performing arts

Pintscher is a well-known conductor and composer who previously led the renowned Parisian group Ensemble Intercontemporain. He replaces former music director Michael Stern at the helm of the Kansas City Symphony's orchestra.

Kansas City has long been associated with barbeque, fountains and jazz music — but accordions? Not so much. Still, Kansas City has a rich accordion history thanks to Joan Cochran Sommers, an icon who is still conducting, teaching and playing the accordion.

The KC Fringe Festival, which labels itself as the largest celebration of arts and culture in the Kansas City metro, will begin its 17 days of festivities on Friday, July 12.

Theater-goers will be in for some "surprises," says Ernie Nolan, the new artistic director of the Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City. Nolan assumed the role on July 1, after the retirement of longtime director Cynthia Levin.

In their decades-long careers, vocalist Deborah Brown and saxophonist Bobby Watson have lived and performed around the world, but have settled down in Kansas City. They'll perform this weekend with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.

For young Kansas City actors with autism, a new play creates space to "connect with others." Vanessa Severo’s “Rubik" tells the story of neurodivergent teens on the cusp of a new phase of life.

Vanessa Severo’s play “Rubik" tells the story of neurodivergent teens on the cusp of a new phase of life. It’s part of Spinning Tree Theatre’s push to bring more diverse voices to the stage and create new opportunities for artists with disabilities.

A pair of noisy upstarts are out-hustling the establishment to create a space for themselves in Kansas City's jazz scene. Plus: A Platte City man with Down syndrome has built a life with a job he loves and a place of his own to call home.

Alana Washington knows how much trauma her middle school students in southeast Kansas City students can go through on a daily basis. She started the Save a Life Mentorship program to give students the tools they need to get through it. Plus: The Medical Arts Symphony of Kansas City community orchestra has helped Kansas City doctors and nurses reduce stress for more than 60 years.

The Medical Arts Symphony of Kansas City community orchestra has given amateur musicians in the health care profession a place to perform since 1959. For the doctors, nurses, dentists, medical students, and more who take part, the music can be therapeutic.

Seth Andrew Davis and Evan Verploegh know their music of choice will never be mainstream, so the pair have cobbled together a set of spaces where their Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society can thrive.

Servicemembers with post-traumatic stress disorder can find healing through re-experiencing traumatic events. A psychologist at a Veterans Affairs hospital and a play at Kansas City's Unicorn Theatre share how virtual reality might help combat veterans overcome the trauma of war.