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In The News: KC Symphony Moving to Webster House, New Movement for Old School

The Kansas City Symphony unveiled its plans to relocate to the historic Webster School building, according to CitySceneKC and multiple outlets that shared the news of the Symphony’s new home. 

“We are delighted that our Symphony will have a new home and will be able to welcome the people of Kansas City back to a space they know and love,” Shirley Helzberg said in a statement.

Helix worked on the original restoration of Webster School almost 20 years ago. As CitySceneKC notes, the building had been vacant since 1977 until Helzberg engaged Helix to bring new life to the Richardson Romanesque style building. When Webster School reopened in 2002, it featured a renowned restaurant upstairs and a high-end antique shop and boutique below.

After Helzberg closed Webster House last April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she vowed that there would be a new future for the building. Now, the Symphony, which currently has administrative offices across the street at 1703 Wyandotte, expects to centralize administrative, musical and creative operations in the new headquarters this summer.

“The Webster House building will be the front door to the Kansas City Symphony, where we will provide new ways for the community to interact with use through recitals, educational programs, events and opportunities to meet our musicians,” Danny Beckley, the symphony executive director, said in a statement.

“…We want every musician, Symphony employee and community member to appreciate the beauty of the building and truly enjoy their experience.”

We are thrilled to partner with Helzberg once again to give the Webster School a new life, particularly for an organization as treasured as the Kansas City Symphony.

“Whenever we have the opportunity to work in a historic building that has as much depth and ornate detail as Webster School, we are very intentional in how we can approach the project with a light touch and amplify those existing features,” Helix principal Alissa Wehmueller said in a statement. “The process will be a collaborative effort with our engineers, Avant Acoustics and Lankford Fendler, to carefully address the acoustics of the building. Whether it’s isolating noise between practice rooms or transforming a dining room into a recital space, we want every musician, Symphony employee and community member to appreciate the beauty of the building and truly enjoy their experience.”

Read the full article from CitySceneKC and the statement from the Kansas City Symphony.