Westport Center for the Arts’ Brown Bag Concert Series continues on May 17 with a free performance by The Violetta Duo featuring works by Kansas City area composers. The Violetta Duo, including flutist Dorothy Glick Maglione and clarinetist Madelyn Moore, aims to expand the repertoire for flute and clarinet alone, regularly commissioning new pieces for the ensemble.

The Brown Bag concerts are free (donations accepted) and held in the sanctuary at Westport Presbyterian Church, 201 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO 64111 at noon.

This concert will feature three works that were written for The Violetta Duo by Kansas City area composers Ian David Coleman, Daniel Morel and a world premier by Robert Pherigo. Two pieces on the program will be works commissioned as part of the “sky & earth, boundless,” project, which centers around advocacy for the United States National Parks Service. These works take inspiration from the National Parks to artistically capture the beauty and majesty of nature for the enjoyment and education of all.

Glick Maglione is assistant professor of Music and the associate director of bands at William Jewell College where she teaches world music and music education courses in addition to leading the Cardinal Sound Athletic Band. She has a PhD in musicology from the University of Kansas and her research examines the intersection of immigration and music, offering an analysis of the aspects of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and religion evident in early-twentieth-century concerts that occurred on Ellis Island for detained individuals.

Moore is assistant professor of clarinet at New Mexico State University and a Buffet Crampon Performing Artist. She is a member of the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra. Her doctor of musical arts degree in Clarinet Performance is from The University of Kansas. In addition to teaching clarinet lessons, chamber music and courses in music education, Moore is the current Editor of The New Mexico Musician, the official publication of the New Mexico Music Educators Association.

The Violetta Duo have been performing together since 2011. They are passionate about bringing contemporary works to audiences that may not otherwise be exposed to new music and have worked with a variety of living composers. Their recording of Daniel McIntosh’s For I Have Come to Know Your Soul is available on Spotify and iTunes. The Duo performed at the 50th anniversary of the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest in 2023 in Denver  as well as the 2019 ClarinetFest in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 2018 they held a short residency as part of the Bemidji State University Concert Series in Bemidji, Minnesota, where they gave a recital in addition to masterclasses and chamber music coachings. The Duo also gave a live performance on Kansas Public Radio and headlined at the National Association of Composers/USA National Conference in 2018. The Violetta Duo has given clinics and performances at the College Music Society (2021) and the New Mexico Music Educators Association (2023) conferences. In addition to these, the Duo has given recitals and masterclasses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, San Antonio, Texas, the Kansas City area, Charlotte, North Carolina and Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.