KPR opens swinging holiday season with fourth annual Big Band Christmas
LAWRENCE – Get out the mistletoe and your dancing shoes. Kansas Public Radio is welcoming the holiday season with its fourth annual Big Band Christmas concert.
The celebration of holiday tunes performed by the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra will be 8 p.m. Dec. 8 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence. Tickets are $20 per person, available at Ticketmaster or the Liberty Hall box office.
There will be table seating downstairs at Liberty Hall. Doors open at 7 p.m. for first-come, first-served seating. Seating is also available in the balcony.
Dancing is strongly encouraged.
Joining the 17-piece KCJO will be vocalist Ron Gutierrez. Kerry Strayer, long a fixture on the K.C. jazz scene, is the artistic director and conductor of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.
"KPR is excited to usher in the holiday season with this sensational night of jazz," said Janet Campbell, KPR's general manager. "As we celebrate our 60th year, we look forward to meeting our many listeners and supporters – it will definitely be a night to get you in the holiday spirit."
Through concert performances and educational endeavors, The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra strives to preserve the rich heritage of jazz, nurture its growth and encourage the appreciation of jazz as a viable art form.
The KCJO presents a series of concerts each season that are both entertaining and artistically sound. Each concert features a guest instrumentalist, vocalist or theme to showcase the many facets of this diverse and evolving musical art. Their upcoming concerts:
• Dec. 21: "Christmas at the Kauffman with Karrin Allyson." The Grammy-nominated vocalist rose to international prominence while singing in Kansas City's jazz clubs in the 1990s.
• March 15: "Randy Brecker, Trumpet Summit." Trumpet and flugelhorn master Randy Brecker joins the KCJO for a scintillating concert of big band jazz at its finest.
• May 3: "The Four Freshmen and The Big Band." The legendary vocal ensemble, which began in 1948, continues with the current youthful quartet who've been thrilling audiences since 2001.
Get your tickets now and plan to come dancing, when KPR presents another Big Band Christmas.
KPR, a 14-time Kansas Association of Broadcasters Station of the Year licensed to the University of Kansas, broadcasts on 91.5 FM in Lawrence, 89.7 FM in Emporia, 91.3 FM in Olsburg-Junction City, 89.9 FM in Atchison, 90.3 FM in Chanute and 99.5 FM and 97.9 FM in Manhattan. KPR can be heard online. KPR also operates KPR2, a news-talk programming stream, which can be heard on an HD receiver or on KPR's website.