The Northwest Missouri State University Wind Symphony will perform at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City on March 5th. The performance will provide Northwest students experience performing in a world-class venue and collaborate with two local high school bands. The Wind Symphony will play a variety of pieces showcasing their talents.

1. NEWS RELEASE
Feb. 9, 2018
Wind Symphony performing at Kauffman Center
for the Performing Arts
By Hannah Brod, media relations assistant
The Northwest Missouri State University Wind Symphony will perform for a metropolitan
audience next month at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.
The concert is 7 p.m. Monday, March 5, and tickets are free on a first -come, first-served
basis. To reserve tickets, individuals should call the Kauffman Center, beginning at 1 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 16, at 816.994.7222, or visit www.kauffmancenter.org.
“The Kauffman Center is truly a world-class venue, attracting performing ensembles and
tour companies from around the globe,” John Bell, the conductor of the Northwest Wind
Symphony, said. “Acoustically, the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall ranks among the top
performance venues in the world.”
The performance provides a profession-based experience for Northwest musicians in a
world-class performance hall as well as an opportunity to perform with two Kansas City-area
high schools. The Park Hill High School Symphonic Band, conducted by Northwest alumnus
Ky Hascall, and the Blue Springs South High School Wind Symphony, conducted by Ken
Hansen, will join Northwest for the concert.
Each ensemble will perform a 30-minute program, culminating with the Northwest Wind
Symphony taking the stage about 8:30 p.m.
“Park Hill High School and Blue Springs South High School are noted for their long-standing
exceptional band programs,” Bell said. “I know both of the band directors on a professional
and personal basis, so we’re all excited to share this special evening together.”
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, a major not-for-profit center for music, opera,
theater and dance, opened in 2011 and serves as a cultural cornerstone for Kansas City and
the region. Honored as one of the “World’s 15 Most Beautiful Concert Halls,” the Kauffman
Center attracts some of the world’s most renowned performers and entertainers in addition
to serving as the home of the Kansas City Ballet, Lyric Opera, Kansas City Symphony
and other innovative programming.
The Kauffman Center’s 1,600-seat, oval-shaped Helzberg Hall is an intimate and immersive
experience for performers as well as audiences. The distance from the stage to Helzberg
Hall’s farthest seat is about 100 feet.
“Our students will benefit from this experience in many ways, everything from the
architectural observation to the acoustical properties they’ll experience while rehearsing and
performing,” Bell said. “This is also a great opportunity to collaborate with two outstanding
band programs well within our area of recruitment.”

2. Brian Wackly, a senior public relations major from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is a member of
the Northwest Wind Symphony and saw the advantages of performing at the Kauffman
Center firsthand last summer as a marketing intern with the Kansas City Symphony.
“The concert venue is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” Wackly said. “This truly is a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The Northwest Wind Symphony’s program will feature “Through the Looking Glass” by Jess
Turner, “Dreamland” by Michael Markowski, “Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 – Allegro” by
Johann Sebastian Bach and arranged by John Bell, and “Magnolia Star” by Steve Danyew.
The Northwest Wind Symphony’s appearance at the Kauffman Center will be a first for a
Northwest music ensemble. The performance is made possible in part by an Academic
Initiative Grant through the College of Arts and Scienc es and its dean, Dr. Michael Steiner.
In recent years, the Northwest Wind Symphony has been invited to perform at the Nebraska
and Missouri music educator association conferences. Last spring, the Wind Symphony was
recognized by the College Band Directors National Association, through a peer review, as
one of 10 exemplary small college band programs in the United States.
Bell is the director of bands and orchestra at Northwest. Prior to his appointment at
Northwest, he taught public school instrumental music in Missouri for 30 years. High school
ensembles under his direction were invited to perform at state, national, and European
conferences, including the Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic. Bell’s
individual accolades include recognition as a Park Hill School District Teacher of the Year,
the University of Central Missouri Music Department’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the
Missouri chapter of Phi Beta Mu Outstanding Band Director Award, a laureate of the John
Philip Sousa Legion of Honor, and the 2016 Missouri Association of String Teachers
Outstanding Collegiate Educator.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
MARK HORNICKEL, Communication Manager
mhorn@nwmissouri.edu | 660.562.1704 | Fax: 660.562.1900
NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
215 Administration Building | 800 University Drive | Maryville, MO 64468