The Kansas City Symphony performed Thursday evening at Wyandotte High School in a benefit concert for the school’s orchestra. Orchestra students also got to watch a rehearsal and ask questions and meet with the professional musicians.
The concert raised money for the Wyandotte orchestra to attend a competition in Chicago in March 2025.
The symphony’s program, part of the Support School Music series, emphasized popular and well-known works from a range of genres, from Mozart’s Magic Flute and Bizet’s Carmen to Bernstein’s West Side Story and Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. Wyandotte students narrated the program, introducing each piece with a discussion of its context and meaning.
After the concert, orchestra teacher Angela Diaw — a talented violinist herself with multiple recording credits — talked about the impact the symphony meeting had on her students.
“My students were totally floored by seeing the talent that the symphony had,” said Diaw. “They were so amazed that they were trying to figure out how to get their own practice to get them to end up in the same place.”
“They asked questions today that were great, like, ‘How do you go from procrastination to motivation? How do you get to where you are? What are the steps that I need to do so I can be you?’ I’m just really happy that it inspired the inner music in them.”
Wyandotte senior Liliana Alvarez plays in Diaw’s orchestra and was a bilingual narrator at the concert. She was profuse in her praise of the program and director.
“I have to say [Diaw] is one of the most incredible directors that I’ve worked with,” said the young cellist. “It’s been a pleasure to work with her, learn from her and go through all of these challenging repertoires. She guides us through the small, itty-bitty parts of the song to slowly build it up. So our performances are amazing, and the audience really gets the message that we’re trying to convey through the song.”
“The program here, I’d say, is really amazing. We have opportunities to get lessons from UMKC’s Bridges Conservatory, which I am also a part of. It’s been really fun, and I have the most wonderful time with my cello teacher. I just love the program here at Wyandotte High School, and Ms Diaw is so supportive of everything we do, and she pushes us to become a greater player and a person.”
Alvarez has been inspired to keep playing past high school. She plans to enroll at UMKC, with a major in criminology, but continuing to perform with one of the school’s high-level ensembles.
Diaw leads the orchestra not just at Wyandotte, but also at its feeder elementary and middle schools. Wyandotte principal Mary Stewart has seen first-hand the effect that Diaw’s leadership has had since she started in 2015.
“It’s forever growing. It is so exciting,” said the longtime KCK educator. “They’ve expanded so much. So we have two different levels of orchestra playing. The kids are just always wanting to spend time in the orchestra room.”
“We have an amazing, amazing orchestra director…When they have their concerts, she brings them all in here, and it just fills the entire auditorium when you watch them. Down here in the pit and up on the stage is just full of the orchestra from elementary level all the way to high school.”
The trip to Chicago is a big opportunity for the orchestra. Diaw wants to give her students a bigger picture of the world that music opens up.
“I just want the kids to see what is out there outside of Wyandotte. Some of the kids have only been on their block radius, and I just want them to know what else is out there. They’re really excited to see the Sea Aquarium [and] the Hancock Observatory.”
“Then some of them really just want to show off what they’ve learned because they’ve worked so hard. That just makes me proud, and that’s why I feel like they deserve a trip.”
Donations for the trip can be made by check to Wyandotte High School (2501 Minnesota Ave., KCK 66102), with a notation for the orchestra trip.
