The 43rd Annual Symphony Designers’ Showhouse is Open!

Kansas City Mayor Sylvester James and Kansas City Symphony Executive Director Frank Byrne cut the ribbon to open the 43rd annual Symphony Designers Showhouse to the public on April 21. Also shown are Melba James, the Mayor's mother (left) and KCSA president Marilyn Raines and Showhouse committee chair Karen Hardcastle (right).

The 43rd annual Symphony Designers’ Showhouse benefiting the Kansas City Symphony is now open! The Showhouse opened on April 21 and runs through May 20, so be sure to catch it early, before the big rush of crowds at the end.

The Showhouse is located at 47 West 53rd Street, a few blocks south of the Plaza and east of Loose Park. A number of Kansas City’s finest interior designers and landscape designers have converted the Showhouse and grounds into a spectacular display of inventiveness and creativity that will inspire awe and and wonder.

Tickets to the Showhouse are available from any KCSA member ($13 in advance) or at the door ($15).

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KCSA Annual Member Luncheon is June 2

Attention all KCSA members!

Please plan on attending our Spring Luncheon on June 2, at EBT Restaurant, State Line at Carondelet, just south of Interstate 435.  The luncheon begins at 11:00 a.m. with a cash bar, and the luncheon is at 12:00 noon. Musicians from the Conservatory of Music and Dance at UMKC may perform. 

We will present a check to the Kansas City Symphony for the proceeds from the 43rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse, honor our long term members, and install the officers for the next year.  Symphony General Director Frank Byrne will review the Symphony’s year and update the membership on the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Our membership luncheon is chaired by Suzanne Castleberry, Cyndi Seifert and Sharon Manies. Please look for your mailed invitation in a few weeks. We hope to see you there!

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We hope you enjoyed the 43rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse Designers’ Toast!

Kansas City Symphony Executive Director Frank Byrne spoke at the Designers Toast on April 19.

On Thursday evening, April 19, the Kansas City Symphony Alliance toasted its spectacular designers who have worked so hard on the 43rd annual Symphony Designers’ Showhouse.  Those attending got an early chance to see the magic which these designers have produced at the Showhouse, which is located 47 West 53rd Street in Kansas City, Missouri, a few blocks south of the Plaza and just east of Loose Park.

Each designer receive a special appreciation from KCSA and Symphony Executive Director Frank Byrne thanked KCSA and the designers for their hard work. The Showhouse is open through May 20, so be sure to come and take a tour!

KCSA Past President Marti Miller and KCSA President Elect Tracey Hawkins enjoyed the Designers Toast.

The 43rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse is a benefit sponsored by the Kansas City Symphony Alliance on behalf of the Kansas City Symphony. All proceeds benefit the Kansas City Symphony. We hope that you will come and enjoy the wonderful house and gardens, and help the Kansas City Symphony at the same time! Be sure to catch this event during the glorious springtime weather.

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Highlights of March Membership Meeting

Members of KCSA enjoyed a membership meeting on March 20 at which the group received a Kansas City Symphony update from staff member Beth Millas, chose its officers and directors for the 2012-13 year, and enjoyed beverages and desserts provided by members of the KCSA board. We hope to see you at our annual meeting on June 2!

 

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Enter the Kansas City Symphony Alliance Membership Contest!

Our Magic Number is 200 !
Help put KCSA over the top!  We only need eight more members to reach our membership goal of 200 by June 1st. 
So let’s have a contest:  If you bring in a new member between now and June 1st, you will be entered into a drawing for a fabulous prize valued at $50 or more, probably a restaurant gift certificate.  You must notify the Membership Vice Presidents of both your and the new member’s names to be entered into the drawing.  Potential members may join with a credit card by going online to www.kcsymphonyalliance.org and using the “Join Us” tab.  Or they can print out the online form and mail it to Marcia Hawk. 
Questions?  Linda Hartman at 816.537.4483 or Marcia Hawk at 816.225.5045.  The winner will be announced at the Spring Luncheon.
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KCSA Members Enjoy After Concert Party on February 5 at Schmitt Music

Members of the Kansas City Symphony Alliance (KCSA) enjoyed an After Concert Party on Sunday, February 5 at Schmitt Music in Overland Park, following the Symphony’s spectacular orchestral and choral concert of the Mahler Symphony No. 2

We hope you joined us for the fun!  If not, please keep an eye on these pages for future parties and events for KCSA members and their guests. We are a “happening” organization!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The members were entertained by pianists Tom Hylton of the Kansas City Symphony and Julie Scherer of Schmitt Music Company.

 

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KCSA Members and Guests Enjoy Candlelight Preview of 43rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse

Members of the Kansas City Symphony Alliance (KCSA) and guests enjoyed a Candlelight Preview tour of the 43rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse at 47 West 53rd Street, Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday, January 27.  This was an opportunity to be the first to see the “pre” version of the Showhouse before our talented designers began work on a complete redecoration of the house and grounds in preparation for the opening of the 43rd Symphony Designers’ Showhouse on April 21.  As you can see from these photos, a good time was had by all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kansas City Symphony to Appear on PBS Series This Summer

The Kansas City Symphony and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will be featured in the nationally broadcast PBS Summer Arts Festival next summer, according to an article in The Kansas City Star.

The PBS Summer Festival of broadcasts begins in June, and one of the segments is to include excerpts from the Symphony’s upcoming performances on March 23-25 featuring Prairie Village native mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

Mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato, featured in the Kansas City Symphony concerts of March 23-25.

Having the Symphony and the Kauffman Center featured on the Summer Festival will allow Kansas City to strut its cultural stuff on the national stage, according to the Star‘s interview with andy Mason, KCPT’s executive producer for cultural affairs.

“Very few times does a symphony outside the major markets get this kind of national attention — almost never, in fact,” the Star quoted Mason as saying. “We’ll sprinkle in the personalities and professional accomplishments of Michael Stern and Joyce DiDonato, the meeting of maestro and the mezzo, if you will, with some majestic music in a majestic hall. It should make Kansas City proud.”

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KCSA Members Enjoy Fall Member Reception

KCSA hosted a Fall Membership Reception and Meeting on September 20 at the Tomahawk Creek Club House in Overland Park, Kansas. 

Both old and new members of KCSA enjoyed visiting with each other, finding out more about KCSA activities and getting excited about the many events going on this year as the Symphony moves into the dramatic new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Members received their KCSA membership directories and had their photographs taken for the 2012 Designers’ Showhouse program book .

These photos show some of the members who attended the reception.  We hope that you can join us for our next event…check the other postings on this web site for details!

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It’s Time to Renew Your KCSA Membership, or Join Us for the First Time!

Some of our KCSA members are shown enjoying the 42nd Symphony Designers' Showhouse opening party in April. Don't miss out on being part of the fun!

Attention, KCSA Members: This is the season…so please renew your KCSA Membership Now! This year we have three options for payment of your modest membership dues…

1. Use our new Pay Pal option to quickly and easily renew your membership for next season. If there are no changes to your contact information or preference for print vs electronic transmission of notices, invitations, and newsletters, all you need do is renew via this new online option. Just look at our Join Us page, and follow the instructions for your Pay Pal payment. It’s easy!

2. If you have changes in contact information or print preferences to report, you may print out the membership brochure for the 2011-12 season that is available under the Join Us! tab on this page. Then, just fill it out and return it to Marcia Hawk as instructed on the form. You may still pay online with this option.

3. Those who prefer to do everything by US mail can just wait…you will receive in the mail a printed form that can be returned with a check or credit card payment information as in years past.

We hope you enjoy these new options for joining or renewing KCSA memberships. If you have questions, concerns, or problems, please contact Linda Hartman at 816-537-4483 or hartgarylinda@comcast.net.

We know you will enjoy being with us for another year!

And….new members! We would love to have you as members of KCSA! You can just follow the same instructions as above. Please join in the fun!

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