Carlsen Center Presents New Digital Artists-in-Residence Opus 76 Quartet

Emily Behrmann, General Manager for Carlsen Center Presents today announced the first-ever Digital Artists-in-Residence partnership with Opus 76 Quartet for the 2020-2021 season. Known for their entertaining and energetic interpretations of the classics, this group of renowned musicians based in Kansas City have been called "Kansas City's gem of a quartet" by The Kansas City Star.

Together, the Carlsen Center Presents and Opus 76 Quartet will present a new virtual chamber music series, "Eat, Drink, Play!" These fun "date night in" concerts will be approx. one hour in length and will feature both lively performances as well as engaging programming including cameos from some beloved KC chefs offering unique wine pairings to accompany the performance and more. Concert portions will be filmed in Yardley Hall. High-res photos with IDs can be found here.

In addition, as part of this inaugural series and the Opus 76 Quartet Sunrise Programme, Opus 76 Quartet auditioned and chose a youth string quartet who will perform on some of these programs. This mentoring initiative provides four talented young musicians of high school age or younger with free coaching, mentoring and performing opportunities. More information about the Sunrise Programme can be found at https://opus76.org/sunrise-program.

"Behrmann stated, "Opus 76 Quartet has gained quite a following in Kansas City in a short period of two or three years. They've also been continuing to produce their own well-received concerts throughout the pandemic. The Carlsen Center had planned to feature them as part of our series in September 2020. In the end, the concert was recorded and broadcast. Keith and I talked about how the pandemic was dragging on and on. If we can't invite the community into our theatres, will digital content continue? What will it look like going forward? And is there a way to reach those who might not actually come to the theatre, but want to engage at home? He proposed this series, Eat, Drink and Play, and the combination of food, wine and classical music was ...well, classic! I agreed to give it a try! We may be the first venue in Kansas City to engage digital artists-in-residence!"

Keith Stanfield, founder of Opus 76 Quartet, stated, "With our exciting new partnership at The Carlsen Center, we hope to truly change the culture around classical music in Kansas City - concert by concert, event by event, and action by action. We can't wait to get started and share these experiences with you."

Ticket Information

Tickets are $15 per program, available on demand for a limited time. For more information, please visit https://jccc.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1390.

Carlsen Center Presents "Eat, Drink, Play!" Opus 76 Quartet Digital Residency Series Inaugural Season

Premiere Date:

Dec. 20 Pops program, featuring Messiah, Fledermaus, Nutcracker, Winter (Largo), Carols

Jan. 21 Family program, featuring Dvorak American 1 (Sunrisers)

Feb. 22 Classics program, featuring Schubert Cello Quintet in C

April 1 Spiritual program, featuring Haydn, Seven Last Words of Christ (excerpts), Mendelssohn D Major

June. 17 Classics program, featuring Dvorak American 2 (Sunrisers), Brahms F minor Piano Quintet

The Opus 76 Quartet was formed by Keith Stanfield, Zsolt Eder, Ashley Stanfield and Sascha Groschang. The Opus 76 Quartet has since become known for its entertaining and energetic interpretations of the classics. Recently described by The Kansas City Star as "Kansas City's gem of a quartet" the ensemble performs upwards of 50 concerts a season around the nation. A European tour is scheduled for 2022.

During the Pandemic of 2020, the Opus 76 Quartet released a live recorded Album: "Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets" - in celebration of the composer's 250th anniversary - which was recorded live in front of an in-person audience over six performances over six weeks. The album is now available in iTunes. They are coached by recently retired founding member of the Takács Quartet, Károly Schranz. For more information, please visit Opus 76 Quartet.

The Carlsen Center is Johnson County's performing arts center. Early on, the founders of Johnson County Community College (JCCC) dreamed of building a world-class performing arts venue in Johnson County, Kansas. In 1990, that dream was realized, and the center soon became a cultural hub for the rapidly growing county. The Carlsen Center's growth parallels that of Johnson County, expanding from 50 events the first season to around 150 annually today. Events include Carlsen Center Presents (CCP), the annual series of around 25 events presented by JCCC that feature professional, internationally known artists in a wide variety of genres; academic branches of JCCC; and community groups who rent the space.

Johnson County Community College has accepted a $1,000,000 donation intended to provide an ongoing endowment to support the College's Performing Arts Series. These funds will also provide scholarships for students studying creative arts at JCCC. As a feature of the donation, the Carlsen Center will in the future bear the name Midwest Trust Center, a local company founded by Brad Bergman. The donors Brad and Libby Bergman are long-time supporters of the College, having co-chaired the JCCC Foundation's annual Some Enchanted Evening Gala - the largest single fundraising event for student scholarships. Brad has also served as Chair of the JCCC Foundation Board of Directors. The Bergmans have been consistent supporters of dozens of activities at JCCC. They have four children, each of whom has benefited from classes taught at the College.

Since 2000, with the development of the Carlsen Center Arts Education program, the Carlsen Center also addresses cultural and art-related program needs in K-12 education. The CC Arts Education programs include school performances at the Carlsen Center, and engagement activities with artists performing in schools. Master classes, lecture/demonstrations, workshops, and other opportunities for interaction with students happen throughout the year. CC Arts Education also offers support materials for programs, study guides, concert previews, plus professional development - creative skills workshops and curriculum-building seminars for teachers in arts integration.

The CC Arts Education had a leadership role in the re-establishment of the Kansas Alliance for Arts Education, and in 2014 was named a Kennedy Center Partners in Education site, teamed with the Shawnee Mission School District. An expansion of the Kennedy Center Partnership occurred in 2018 with the addition of the Liberty Schools, and again in 2019, adding Kansas City Young Audiences, making it one of two cross-state Kennedy Center Partnerships in the US. CC Arts Ed is the only Kennedy Center Partner in the state of Kansas.

Please visit Carlsen Center Events for more information.