2026 Exchange Program Concert Series | KKS Youth Jazz Orchestra

The KKS Youth Jazz Orchestra is playing the National WWI Museum and Memorial on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6 PM. They're visiting from the Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule in Hannover, Germany, and the performance runs about an hour.

The orchestra is part of the Museum and Memorial's 2026 Exchange Program, which is being staged to mark two milestones at once: the Museum's 100th anniversary and the nation's 250th. The concert is presented in partnership with the Sister Cities Association of Kansas City, so it's one of those international exchanges that brings a group from overseas into the city for a few days. The ensemble is led by director Michael Thiemann, and they've won awards for their work.

There's a bit of a connection between the school and the venue, too. The orchestra comes from the Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule, named after Käthe Kollwitz, an artist who worked during the Great War. Having a group from a school named for a WWI artist perform inside the National WWI Museum and Memorial puts the whole thing in a certain light, and it fits the spirit of the Exchange Program.

The concert is in the Museum's auditorium, and it's free with an RSVP. It starts at 6 PM on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and runs for about an hour.