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Johnson County Community College’s Midwest Trust Center Announces 2022-2023 Season

Performances Include

Piff the Magic Dragon & Puddles Pity Party, Legally Blonde the Musical,Chris Botti, Soweto Gospel Choir, Mesner Puppet Theater, Nigella Lawson, the Bobby Watson Quartet, L.A. Theatre Works’ Lucy Loves Desi, the Emerson Quartet and John McCutcheon


Overland Park, KS (April 25, 2022) Emily Behrmann, Executive Director Midwest Trust Center Series, today announced the 2022-2023 season featuring a wide variety of accomplished artists from around the world and around the corner.

Behrmann, who will retire June 30th, reflected “I could not be prouder of the performances we’ve presented during my tenure, and their impact on our community. It has been gift to put together this group of extraordinary performers and some significant partnerships for the upcoming season.”

On Aug. 24, Chris Bottiwill kick off the season in Yardley Hall. Botti is the complete package: a dazzling trumpeter at home in everything from jazz to pop to rock, a brilliant bandleader who lets his players shine, and a born showman whose joy at being onstage is infectious. See him live and you’ll understand why musical stars from Sting to Paul Simon to Joni Mitchell have been eager to share his stage.

Sunday, October 2, Kansas City’s Vine Street Rumble Jazz Orchestra, directed by Kent Rausch, will honor the “golden era” of Kansas City’s world-renowned jazz history. Featuring the area’s “top call” musicians, VSR will kick off the Winterlude jazz series for 2022-2023 season.

The wait is over! Join the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra (KCJO) and the Hanover Big Band on Friday, October 21, as they square off in what promises to be a thrilling display of jazz virtuosity! Celebrate the creative thread that joins these Sister Cities as the Hanover Big Band returns to Kansas City for another joyful collaboration with KCJO.

On December 4, the Doug Talley Quartet will play Polsky Theatre as part of the Winterlude jazz series. The ensemble expands the parameters of jazz with colorful harmonies and strong rhythms. Formed in 1995, the quartet has performed at numerous festivals, concerts, clubs and schools throughout the Midwest.

Bobby Watson, the celebrated saxophonist, composer and educator, will perform Sunday, Jan. 15, as part of the Winterlude jazz series. For more than three decades, Watson has contributed consistently intelligent, sensitive and well-thought-out music to the modern-day jazz lexicon. He will be joined by poet, activist and educator, Glenn North.

On Sunday, January 22, Oran Etkin will feature works from his Open Arms project, a monthly release of singles and music videos recorded around the world with master musicians in Rio de Janeiro, Harare Zimbabwe, Prague, São Paulo, Paris and more. Etkin's unique sound on the clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone come from an openness to deep musical connections that transcend cultural and generational boundaries.

Voices of Mississippi will play Overland Park February 11, celebrating the music, art and storytelling traditions of the people of Mississippi. Based on the 2019 double-Grammy Award–winning “Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris,” the program features live musical performances integrated with film, audio recordings and rare photographs captured by folklorist and host William “Bill” Ferris. Featured musicians include Sharde Thomas, Ruthie Foster and Luther and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars.

Sunday, February 19, trumpeter Trent Austin, and his quartet will perform as part of the Winterlude series. Celebrated artist, educator/clinician and entrepreneur, Austin is a trumpeting Renaissance Man. His brilliant performances and recordings in both the jazz and classical music worlds, as well as packed-house master classes, have garnered him rave reviews, awards and international acclaim.

Closing out the Winterlude series for the season will be KC Jazz Disciples on Sunday, March 19. Five musicians share their unique touch while flawlessly blending into the ultimate Kansas City jazz sound. Led by saxophonist Gerald Dunn, this ensemble captures and captivates its audiences. The KC Pitch noted “the face of 18th and Vine has rarely looked – or sounded – better.”

For more information about the Midwest Trust Center Series at Johnson County Community College, visit Midwest Trust Center 2022-2023 Season.


Midwest Trust Center Series 2022-2023 Season

Aug. 24 Chris Botti

Sept. 16-17 New Dance Partners The Ultimate Collaboration

Sept. 25 The Opus 76 Quartet Glass, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn*

Sept. 29 DEAFinitely Dope with Mathew Maxey*

Sept. 30 Verona Quartet

Oct. 1 MTC Kids Jam – Yogapalooza with Bari Koral*

Oct. 2 Winterlude – Vine Street Rumble

Oct. 15 Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation

Oct. 16 Soweto Gospel Choir Hope

Oct. 21 Kansas City Jazz Orchestraand the Hanover Big Band (Germany)

Oct. 22 An Evening with Jon, Jon and Efren – Napoleon Dynamite Film

Screening and Conversation

Oct. 28 The Four Freshman

Oct. 30 Piff the Magic Dragon & Puddles Pity Party Misery Loves Company

Nov. 12 Legally Blonde the Musical

Nov. 19 An Evening with Nigella Lawson

Dec. 2 ten Thing Brass Ensemble

Dec. 4 Winterlude – Doug Talley Quartet*

Dec. 9-10 Mesner Puppet Theatre Cirque de Wiener Dog*

Jan. 15 Winterlude – Bobby Watson Quartet

Jan. 21 MTC Kids Jam – Oran Etkin Finding Friends Far from Home*

Jan. 22 Oran Etkin Open Arms*

Jan. 29 Opus 76 Quartet Amadeus (recital + film) *

Feb. 4 Cenicienta: A Bilingual Cinderella Story

Feb. 5 The Small Glories*

Feb. 11-12 L.A. Theatre Works – Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing

Happened on the Way to the Sitcom*

Feb. 11 Voices of Mississippi

Feb. 18 Emerson Quartet: Farewell Tour

Feb. 19 Winterlude – Trent Austin Quartet*

Feb. 24 DakhaBrakha*

Feb. 26 Opus 76 Quartet Haydn and Schubert

Mar. 2 It’s OK to be Different

Mar. 3 Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra

Mar. 5 Brooklyn Rider Variations on a Theme*

Mar. 10 Danú St. Patrick’s Celebration

Mar. 11 John McCutcheon*

Mar. 12 Opus 76 Quartet with Ramona Pansegrau, piano*

Mar. 19 Winterlude – KC Jazz Disciples*

Mar. 25 MTC Kids Jam – Billy Jonas Who’s Gonna Make Our Music?!*

Mar. 26 Curtis on Tour The Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring

Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music

Featuring David Shifrin, clarinet; John de Lancie,

narrator; Soovin Kim, violin*

Mar. 31 A Moving Sound*

Apr. 1 Masters of Percussion featuring Zakir Hussain

Apr. 15 Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

May 6 MTC Kids Jam – KC Spotlight*

May 19 Cirque Kalabanté Afrique en Cirque


Ticket Information

Season packages will go on sale May 2. Individual shows will go on sale June 6. Until then, please look at the full lineup on the website Midwest Trust Center 2022-2023 Season. To contact the Box Office call (913) 469-4445 Mon-Fri 10am-5pm.

Donors to the Friends of the Midwest Trust Center (starting at $60) receive early access. Become a Friend here.

Covid-19 Safety Protocols at the Midwest Trust Center

MTC and JCCC want to protect the safety of our visitors, performers, and staff. Please visit us at jccc.edu/MidwestTrustCenter for the latest updates. About Midwest Center, Johnson County Community College

The Midwest Trust 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 Midwest Trust Center's growth parallels that of Johnson County, expanding from 50 events the first season to around 150 annually today. Events include Midwest Trust Center Series, 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.

In 2020 Johnson County Community College 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 center now bears 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 Midwest Trust Center Arts Education program, the Midwest Trust Center also addresses cultural and art-related program needs in K-12 education. The MTC Arts Education programs include school performances at the Midwest Trust 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. MTC 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 MTC 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. MTC Arts Ed is the only Kennedy Center Partner in the state of Kansas.





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