Grammy Award Winning Singer/Pianist Diana Krall to Perform at Kauffman Center Grand Opening

March 4, 2011

Diana Krall, one of the world’s most popular jazz recording and concert artists, will perform the Grand Opening performance to inaugurate Helzberg Hall, the Kauffman Center’s concert venue, on the evening of Saturday, September 17, 2011. Ms. Krall joins previously announced classical music legend Itzhak Perlman as a headliner for the event. A special performance featuring Placido Domingo will christen the Kauffman Center’s Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Friday, September 16.

Krall has become a popular artist of the first order and carved herself a permanent position at the top of the jazz charts with cool, heavy-lidded vocals and strikingly sensitive piano-playing. Her recordings have won three Grammy Awards among numerous other recognitions. Her career exploded when her recording When I Look in Your Eyes won a Grammy Award for best jazz vocal and became the first jazz disc to be nominated for Album of the Year in twenty-five years. In 2002, The Look of Love was a #1 bestseller in the U.S. and a seven-time platinum album in Canada. In 2004, The Girl in the Other Room was her first release to focus on her own songwriting featuring six tunes co-written with her husband, rock-and-roll star Elvis Costello. Her most recent release is the 2009 Quiet Nights. Among her many accolades and honors is the title Officer of the Order of Canada.

The Kauffman Center’s Grand Opening events are designed to showcase the Center’s two performance venues, Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall. The weekend will kick off on Friday, September 16 with a tribute to the Center’s late namesake, Muriel McBrien Kauffman. The evening will feature a range of performances from opera to Broadway, headlined by world-renowned tenor and musician Placido Domingo, making his first appearance in Kansas City. The Center’s three resident companies, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, will all take part in the program. The celebration will continue Saturday, September 17 in Helzberg Hall with a concert to showcase the acoustics of the new hall, featuring guest appearances by Diana Krall, and virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman accompanied by the Kansas City Symphony, conducted by Music Director, Maestro Michael Stern.

“We are honored by Diana Krall’s acceptance of our invitation to celebrate our Grand Opening,” said Jane Chu, President and CEO of the Kauffman Center. “We are thrilled to be able to showcase both the beauty and enhanced capabilities of our new concert hall with an artist of her caliber and renown. Along with Mr. Perlman and Mr. Domingo, she will demonstrate the vibrant range of programming the Kauffman Center will offer.”

Ticket packages for the two Grand Opening events on September 16 and 17 will be available starting March 28. Proceeds from both evenings will support future Kauffman Center programming, including education and outreach activities. Call 816-994-7231 for more information, or view the Grand Opening ticket brochure.

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
c/o Estela Fennel
Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation
4801 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, Missouri 64110-2046

www.kauffmancenter.org