UMKC Conservatory

Last year, we got to welcome the UMKC Theatre department into the Conservatory fold with open arms. It feels good to all be under one umbrella, learning and collaborating!

The show must go on. While we won't be taking our final bow together tonight, know we can still feel your joy and applause! We are proud of the work of our students, faculty, and staff, and the performance we are presenting tonight. Enjoy the show!

From the jazz clubs in NYC to the Crescendo stage... who doesn't love listening to living legend and Conservatory professor Bobby Watson?!?!

It's important to us that our students aren't siloed into only working within their discipline. With all of the artistry found at the Conservatory, collaboration is easily achieved across many different areas.

One of our favorite things about Crescendo is the prism-style concert, where you never know what is coming next! A Dizzy Gillespie chart could roll right into a Beethoven piano sonata!

No "bones" about it, we are on the edges of our seats for tonight's live stream performance... and hope you are, too!

Crescendo is not only a time to showcase our talented students, but our world-class faculty! This is Conservatory professor Joe Genualdi performing at the 2014 Crescendo.

Ho Man Lee, Yi-Miao Huang, Elaine Ng, and Samuel Cho performed Jessie Montgomery's exciting work Strum as a part of our 2018 Crescendo performance.

Who still has chills from this Sax Choir/Dance combo in 2018?

Of course, we always love great backstage shots! This year we may not we waiting in the wings... but we still are just as excited for tonight's performance!

Laurel Weir, soprano and John Livingston, piano performed Verdi's Pace, pace mio dio from La Forza del Destino in 2017.

From 2019, beloved faculty member Leni Wylliams' hauntingly beautiful choreography for Bobby McFerrin's "Sweet in the Morning", performed by Tori Knox.

Happy Crescendo Day! We are looking forward to presenting our annual fundraising concert in a new, live-streamed format tonight. Watch this space throughout the day today to seem some of our favorite Crescendo memories from years past!