choral music

There's plenty of song and celebration this season with holiday concerts and shows around Kansas City.

The Lyric's Opera To Go program brings live performances to retirement communities across the Kansas City metro. For the residents of these communities, in-person concerts are an experience that can't be replicated by recordings.

It's been a year since we published our first story featuring community music ensembles in Kansas City. To kick off 2024, we're highlighting even more groups you can join to share in the love of music and music-making.

Since 1982, William Jewell College has partnered with Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral to present "The City Come Again" as a gift in music and word to Kansas City. Dr. Ian Coleman, Chair of the Department of Performing Arts at William Jewell College, hosts this program featuring students, faculty and special guests performing seasonal music, poetry, and more.

A choir teacher in Goddard was called out by the Freedom From Religion Foundation after leading her students in a song often interpreted as a plea for release from slavery.

As the days get shorter and the nights grow longer, moments of light and renewal shine even brighter in our lives. Classical KC and KCUR staff members contributed their favorite seasonal events and traditions to our guide to find warmth and radiance in darker times

Choral music traditions and the holiday season go hand-in-hand. Whether you're hoping to join in on Handel's 'Messiah' or experience premieres of newly written works, learn more about a sampling of upcoming events from Kansas City's vibrant choral music scene.

The acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is bringing its mix of Bach and Radiohead to Kansas City. Classical KC's Brooke Knoll speaks with Artistic Director Barnaby Smith and soprano Andrea Haines about their origins, how singing improves health and their unique choice of repertoire. We'll hear the group sing works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Emeli Sandé, Eric Whitacre and yes, even Radiohead.

Classical KC takes you inside the Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri for a June 2023 performance by the Liberty Community Chorus: ”Then Sings My Soul.” During this special 20th anniversary concert, we’ll hear the chorus, under the direction of Bryan Taylor, organist Jan Kraybill and other assembled musicians perform a diverse selection of choral works.

"The Sacred Veil" is a collaboration between composer Eric Whitacre and lyric poet Charles Anthony Silvestri that will make its local debut with newly formed chamber choir Sonus. Classical KC's Christy L'Esperance, Silvestri, and Sonus founder Kolby Van Camp discuss the work, the cancer journey of Silvestri's wife, and the thin veil between life and death that touches all of our lives.

Anyone can join the Liberty Community Chorus, where amateur singers sit next to classically trained vocalists. “Without them sitting next to those other singers, they never know how good they can become,” says Artistic Director Bryan Taylor.

As the summer music season kicks off in Kansas City, live music options abound — but how to choose? KCUR’s list of the month’s most creative acts will help clarify the decision.