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KCKCC to hold m-pact Vocal Festival

by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College will be the site of a November music festival by the Los Angeles based pop-jazz vocal group, m-pact.

The m-pact Vocal Festival is Nov. 14 and 15 at the KCKCC Performing Arts Center. A non-competitive festival, vocal jazz ensembles, contemporary a capella groups and other small choral ensembles have the opportunity to work hands-on with the award-winning group.

In addition to the master classes and workshops, m-pact will also perform in a concert with KCKCC’s “The Standard” Vocal Jazz Ensemble. This concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in the KCKCC Performing Arts Center. Tickets for the concert are $15 and can be purchased from the festival’s website, https://www.m-pact.com/event/2490902/481366624/m-pact-vocal-festival. Acaville Internet Radio, which offers a range of a cappella music through its streaming service, will be on site to stream the concert.

Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “one of the best pop-jazz vocal groups in the world” m-pact is known for its sophisticated sound that has won the group Vocal Group of the Year at the L.A. Music Awards and an Indie nomination from the Independent Grammys.

The group has been named Grand National Champs of the Harmony Sweepstakes competition and has performed with artists such as Boyz II Men, Sheryl Crow, the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Maynard Ferguson Big Band and Natalie Cole, among many others. Their “signature sound” can also be heard in television theme songs as well as Disney feature films and on radio stations throughout the world.

Started in 1995, m-pact has made five full-length albums, three EP’s and several single releases and continue to receive rave reviews and multiple awards.

Billboard Magazine named them the “Best Unsigned Band” and in 2014, the group joined with New York a cappella powerhouse Duwende to produce “I Wish for All Time,” an a cappella tribute to Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. M-pact continues to thrill audiences with their innovative orchestrations and stage presence as well as their vocals as they work to stay true to the music they are performing.

For more information on the m-pact Vocal Festival, contact John Stafford II, associate professor of music at KCKCC and director of choral activities at 217-979-3094 or by email at [email protected].

Library plans ragtime concert and lecture Nov. 9 about Scott Joplin

Michael Dolman, Kansas City, Kansas, native and San Francisco resident, will present a concert and lecture demonstration of Scott Joplin’s piano works at 2 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Main Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, 625 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

Scott Joplin was known as the king of ragtime. During his brief career, he wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas.

One of his earliest and most popular pieces, the “Maple Leaf Rag,” became ragtime’s first and most influential hit, and has been recognized as the archetypal rag. The piano works of Joplin are considered the American equivalent of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Inventions and Sinfonias” for keyboard.

Michael Dolman is a native of KCK. He has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from University of Missouri at Kansas City and a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Northern Colorado. Dolman presently resides in San Francisco. He is pianist for Alonzo King Lines Ballet, the University of California at Berkeley and pianist – organist for Trinity United Methodist Church (Berkeley).

Dolman has also been a pianist for the San Francisco Ballet, Oakland Ballet, DanceAspen Summer Festival, Kansas City Ballet and is a guest pianist for Lawrence Arts Center and Oklahoma City Ballet.

Dolman is a noted advocate for the music of Scott Joplin. He has presented several Joplin concerts throughout the country, and has brought Joplin’s music into the American ballet class.

Dolman is a noted clinician for ballet pianists. In 2013, Dolman, with pianist Lucy Hudson, performed “Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky, celebrating the 100th anniversary of this milestone work. Dolman ‘s composition “Guthrie OK Rag” (a joyous homage to his mother) is now a part of the repertory for Kathy Mata Ballet.

Dia de Muertos Parade brightens Central Avenue

by Brian Turrel

Central Avenue was lit up Saturday evening with the brilliant colors and macabre costumes of the Dia de Muertos parade, sponsored by the Central Avenue Betterment Association.

The size of the crowd and the parade have increased significantly in the past two years, and a large crowd lined both sides of the avenue. Musicians and food and craft vendors were also featured up and down Central with activities going on from 3 until 9 p.m.