Founded by Richard Harriman and Dean Dunham, Jr. on the campus of William Jewell College in 1965, the Harriman-Jewell Series has grown into one of the country’s leading and most respected performing arts presenters today.

 Just eight years after its inception, the Series presented famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti in his international recital debut. To date, over 980 performances have been presented, along with dozens of American and International recital debuts, bringing world-renowned artists direct to the concert halls of Kansas City. The Series continues to offer unique experiences each season by offering only the best in performing arts to our Kansas City audiences

 Since 2004, the Series has brought young, emerging artists at the cusp of their professional careers to perform in our Discovery Concert lineup each season. These events, sponsored by our generous donors, provide not only a free community concert, but also bring in-depth and hands-on learning opportunities to local schools and universities, including educational master classes which promote music and cultural awareness of various artistic specialties. To date, over 50,000 people in our community have enjoyed these free Discovery Concerts.

 Our mission, to bring the best of the performing arts to Kansas City audiences remains strong, with the four tenants of Quality, Variety, Discovery and Diversity as our guide.