newEar contemporary chamber music ensemble presents Kansas City Connections, an evening of challenging and innovative music making celebrating the talent of our great city, on Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 8:00 PM at Unity on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th Street, Kansas City, MO. A pre-concert talk with composers Paul Rudy, Narong Prangcharoen, David D. McIntire, Paul Elwood and Ingrid Stölzel will begin at 7:15 p.m.

Paul Rudy	Narong Prangcharoen	David D. McIntire

Paul Elwood	Ingrid Stölzel

Kansas City has been known as a crossroads for trade and culture for its entire history. newEar's concert presents the work of several composers who have had significant crossings with our great city and also features guest performer and bouzouki virtuoso Roger Landes. His brilliant musicianship will be featured on Paul Elwood's In Blue Space (2006). The composition is inspired by the vast blue spaces of the high desert outside of Taos and Arroyo Seco, New Mexico.

Roger Landes

Roger Landes will also premiere a new work for bouzouki and electronics by Paul Rudy, Professor of Composition at the Conservatory of Music and Dance. Sibling Rivalries (2008) was written for Roger Landes using only sounds from his collection of bouzoukis, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and hybrid instruments for the electronic part. Rudy describes the sound result as "entertaining at best, contentious at worst, but either way, a somewhat typical romp as families who haven't seen each other for a while get together and perhaps have too much ouzo."

Also on the program is a new work by Thailand's rising star Narong Prangcharoen. Whispering (2008) is scored for soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, piano and percussion and was commissioned by newEar for the 2008-2009 season. Whispering implies the communication between Mother Earth and Mankind. The composer wonders if the recent natural disasters are a signal that Mother Earth is trying to warn Mankind. Prangcharoen dedicates this work to the memory of the 2008 Asia Disaster Victims.

The evening is rounded off by two more world premieres and a Kansas City premiere by newEar composers David D. McIntire and Ingrid Stölzel.

Tickets for newEar's Kansas City Connections are $20 and $8 for students with ID. For ticket information call the Central Ticket Office at 816-235-6222 or toll-free at 1-888-286-4849.

For more information on the concerts and artists visit newEar or contact Ingrid Stölzel at 816-756-0570

PHOTOGRAPHS: Print-quality downloadable photographs of newEar are available at newEar.

Financial assistance for newEar has been provided by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Carolyn L. Hart Memorial Trust and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.