{"id":3771,"date":"2026-10-01T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T17:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/?p=3771"},"modified":"2026-10-01T10:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T15:06:25","slug":"mtc-concert-series-provides-inclusive-space-for-students-and-the-public","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/2026\/10\/01\/mtc-concert-series-provides-inclusive-space-for-students-and-the-public\/","title":{"rendered":"MTC Concert Series Provides Inclusive Space For Students And The Public"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong><span class=\"TextRun SCXW136733787 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136733787 BCX0\">Yardley Hall <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136733787 BCX0\">awaits <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136733787 BCX0\">all travelers <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136733787 BCX0\">who<\/span> <span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136733787 BCX0\">walk<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136733787 BCX0\"> by<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136733787 BCX0\">.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP Selected SCXW136733787 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\"> Photo By: Josiah Ann Nelson<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rising from the plains, on a hill overlooking Johnson County, the Midwest Trust Center embodies the same family values that generations of Kansans cherished as they gathered around the hearth. Historically, the hearth represented the spiritual core of the home. Home is where the hearth is.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Stacie McDaniel, executive director of the Midwest Trust Center and Performing Arts, wants Johnson County residents and JCCC students to know that the Midwest Trust Center is the new hearth of the community.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cIt&#8217;s a gathering space,\u201d McDaniel said. &#8220;When you think about an old traditional home, the hearth, the fireplace, the place where food was cooked, where people read together, talked about their days, we&#8217;re really trying to do that on a larger scale.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jccc.edu\/midwest-trust-center\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Midwest Trust Center Series for 2026-27<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> has begun on the JCCC campus. It features performances across a wide range of genres that can appeal to a broad audience:\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">classical music featuring Ryan &amp; Ryan and Cultural Crossroads; jazz starring bands such as Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Nathan Williams; Broadway shows including <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Who\u2019s Tommy<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gravity;<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Plus, music from cultures around the world, including Japan, <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Afghanistan, and Senegal.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Midwest Trust Center Series is trying to get in front of as many people as possible, and that is why they are trying to appeal to a broad audience.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cWe are trying to get in front of as many eyes as we possibly can,\u201d McDaniel said. \u201cWe feel like that&#8217;s our mission.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Plus, they want to get in front of not only people who already love the performing arts but students who have not been exposed to the performing arts.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cEven if you don&#8217;t know that you love the performing arts, there&#8217;s something here for you,\u201d McDaniel said. \u201cI want every single individual, regardless of their age or cultural background, to look at the series and say, that\u2019s something that could be for me.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Attending a live performance at Midwest Trust Center offers the community and students a unique perspective on current times and what is happening in the community and around the country. It can also address a number of issues. It can help relate to issues your neighbor is going through or what is happening in your world.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cSometimes it&#8217;s a celebration,\u201d McDaniel said. \u201cSometimes it&#8217;s dealing with hard challenges that are happening in the culture and in the community.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Midwest Trust Center Series allows students on campus and the community to experience something as a group.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThat&#8217;s really something that a performing arts center can do that a movie theater can&#8217;t do,\u201d McDaniel said. \u201cA performing arts center and a community college campus are really there to bring the community together.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Makaila Wesley, a JCCC student studying animation, said the show she is most looking forward to is <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Black Panther <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">in concert<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cI\u2019m a huge Marvel fan,\u201d Wesley said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">She also loves anything dance.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cNai-Ni Chen Dance Company in October is aerial dancing, and that is really fun,\u201d Wesley said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There are two ways that students can get a discount on tickets. Students can purchase tickets to their favorite show and get $5 off to secure their preferred seat. Also, starting the Monday of the week of the show, students can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jccc.edu\/midwest-trust-center\/events\/student-pas-tickets.html\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">purchase up to two tickets for just $5 each<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For students with children, the Midwest Trust Center is also hosting free Saturday events called MTC Kids Jam. Tickets are free, but reservations are recommended. The shows are not part of the Midwest Trust Center Series.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are two ways that students can get a discount on tickets. Students can purchase tickets to their favorite show and get $5 off to secure their preferred seat. Also, starting the Monday of the week of the show, students can purchase up to two tickets for just $5 each.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[342],"class_list":["post-3771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Saul Epstein","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/sepstein\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2026\/10\/MTC-Concert-series--300x200.jpg","coauthors":[{"link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/mike-kemper\/","display_name":"Mike Kemper"}],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/category\/life\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Life<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Life<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 7 hours ago","modified":"Updated 9 hours ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 1, 2026","modified":"Updated on October 1, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 1, 2026 12:00 pm","modified":"Updated on October 1, 2026 10:06 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":342,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"mike-kemper","display_name":"Mike Kemper","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2026\/10\/MTC-Concert-series-.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3773,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3771\/revisions\/3773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3771"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}