This past weekend I had the chance to attend an event at the Kauffman Center...

Have you been to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts? I have to admit, when it was first being built, I thought the structure was a little strange. I mean, it looks like a cross between a peanut and a giant solar panel. And the location is smack dab in the middle of the city flanked by Broadway and Wyandotte. Everything about it seemed strange to me.

But this past weekend I had the chance to attend an event at the Kauffman Center. Now, I am not really a huge fan of classical music, but the wife has a friend who plays in the Kansas City Symphony. This means that we sometimes need to attend to show our support, and that need arose this weekend. I have to admit, I was blown away!

When you walk into the Helzberg Hall half of the Kauffman Center, you realize that you are in a room that was designed for orchestra performances. The stage glows in the middle front of the room, and the seats the farthest back are just a mere 100-feet from the stage. We were in one of the balconies, and we could see each of the performers clearly from our seat.

When the first notes were struck, it sounded as if we were next to the instrumentalists. The acoustics in the building were astounding. Absolutely no amplification was needed to hear each note clearly.

The highlight of our evening was, of course, the organ. The Casavant-Freres pipe organ that surrounds the stage is breathtaking to behold, and that machine can sure belt out the notes. I read that it has over 5,000 pipes! Normally, I can take or leave organ music, but in this theater it was something truly awe-inspiring.

All in all, it was a lovely evening, and we finished our date with drinks at The Dubliner in the Power and Light District. Don’t tell my wife this, but after our first taste of live music at the Kauffman Center, I am actually looking forward to our next obligatory trip to the Kansas City Symphony. In fact, I just might be curious enough to indulge her in a trip to the Muriel Kauffman Theatre to catch the Lyric Opera, because now I want to see what the second half of the Kauffman Center looks like.