Arts notes

Conference to honor famed organist

Kansas University’s Division of Organ and Church Music will present a weeklong series of events that celebrate the music of Olivier Messiaen.

Olivier Latry, titular organist at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, will be the featured performer during the Monday through Saturday event at Bales Organ Recital Hall.

The conference will bring together KU faculty from different disciplines and honored guest lecturers who will provide participants an overview of 20th century composer Messiaen’s work in a historical, musical and cultural context.

Daytime events will include concerts of representative choral and vocal works and recitals of compositions for piano. The evening concerts at Bales Organ Recital Hall are open to the public. Some are free, and some require tickets, which are $10 for students, $12 for the public.

The event will open with a 7:30 p.m. Monday recital by KU organ students performing “Diptyque, Les crops glorieux.”

Here’s a look at the other evening concerts:

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Elizabeth Egbert Berghout, assistant professor of carillon and organ, “La Nativitu Seigneur.”

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, Olivier Latry.

7:30 p.m. Friday, James Higdon, the Dane and Holly Bales Professor of Organ, “9 mtations sur le Myst de la Sainte-Trinit

For more information, contact the recital hall office at 864-2798.

Veteran’s Day celebration to include brass concert

Ottawa The Veteran’s Day celebration in Ottawa on Saturday will feature a Kansas Brass Quintet performance.

The brass quintet includes educators and Grammy award-winning musicians. The quintet has played on PBS, the soundtracks of films such as “What Dreams May Come,” and on television with “Deep Space Nine” and “Voyager.”

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. at Ottawa Municipal Auditorium, 301 S. Hickory. Ticket prices range from $9.50 for balcony seats to $11 for floor tickets. Children are half price.

For more information or to reserve tickets, call the auditorium at (785) 242-8810.

Teddy bear sculptures to deck KC streets

Kansas City area The second round of decorated teddy bear sculptures will hit Kansas City streets on Monday for the start of the holiday season.

March of the Teddy Bears is a community art event that benefits the Toy and Miniature Museum and Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics. Phase one of the march this summer included more than 130 teddy bear sculptures.

Installation of the sculptures, designed by Kansas City professional and amateur artists, will begin Monday and continue through Friday. The bears will remain on display through early January in the Crown Center area, Country Club Plaza, the Toy and Miniature Museum, Oak Park Mall, Town Center Plaza, downtown Lee’s Summit, downtown Parkville and Liberty Square.

An auction of some of the summer bears raised more than $200,000 at an October auction. Some of the sculptures will become available online in mid-December for holiday gift-giving. The rest of the bears will be placed online in January 2003.

For more information, visit www.marchoftheteddybears.com.

Lyric Opera to stage ‘Salome’ tragedy

Kansas City, Mo. Performances of “Salome” by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City will continue at 7:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Nov. 10.

The opera, based on a play by Oscar Wilde, recounts the story of the seductive princess Salome who has a dangerous appetite for gratifying her desires. She seeks revenge on Jochanaan (John the Baptist), requesting his head on a silver platter. Her stepfather, Herod, orders her execution after witnessing her steal a kiss from Jochanaan’s dead lips.

The opera will be presented in German with easy-to-read English translations.

Soprano Kelly Cae Hogan will make her Lyric debut in the starring role. Tenor John Duykers will play Herod, and bass-baritone Bradley Garvin will play the role of Jochanaan.

Tim Ocel is directing the production. Ward Holmquist, artistic director for the company, will conduct.

Ticket prices range from $10 to $60 and may be purchased by phone at (816) 471-7344 or online at www.kcopera.org.

Nobel peace laureate to visit Kansas City

Kansas City, Mo. Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica and Nobel peace laureate, will visit Kansas City Friday through Nov. 10 as part of the PeaceJam project.

Teen-agers who participate in PeaceJam study a six-week curriculum built around Arias’ work and life. The lessons will culminate in a PeaceJam conference at Rockhurst University.

Arias will give a free lecture titled “Globalization From a Third World Perspective” on Friday at Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Mo. For free lecture tickets, call (816) 521-3077 or e-mail confreg@CofChrist.org.

For more information about the PeaceJam conference, call Cynthia Phillips at (816) 923-5675.