Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

The definitive, authorized story of the development, design, and construction of Kansas City’s Kauffman Performing Arts Center (KCPA), acclaimed as one of the fifteen greatest performance halls in the world (and one of only two in the United States). With a Foreword by His Royal Highness Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales. Since its grand opening in 2011, the KCPA has been the subject of praise from critics and audiences all over the world. This book tells the remarkable story of the design and construction of the magnificent building by a celebrated team including architect Mosche Safdie, engineers from the Arup Group Ltd., international theater designer Richard Pilbrow, acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, and many others. From its unique building materials to its lofty place in the Kansas City environment, every detail was subject to intense scrutiny and testing to reach the highest standards in performance and appearance. Performances from jazz musicians to symphonic orchestras, modern dance to ballet, opera to broadway musicals have entranced audiences and impressed professionals with the high quality of the facility. The Casavant organ, commissioned personally by Ms. Julie Irene Kauffman, Chairman of the Board of the Center, is one of the most magnificent instruments of its kind in the world. Illusrated with over 250 photos and contributions from the experts involved in the project make the book unique, and it stands alone as the only book of its kind on the Center. With the addition of a Foreword by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, whose interest in and support of architectural endeavors is well known, it will be a treasure for Kansas Citians, and the perfect souvenir for visitors from all over the country, and the world.