was instrumental in developing the Concert Companion, led by then-executive director Roland Valliere. Funded by the

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commonly known as the Hewlett Foundation, is a private foundation, established by Hewlett-Packard cofounder William Redington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson Hewlett in 1966. The Hewlett Foundation aw ...

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also known as the Knight Foundation, is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts. The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education ...

, the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

and the

David and Lucile Packard Foundation The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private foundation that provides grants to not-for-profit organizations. It was created in 1964 by David Packard (co-founder of HP) and his wife Lucile Salter Packard. Following David Packard's death ...

, the Concert Companion was tested by the Kansas City Symphony, as well as the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

Pittsburgh Symphony The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Pittsburgh, Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Sy ...

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

, and

Oakland East Bay Symphony The Oakland East Bay Symphony (OEBS) is a leading orchestra based in Oakland, California. Michael Morgan held the position of music director and conductor from September 1990 until his death in August 2021. The Paramount Theatre has been the hom ...

. The previous home of the Symphony was the Lyric Theatre until September 2011 when it moved to Helzberg Hall in the

Today

The Kansas City Symphony currently has 80 full-time musicians, all area residents. Each year, it plays a 42-week season, which includes subscription concerts, educational concerts, regional and national tours, and public outreach concerts. The Symphony also performs music for the

Lyric Opera of Kansas City Lyric Opera of Kansas City is an American opera company located in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1958 by conductor Russell Patterson, the company presents an annual season of four operas at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Produc ...

and the

Kansas City Ballet The Kansas City Ballet (KCB) is an American professional ballet company based in Kansas City, Missouri. The company was founded in 1957 by Russian expatriate Tatiana Dokoudovska. The KCB presents five major performances each season to include ...

. In addition to ordinary donations and concert proceeds, the Symphony is supported by four specialized auxiliary groups. Together, these groups raise over $1,000,000 each year. Fund-raising events include Kansas City's main debutante ball, the Jewel Ball (which also benefits the

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of Asian art. In 2007, ''Time'' magaz ...

), the Symphony Ball, the Symphony Designers' Showhouse (a home renovation expo in Kansas City's

Country Club District The Country Club District is the name of a group of neighborhoods comprising a historic upscale residential district in Kansas City, developed by noted real estate developer J.C. Nichols. The district was developed in stages between 1906 and 1950, ...

which chooses one historic home to renovate each year), a Friends of the Symphony Gift Shop, and a docent program for educational concerts. In the 2018/19 season, the symphony's annual budget was nearly $19 million. Harry Potter Live with the Kansas City Symphony

Harry Potter Live with the Kansas City Symphony

The symphony released its first compact disc, ''American Voices'', conducted by

William McGlaughlin William McGlaughlin (born October 3, 1943) is an American composer, conductor, music educator, and Peabody Award-winning classical music radio host. He is the host and music director of the public radio programs ''Exploring Music'' and ''Saint P ...

, in 1995. ''The Sound of Kansas City'' CD debuted in 2004. In July 2008 the Symphony released Gordon Chin's ''Formosa Seasons'' on the Naxos label, and two settings for Shakespeare's ''Tempest'' (by Arthur Sullivan and Jean Sibelius) with Reference Recordings. The Symphony released ''Britten's Orchestra'', in 2009, a Vaughan Williams/Elgar disc in 2013 and a Hindemith/Prokofiev/Bartok disc in 2014 also with Reference Recordings. Additionally, the Symphony has performed on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

and has participated in two nationally broadcast

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

television specials, the latest being ''Homecoming: The Kansas City Symphony presents

Joyce DiDonato Joyce DiDonato (née Flaherty; born February 13, 1969) is an American lyric-coloratura mezzo-soprano. She is notable for her interpretations of operas and concert works in the 19th-century romantic era in addition to works by Handel and Mozart. ...

'', recorded in Helzberg Hall at the

. Every week during the Symphony's season,

KCUR-FM KCUR-FM (89.3 MHz) is a public, listener-supported radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, broadcasting over the Kansas City metropolitan area and parts of Missouri and Kansas. It is a service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, which als ...

broadcasts highlights of Symphony performances.

Music directors

*2004–present: Michael Stern *1999–2003: Anne Manson *1986–1997:

*1982–1986: Russell Patterson

References

External links

The Kansas City Symphony (official site)
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1982 American orchestras Culture of Kansas City, Missouri Tourist attractions in Kansas City, Missouri Performing arts in Missouri Musical groups from Missouri 1982 establishments in Missouri

History

Today

Music directors

See also

References

External links