The UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance will showcase more than 250 students and faculty during one of Our Town’s premier events, Crescendo: New Mood Rising, on November 6th. This celebration of talent will be held at the world-class Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. 

Like a prism that bounces light around a room, this fast-paced concert will take guests quickly around Helzberg Hall, from a jazz combo to a violin soloist, from a wildly exciting dancer to a soaring orchestra. The Crescendo concert is a tour de force of Conservatory talent that rivals any seen in Our Town. 

Performing on the Helzberg Stage is just one of the tremendous opportunities available to the students of the Conservatory. Dance majors, Courtney Garrett and Breanna Dorsey, recently traveled to New York City to learn an original piece by the world renowned choreographer and dancer, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. The dance, “Give Your Hands to Struggle,” will be performed at Crescendo. Jawole Willa Jo is the founder of the Urban Bush Women dance company and was UMKC’s 2014 Alumna of the Year.

Courtney Garrett, featured performer

 Courtney is a senior from Denver, Colorado, and came to the Conservatory because of the influence of the alumni she danced with at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theater. She began studying dance at nine years old and when asked why she decided to continue studying it in college, she said she was “driven by the need for new experiences, harder training and discovering how much more I am capable of. It is an everyday challenge physically, emotionally and mentally, and this is why I love to dance. At the same time, dance goes to great lengths, as many other arts do, to impact the lives of others through physical dialogue. I love these two things about dance because I get to embrace the challenge while making a difference one audience at a time.”

Sherry and Gary Forsee are the honorary chairmen, and Melanie and Mike Fenske are serving as chairmen of Crescendo: New Mood Rising. The November 6th gala will feature cocktails, the concert and a sumptuous dinner in Brandmeyer Great Hall. Proceeds from the event will support student scholarships.

Also featured in the October 3, 2015 issue of The Independent