Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau to Host Weekly Show on Classical Station KXTR
‘Music Moves’ To Feature Artists and Music from the World of Dance Starting October 19 from Noon to 1 p.m. on 1660AM and Online at kxtr.com 

KANSAS CITY, MO (October 15, 2008) – Kansas City Ballet today announced that Music Director Ramona Pansegrau will host a one-hour weekly show, Music Moves, starting this Sunday, October 19 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on classical station KXTR. Music Moves will feature music for dance and special guests who will talk about the correlation of dance and music. Classical KXTR is owned by Entercom Communications Corp. and can be found at 1660AM and online at kxtr.com.

“My hopes for Music Moves are to introduce the listening audience to some of the most beautiful music they’ve never heard,” said Pansegrau. “I’d like the listeners to be aware that wonderful music is happening at the ballet – it’s a concert, with movement.  There’s something for everyone – for the dance connoisseur, the music enhances the experience – for the music connoisseur, come watch the Music … Move.”

“It’s very exciting to have Ramona and the Kansas City Ballet on KXTR,” said Patrick Neas, KXTR program director and morning show host. “Ramona has an awesome depth of knowledge about classical music which she shares in a very engaging way.  She’s been all over the world in her musical career, and she has lots of stories to tell.  I think our listeners are going to get hooked on Music Moves.”

Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau comes to Kansas City via the Boston and Tulsa ballet companies, where she held the positions of principal pianist, solo pianist, music director, and conductor respectively. She has been called one of the best ballet pianists in the world. Robert Joffrey called her playing for ballet class, “The perfect music for every combination.”

She was music director for Tulsa Ballet for nine years, and conductor of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra for ballet performances before she became the Kansas City ballet music director in October of 2006. She was principal pianist/solo pianist for ten years at the Boston Ballet and tenured keyboard for the Boston Ballet Orchestra for fifteen years.

Pansegrau was on the faculty at Aspen Dance Festival and School for eleven years, served on the faculty and as music director of five International Ballet Competitions, taught at the Boston Conservatory, and guest conducted at the New England Conservatory.

As a piano soloist for ballet, she has performed the piano concertos of Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Gottschalk, Hindemith, and Chopin to name a few, performing with many symphony orchestras, including the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra. Of her performances, the Boston Phoenix stated “the music…brought to sublime heights by pianist Ramona Pansegrau, allow[ed] you to experience the music anew each time.” Her arrangements of ballets are now in the repertory of the Western Australia Ballet, Charleston Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, Louisville Ballet, and the San Carlo Opera House in Italy. As conductor, Pansegrau conducted the premiere of the Tulsa Symphony in Tulsa, Okla., with full-length Sleeping Beauty, starring Italian ballerina Viviana Durante. Her performances were hailed as “giving life to the music and energizing the dancers.”

Outside of Kansas City Ballet performances, her 2008 guest engagements included her return for the 5th year as musical director for the Ballet School at Jacob’s Pillow, musical director for the Jackson IX International Ballet Competition, conductor of the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra for the “Ballet Across America” festival, and musical arranger/editor for The State Ballet of Georgia’s international touring season, with ballerina Nina Ananiashvili.

About Kansas City Ballet
Founded in 1957, Kansas City Ballet is a 26-member professional ballet company under the direction of Artistic Director William Whitener and Executive Director Jeffrey J. Bentley. The company’s mission is to offer dance experiences of the highest quality to our community, region and profession. The Kansas City Ballet also is home to the Kansas City Ballet School for nearly 600 children and adults, offering professional training for the career-minded student as well as for those seeking a healthy lifestyle. Through our professional company, school and community outreach programs such as ROAD, Project X, and Dance INFORMances, we seek to nurture and develop our artists, audiences and students in the creativity, diversity and joy of dance.

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