Excitement is building for the University of Missouri – Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance’s Crescendo to be held on November 2nd. Crescendo will be held in an amazing new venue this year, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Magnificent music and dance, from jazz to the classics, will fill Helzberg Hall. More than 250 talented students and faculty members will be on stage in a fabulous performance that promises to be brisk, eclectic and electric. Crescendo will showcase the incredible talent of the Conservatory students with its new prism concert format and the Conservatory’s dynamic and ever-changing rhythms and riffs that define it.

Lisa Schubert Hickok is serving as Crescendo’s chairman this year. Lisa had a vision of a new Crescendo in the heart of Downtown. She knew that the Kauffman Center was the perfect place for an extraordinary evening that would energize the performers as much as the audience. Peter Witte, dean of the Conservatory, is thrilled with Lisa’s tremendous leadership. “The Conservatory’s best and brightest will sing, dance and play from every corner of Helzberg Hall. The concert will be a celebration of the arts in Kansas City. We can’t wait,” says Peter. Lisa is looking forward to welcoming patrons with this year’s honorary chairmen, Melinda  and Tom Beal. Guests will savor cocktails, a unique performance and an elegant dinner afterwards in Brandmeyer Hall.     

Lisa’s deep passion for the performing arts and her tremendous energy and enthusiasm make her the perfect chairman forCrescendo. As founder of the first auxiliary for the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Kauffman Center Ambassadors, Lisa was appointed its first president in 2008 and serves on the executive committee.

A native of Our Town, Lisa trained as a child with the Kansas City Ballet, under the tutelage of company founder, Tatiana Dokoudovska. She joined the company at age 12 as an apprentice, and was a company member by age 13. Lisa appeared in numerous community theater productions including Starlight Theatre, Shawnee Mission Theater in the Park and was a principal dancer in the children’s theater group, The Jack and Jill Players.

After graduating from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master of arts degree in speech and communication, Lisa returned to Kansas City and her great love of ballet led her to serve as a board member and head of the marketing committee for the Kansas City Ballet’s board of trustees. Ultimately, Lisa became the director of marketing at the Kansas City Ballet and led a team that broke all sales records for the Kansas City Ballet, including top single and season ticket sales and most season ticket subscribers in the company’s history.

Lisa credits her family with supporting her in her many charitable endeavors. She is married to John Hickok, Jr., and has a daughter, Ericka Schubert. Lisa gives generously of her time and talents to many organizations including the Belles of the American Royal, the Children’s Relief Association, the Friends of the Conservatory of Music and Dance board, and the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas City. She serves as founder and chairman of the archival committee for the Kansas City Ballet board and is a member of the Kansas City Ballet Guild and was the chairman of its 50th Anniversary Gala.

So what will the busy family of three do with their spare time after Crescendo has come and gone? “We enjoy traveling, cross training, skiing, and of course, dancing,” Lisa says with a twinkle.

By Nancy Sachse
Also featured in the September 15th issue of The Independent
Photo Credit: Bruce Mathews