Before the Chiefs’ Super Bowl on Sunday, this Kansas City musician is playing to win

Go, Chiefs! Go, Jan Kraybill!

Kansas City’s beloved organist is arguably the classical music equivalent of Patrick Mahomes. Kraybill has brought honor to the city with her many years of stellar performances, her Grammy-nominated CDs and the way she lovingly cares for Helzberg Hall’s Casavant organ. She is truly one of the city’s most valuable players.

Kraybill will present her 24th annual Super Bowl Organ Recital, “Beyond Words,” Feb. 12 at the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence.

“There are lots of things in our lives that go beyond words,” Kraybill said. “Watching this incredible team and some of the plays they’ve made this year, for one. But also the highs and lows of everyday life. This concert will celebrate times like that.”

Kraybill will start things off with her own tribute to the hometown team, “Go, Chiefs!” Following that is a program of rousing music designed to get the blood flowing. Works like Fuga on the Magnificat by Bach and Three Preludes from 24 Preludes in Jazz Style by Ukrainian composer Nikolai Kapustin.

“I’m also very excited to perform the world premiere of the wordless Requiem for Organ by Dan Gawthrop,” Kraybill said. “It’s a personal high for me to have the honor of premiering this brand-new major work.”

The concert will conclude with an organ transcription of Sibelius’ orchestral showstopper “Finlandia.”

“But I can’t wait to experience the best high, considering our times, the chance to be together in this room again,” Kraybill said. “The last time I played here for a live audience was Super Bowl Sunday in 2020, which was also the last time the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. I hope I’m one of their good-luck charms.”

2 p.m. Feb. 12. Community of Christ Auditorium, 1001 W. Walnut St. Free. jankraybill.com.

Bach Aria Soloists — Record Revelry

The Bach Aria Soloists are also major league musicians who are now making their mark nationally. The group has just released its first major label CD, and it’s a stunner. “Le Dolce Sirene” is an album of heart-melting baroque music in spectacular sound engineered by the audiophile label Reference Recordings.

Bach Aria Soloists will celebrate its release with “Record Revelry,” Feb. 19 at Thompson Barn.

The concert will feature violinist and founder Elizabeth Suh Lane, keyboardist Elisa Williams Bickers, cellist Hannah Collins and soprano Sarah Tannehill Anderson performing selections from the album. Like the CD, the concert will include works by Monteverdi, Handel, Mendelssohn and Bach, as well as a new transcription of Cecilia McDowall’s “Four Shakespeare Songs.”

Critics are already taking note of “Le Dolce Sirene.” Fanfare magazine calls it “brilliant and captivating,” and says that “BAS offers music-making of striking beauty, energy, and an infectious enthusiasm.”

Here’s hoping this is the first of many fine recordings yet to come.

6 p.m. Feb. 19. Thompson Barn, 11184 Lackman Road, Lenexa. $40. bachariasoloists.com.

The Kansas City Ballet — ‘Cinderella’

On Nov. 21, 1945, a little more than two months after the end of World War II, Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet “Cinderella” had its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. It was a joyful treat for Russians who had endured the brutal Nazi invasion of their country. “Cinderella” has gone on to delight audiences all over the world and has become a beloved part of the ballet repertoire.

The Kansas City Ballet will present “Cinderella” for eight performances, Feb. 17 to Feb,. 26.

This production will feature world-premiere choreography by the ballet’s artistic director, Devon Carney, and all the magic of the beloved fairy tale, including the Fairy Godmother, a handsome prince and a wicked stepmother. When the clock strikes midnight, Prokofiev’s music will send chills down your spine.

7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 and 2 p.m. Feb. 19, 25 and 26. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. $34-$134. 816-931-8993 or kcballet.org.

‘Songs for Amelia Earhart’

Aviator Amelia Earhart still fascinates more than 80 years after she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. Although a celebrity in her own day, the Atchison, Kansas, native’s fame increased even more after her failed attempt to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in 1937.

The Harriman-Jewell Series will present Filharmonie Brno conducted by Dennis Russell Davies and violinist and composer Laurie Anderson in Anderson’s “Songs for Amelia Earhart” Feb. 18 at Helzberg Hall.

The program will also feature works by Czech composers, which is appropriate given that Filharmonie Brno is one of Czechia’s most venerable orchestras.

The first half opens with Dvořák’s “Othello” Overture followed by “Thunderbolt P47,” Bohuslav Martinů’s tribute to America’s World War II fighting plane. The aviation theme really takes off on the second half with “Songs for Amelia Earhart,” in which Anderson combines Earhart’s radio transmissions, diaries and news clippings along with her own daring music. The work was so popular when it was performed in Brno that several performances had to be added.

7 p.m. Feb. 18. Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. $12.50-$75. 816-415-5025 or hjseries.org.

The Friends of Chamber Music — Emerson String Quartet Farewell Tour Concert

The Emerson String Quartet has been a mainstay of the Friends of Chamber Music. The illustrious ensemble has appeared on the series 10 times over the years, and now they’re returning to Kansas City for one last concert.

The Friends of Chamber Music will present the Emerson String Quartet and cellist David Finckel on Feb. 18 at the Midwest Trust Center.

Finckel was cellist for the Emerson Quartet from 1979 to 2013, and is joining his old colleagues on their farewell tour. They’ll perform an all-Schubert program, including the “Rosamunde” String Quartet in A Minor, the “Quartettsatz” in C Minor and the String Quintet in C Major.

8 p.m. Feb. 18. Midwest Trust Center, Yardley Hall, Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd. $25-$55. 816-561-9999 or chambermusic.org.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.