Vocalizing

The latest installment of ArtSounds, a creative partnership between the Kansas City Art Institute and the UMKC Conservatory of Music, carries the largely self-explanatory title "4 Musicians, 3 Writers, 2 Girls and 1 Animator in Search of a Lyric." The writers and the animator have written, selected and designed text to go with vocalises. That's not a typo: Vocalises are classical training exercises "written for voice with no words," explains Rebecca Sherburn, an associate professor at the conservatory. Accompanied by piano, Sherburn and the other singers perform vocalises while the words are recited or projected on a screen. (The titular "two girls," the preteen daughters of Sherburn and Art Institute faculty member Anne Boyer, will be among the readers.) "This collaboration allows me to step outside my comfort level and just become a part of art fully alive," says conservatory student Lindsay Craft. The free performance starts at 8 p.m. at the Art Institute's Epperson Auditorium (4415 Warwick Boulevard). For more information, call 816-802-3423.
Tue., Feb. 10, 8 p.m., 2009