The Kohlenberg Lyceum Series is a performance series bringing music, dance, arts and other cultural presentations to the Kirksville area. This year, there will be seven performances. The series started Sept. 9 with a performance from The Mighty Pines. The performances are free to attend, but some might require tickets.
The Friends of the Lyceum program funds the series. Donating to the program earns reserved seats and even reserved parking for some levels of donation.
Planning the series starts a whole year before.The Kohlenberg Lyceum Series committee is already planning next year’s performances. Staff from various departments across Truman’s campus form the committee, said Dawn Howd, Co-Chair of the Lyceum Committee
“We each come with ideas for artists or performers, and we discuss them and their options and availability as a group, then try to reach out to see if they are affordable or can work within the limitations of our space,” Howd said.
The committee tries to plan various events for the community and prioritizes having a holiday show during early December. The St. Louis Ballet is this year’s holiday show.
Senior Joelle Kantayya said she had a conflicting schedule last year, so she missed the ballet, but she is excited to see them this year.
“I love ballet, I wanted to see it, and I think it’s going to be really cool. I have an appreciation for dancing, so I love to see what they do this year,” Kantayya said. “Additionally, I just went to the planetarium over parents’ weekend, and it was so epic. The planetarium is a very cool space, so I think that would be really amazing if they are going to do a movie in the planetarium.”
One challenge the committee has to solve while planning is bringing events that would satisfy the most people, Howd said. The Kirksville community has such a wide variety of interests that it is important to vary what kind of performances the committee brings, Howd said
“The Lyceum is important to the community because it is important for an institute of higher education, especially a liberal arts education, to be able to bring the arts to people who would normally not be able to experience that,” Howd said.
The committee is looking to increase attendance this year. This is the second year fully back and in-person since 2020.
During COVID, the series had to shut down completely. When the committee was planning the series’s in-person return, they tried to bring performers that would get as many people excited as possible.
“It’s about the community aspect of it, getting together and enjoying these performances together as a big group. You don’t get that when you are watching something virtually,” Howd said. “So we were really committed to being back in-person.”