Welcome to our 61st season! Our opening concert, “Civic Has Talent”, takes place on Saturday September 28. We look forward to seeing you there!
Author: tg4kcco
Ashley Stanfield
Ashley Stanfield is a featured artist for KCCO’s season opening concert on September 28, 2019. A former and founding member of the Hampden String Quartet, with whom she won the Sir john Barbirolli Prize for Chamber Music at the Royal Academy of Music, Ashley is a founding member and violist of the Opus 76 Quartet.
Ashley performs regularly with the Kansas City and Des Moines Symphonies. She also serves as Principal Violist of the Kinnor Philharmonic and plays in the Saint Joseph Symphony. She has appeared as a guest artist with the Bach Aria Soloists, Spire Ensemble and the KC Baroque Consortium. In 2019, Ashley will appear as a soloist with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, playing Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante”.
Outside of classical music, Ashley has enjoyed performing with several rock/pop bands including Michael Buble, Belle and Sebastian, Hanson and Johnny Mathis.
A native of Kansas City, Ashley Stanfield has been teaching and performing locally for over ten years. She is an Alumni of both the Interlochen and Idyllwild Arts Academies and holds a Bachelors Degree in Viola performance as well as a Teaching Licentiate from the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she was a student of London Symphony Orchestra Principal Violist, Paul Silverthorne. Other teachers include Miami String Quartet violist, Scott Lee and Christine Grossman, former Principal Violist of the Kansas City Symphony.
As a part of her studies at the Academy, Ashley also worked with many prominent conductors including Trevor Pinnock, Leif Segerstam, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Tadaaki Otaka, and Sir Colin Davis, with whom she recorded Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. With the U.K. based Hampden String Quartet, she performed regularly at the Oxford Proms and the Prom’s at St. Jude’s concert series.
Ashley enjoys teaching and has extensive experience at the beginner through to collegiate level. She currently teaches group violin (elementary level) in the Kansas City Missouri School district via the KC Harmony Project program and formerly served as a teaching artist on the faculty at Drake University. Many of her private students are members of the Kansas City Youth Symphony and the Kansas All-State and District Orchestras. She lives in Prairie village with her husband and son and their faithful Labrador, Miley.
2019 Carol Chatelain Young Artist Competition Winner
Meet Allen Zhang, the winner of our 2019 Carol Chatelain Young Artist Competition. At the age of 6, Allen began suzuki listening training at his elementary school in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. In 2013, at the age of 11, he began studying with Simon Gollo, current Assistant Professor in the Department of Music at New Mexico State University.
In 2014, Allen moved to Manhattan, Kansas with his family. In the same year, he joined the Gold Orchestra directed by Dr. David Littrell, University Distinguished Professor of Music at Kansas State University. Allen participated in the 2015 Midwest Music Camp at the University of Kansas, in which he won the Outstanding Overall String Musician Award and a full scholarship for the subsequent year. He attended the 2016 Nuevo Mundo Festival & Academy in Oranjestad, Aruba, studying under internationally acclaimed musicians Dmitri Berlinsky and Richard Young. Allen was chosen as the state representative at the West Central Division for the 2017 MTNA Junior Strings Competition and the 2018 and 2019 MTNA Senior Strings Competitions. Allen was a finalist in the 2017 Kansas City Symphony Young Artist Competition and was the winner of the 2017 Midwest Chamber Ensemble Youth Concerto Competition, performing the third movement of the Bruch Violin Concerto in G minor. In the summer of 2017, he studied under James Buswell at the 2017 Vianden International Music Festival and School through a grant from the Koch Cultural Trust. He was also selected to the 2017 Esterhazy String Quartet Seminar under full tuition scholarship. Allen was also awarded third place in the 2017 International ENKOR Competition. Allen was selected as the concertmaster for the 2018 Kansas All-State Orchestra. After receiving Overall Winner and Strings Division Winner of the Topeka Young Artist Competition, Allen performed the first movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra. He also performed with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra while attending the 2018 Brian Lewis Young Artists Program, studying under Brian Lewis, Sean Riley, and Simon James. Selected as principal second for Carnegie Hall’s 2018 NYO2 orchestra, Allen studied with accomplished orchestral violinists Alex Kerr and Amy Oshiro-Morales as well as conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto.
Allen currently studies with David Colwell, Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Kansas, and Ben Sayevich at Park International Center for Music.
Allen will be performing with KCCO at our Celebrating 60 Years! concert at Helzberg Hall on May 4th.
Musician Spotlight – Michael Tolbert
Michael Tolbert graduated with a Master’s degree in clarinet performance from Western Michigan University and plays clarinet all around Kansas City. For the last seven seasons he has served as principal clarinet of Kinnor Philharmonic, KC’s own Jewish orchestra, and since 2014 he has played with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra. He can also be heard in chamber music settings with the Midwest Chamber Ensemble and when he organizes and performs in chamber concerts benefiting AIDS Walk Kansas City. As a drag performer, Michael played solo jazz clarinet as emcee for The Girlie Show (2011-2014) and while competing in national drag pageantry, winning the talent category at Miss Gay America 2011 and, most recently, Miss Gay Nebraska United States 2019.
Michael is thrilled to be involved with KCCO for another season and to be spotlighted this quarter. He hopes that the synergy created by the orchestra, its board, its conductor, and its generous audience will compel Kansas City’s classical music community to continue supporting KCCO for another exciting finale concert at Helzberg Hall in May.
Final Concert of 2018-2019: Celebrating 60 Years!
The Kansas City Civic Orchestra is excited to return to Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts for our final concert of this, our 60th consecutive season of offering quality orchestral concerts to the Kansas City metro area. In addition to fantastic performances by our talented musicians, the concert will also feature the winner of our Carol Chatelain Young Artist Competition.
Please note that tickets will be required for this performance. Adult tickets are available for $20.00 (fees included). Students 21 and younger may reserve tickets for free by calling the Kauffman Center (816.994.7222) and using code KCCOStudent.
Celebrating 60 Years!
Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.
Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (directions and parking info)
— Program —
Festive Overture in A major, Op. 96 – D. Shostakovich
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 – J. Sibelius
Allegro
Allen Zhang, Carol Chatelain Young Artist Competition Winner
Symphony No. 1, in C minor, Op. 68 – J. Brahms
Un poco sostenuto – Allegro
Andante sostenuto
Un poco allegretto e grazioso
Adagio – Piu andante – Allegro non troppo, ma con bio
KCCO would like to thank Frank and Jeanne Chatelain Townsend and The Clinton Family Fund for helping make this performance possible.
2019 Carol Chatelain Young Artist Competition
KCCO is excited to announce our 2019
Carol Chatelain Young Artist Competition!
KCCO’s sixth annual competition for young artists has been renamed in honor of our dear friend, the late Carol Chatelain. The Carol Chatelain Young Artist Competition gives KCCO the opportunity to engage with and support young musicians in the Kansas City area. The winner of this year’s competition winner will have the opportunity to perform with the orchestra at a world-class venue – Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts! The winner will also receive a cash prize of $500. This year’s auditions will take place on Sunday, March 2nd. We invite all musicians aged 13 to 19 to participate!
How to Enter
- Please read the competition rules below
- Download the application form
- Obtain a recommendation from a music instructor
- Mail the form and $25 application fee to: Kansas City Civic Orchestra, P.O. Box 224, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201
Applications must be received by February 23, 2019.
- Competition audition date is: Sunday, March 3, 2019 at Atonement Lutheran Church between 3:00pm and 6:00pm (time will be assigned).
- The concerto competition is for ages 11-19.
- Perform a solo orchestral work that is no less than 9 minutes and no greater than 20 minutes in length, from memory (can be a movement from a standard concerto or a multi-movement work).
- Audition time slots will be up to 15-minute intervals (accompanist cuts are encouraged for the audition).
- The competition is open to all instrumentalists (except piano, saxophone, and percussion).
- First place winner will receive a performance with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra on Saturday, May 4, 2019, 3:00pm at Helzberg Hall (Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts) and a prize of $500.00.
- Second place may receive acknowledgement at our May 4, 2019 performance.
- Kansas City Civic Orchestra reserves the right to have both first and second place winners perform at the May 4 concert.
- Winner(s) must be available for rehearsals on: April 23 and April 30 (between 7:30pm-9:30pm) and Saturday, May 4 at Helzberg Hall (between Noon-2pm.) Specific times within these rehearsals will be assigned at a later date.
- All room/board/transportation is at the expense of the competition participant.
- The $25.00 application fee is non-refundable.
- Audition date/time/place is non-negotiable.
- An audition time will be emailed to participant within one week of the application deadline.
- Competition participants must supply their respective instrument at audition/performance.
- Competition participants must supply their own accompanist at audition.
- Judges may come from within or may be guests of the Kansas City Civic Orchestra.
- Winner selection will be announced and emailed at the end of the audition day.
- Judges’ decision is final.
- The Kansas City Civic Orchestra can decide not to award winners/prizes.
- Failure to abide by these guidelines and rules may result in participant’s disqualification.
Feel free to contact our music director with any additional questions.
Legend, Lyricism, and Ludwig
Join us for our first concert of 2019!
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A Fond Farewell to 2018
We hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season with plenty of friends, family, and delicious food! KCCO closed out this year with two fantastic “Sounds of the Season” performances – the Friday night concert was preceded by our annual Silent Auction Fundraiser, which included some great items, and on Saturday our special guest conductor for Sleigh Ride was KMBC Chief Meteorologist and KCCO tympanist Bryan Busby.
Fabulous concerts aren’t all that we’ve been up to during the first part of our 60th season – our outreach committee has been busy sharing their love of music with the community. Our coordinators have performed 66 sessions at 15 locations for just over 2,300 students, inspired approximately 130 aspiring musicians at our fifth annual Instrument Petting Zoo, and performed 72 sessions for seniors since September!
KCCO would like to thank you, our listeners and supporters, for making these concerts and outreach events possible. We are especially grateful to those of you who contributed toward our recent campaign for $5,000 in matching funds – we reached our goal and received an additional $10,000! These funds help us cover the costs associated with the concerts and outreach programs that we offer to the community at no cost.
We’re looking forward to seeing you at our March concert, “Legend, Lyricism, and Ludwig”, and our May performance at Helzberg Hall. Until then, we wish you a very happy new year!
Musician Spotlight – Don Goldenbaum
Music has always been part of Don Goldenbaum’s life. Growing up in Hampton, Virginia, Don played clarinet in the high school band and studied violin privately with Elizabeth Chapman, concertmistress of a local community orchestra. Later, in college, he studied for a year with Dr. Myron Kartman, eventual chair of the strings program at Northwestern University.
The two summers before leaving for college, Don played professionally in the pit orchestra of The Common Glory, a nightly outdoor pageant in Williamsburg, VA. Those two season-long exposures to daily (nightly) life as a musician, performing as a teen with big-city pros whose lives appeared to revolve entirely around music, convinced him that for him the violin would be an avocation rather than a vocation.
Instead of pursuing a musical career, Don got a B.A. in psychology and math from Antioch and an M.A. in philosophy and Ph.D. in Educational Research from Indiana University. While attending Indiana’s grad school, though not as a conservatory student, he enjoyed accompanying flute and voice majors during their senior recitals on classical guitar.
Shortly after moving to Kansas City in 1975, Don served as principal second violin in the KC Civic Orchestra under Glen Block, and later, was concertmaster of the Overland Park Orchestra and the Medical Arts Symphony. He plays violin today in the Kinnor Philharmonic and plays viola in KCCO’s viola section. A high point of his current musical life involves teaming with three other members of KCCO to introduce stringed instruments and musical ideas to young children in local schools, hospitals, and libraries as part of the orchestra’s musical outreach program.
Having music as a serious hobby allows day-job flexibility. Don followed a stint as a Senior Systems Analyst at KC’s Midwest Research Institute by eventually launching and running a technical writing and documentation firm, Applied Communications Group, providing onsite, IT- and manufacturing-related writing services to Sprint, Marion Labs, Burlington Northern Railroad, Bayer Animal Health, and other firms. Other positions included Executive Director of Johnson County Community College’s Business and Industry Institute, Vice President for Research at the Greater KC Community Foundation, and Vice President of the Kansas City Regional Council for Higher Education. As a freelance consultant, he designed instructional board games on technical and management subjects that training firms used in their commercial seminars and evaluated federally-funded programs for local colleges. Currently, he is a national reviewer of research-grant proposals for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Now serving as co-president of KCCO’s board, his earlier community involvement has included being on the boards of The Children’s Place, Carondelet Healthcare, and The Center for Practical Bioethics.
Don and his wife, Sally – a novelist – have three children, Todd, Aria, and Daniel, and six grandchildren, all of whom live much too far from Kansas City.
St. Mark Center Outreach Event
Young students at the St. Mark Center were visited by KCCO violinist Abigail Walden.
“There was so much excitement as the students, 10 months to 15 months old, huddled around to see the violin up close and pluck the strings. Students listened closely to learn what sound each string made as [KCCO musician Abigail] Walden strummed them one by one.”
Read more about “Orchestra Hour at St. Mark Center” here.
