Founded in 1982, the Kansas City Symphony is the region’s only full-time professional orchestra and is a major force in the cultural life of the community. Under the artistic leadership of Music Director Michael Stern, the Symphony’s eighty full-time musicians perform more than 50 concerts each year, and also serve as the orchestra for the Kansas City Ballet and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Praised for performances of uncompromising standard, the ensemble often welcomes guest artists of international acclaim as part of their classical and pops subscriptions series. Complementing its full schedule of concerts, the Symphony strives to enrich the lives of Kansas City residents by providing music education opportunities for children and adults, including “KinderKonzerts,” “Young People’s Concerts,” and an Instrument Petting Zoo. Highlights each season include a range of free master classes, events, and concerts reaching over 100,000 community members—including the annual “Bank of America Celebration at the Station” concert each Memorial Day weekend and “Symphony in the Flint Hills” each summer. The Symphony has released two recordings on the Reference Recording label— Shakespeare’s Tempest, and the Grammy®-winning Britten’s Orchestra—as well as recordings on the Naxos label, and can be heard locally each week on KCUR 89.3 FM, Kansas City’s NPR affiliate. More information on the Kansas City Symphony is available at www.kcsymphony.org