Inspiring youth and enriching community through the power of classical music.

Vision

The Mid-America Performing Arts Alliance (MAPAA) aims to musically enrich underserved communities throughout Northeast Kansas, creating high caliber music performance and educational opportunities in a welcoming atmosphere that is accessible for all.

Mission

Our programming features acclaimed guest artists often paired with professional local artists, who teach, mentor, and concertize with today's aspiring young Midwestern musicians. While recognizing that communities all over our region face barriers to musical arts education, MAPAA’s mission focuses on collaborating with local schools, businesses, and community organizations, all while offering 100% free programs. By offering culturally enriching and engaging opportunities free of charge, MAPAA is transcending the traditional elitism associated with instrumental music and the concert hall.

The three pillars of MAPAA:

The three pillars that sustain both MAPAA’s vision and mission are our commitment to Outstanding Musical Performances, Unique Educational Outreach, and Robust Community Collaboration.

Performance - The aim of MAPAA is to showcase today’s finest international and local performing artists while embracing musical programming that combines musical styles from many eras in a way that provokes interest and discovery for all who attend. The MAPAA concert series, which includes eight concerts per season, brings world-renowned musicians to our community where they collaborate with some of the best musicians from our region. This creates performance opportunities that did not exist previously.

Education - Advocating for the development of midwestern talent is the key to MAPAA’s mission. Thus far, we have created five ongoing opportunities for school-aged and collegiate students that support and provide music education.
- For Kindergarten through grade two. Instrumental Petting Zoo. This consists of mini-performances by guest artists followed by hands-on exploration of the instruments they experienced. The students are given the opportunity to touch and play the instruments they just heard.
- For grades three through five. Inspiring Strings Project. Participating students in both public and private elementary schools are offered free instrumental group lessons. This includes providing twice-a-week instruction as well as all instruments, music, accessories, t-shirts, and performance opportunities free of charge.
- For grades seven through twelve. Youth Philharmonic. Created as a mentor orchestra, students are partnered with professional symphony players to create a large ensemble learning environment. This allows the students an inside opportunity to learn from an industry expert.
- For high school and collegiate students. Youth Competition. This is an annual event that rotates between strings, winds & brass, and piano on a three-year basis. Winners of the competition receive cash prizes, multiple performance opportunities, and substantial publicity.
- For collegiate students. Visiting Artist Masterclass Series. This opportunity allows collegiate students the chance to work side-by-side with esteemed visiting faculty. In addition to the master class itself, this serves to expand students’ professional network and create the potential to work with the visiting artists outside of MAPAA.
Community Collaboration - MAPAA is invested in working with schools, businesses, and local arts organizations to expand the cultural life of our community and deepen an appreciation for classical music among a diverse audience, transcending traditional elitism.

MAPAA Directors

A Kansas native, Jesse Henkensiefken is an advocate for community building through the power of classical music education. Regularly concertizing as a cellist and conductor, he is passionate about breaking the barriers of underserved youth outreach, while creating performance access, opportunity, and collaboration for all. Most recently, he was appointed as the new Executive Director of Heartland Chamber Music, where he looks to continue their vision of creating accessible programming for kids in the greater KC-Metro area and beyond. He is excited to align this work with his passion of leading the Mid-America Performing Arts Alliance.

Henkensiefken began his higher education studies at the University of Kansas where he received a B.M., M.M., and a D.M.A. in Cello Performance. He attended the Park University International Center for Music, receiving a Certificate in Music, and earned a second M.M. in Symphonic/Opera Conducting at NYC's Manhattan School of Music. In 2015, he had the privilege of traveling to the Tchaikovsky State Moscow Conservatory in Russia, where he had further training under the direction of Anatoly Levin. His other mentors include George Manahan, David Gilbert, Nikolai Uljanov, Paul Vermel, Leonard Slatkin, and Kurt Masur.
In 2022, Henkensiefken found his way home to the University of Kansas to engage as the Director of Sacred Music at the St. Lawrence Catholic Center. Prior to that he was acting Program Manager for Harmony Project KC from 2020-2022, and the Director of Orchestras & String Studies, at Kansas Wesleyan University from 2014-2019. He also served as the Salina Symphony Assistant Conductor and Principal Cellist during the same time. Henkensiefken has additional experience performing as the Manhattan School of Music Contemporary Opera Ensemble Assistant Conductor (2012-2014), and was the Ars Viva Chamber Orchestra Music Director from 2009-14.
Henkensiefken has concertized throughout Asia, Latin America, and the United States, having performed alongside artists including Clive Greensmith, Steven Doane, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Neubauer, Stephanie Chase, Christina Bouey, Tatiana Tessman, and Mark O’Connor, to name a few. As a cellist, Henkensiefken was a Sorbel Award Winner at the Mu Phi Epsilon International Music Competition in 2011, and has been principal cellist for orchestras including Ensemble du Monde (NYC), the Empire State Sinfonia (Brooklyn, NY) Kansas City Philharmonia (Parkville, MO), and the Salina Symphony (Salina, KS). During the 2006-2007 season, he was a substitute cellist for the New World Symphony. His primary cello teachers were Edward Laut and Martin Story having also worked with Yo-Yo Ma, Eric Rosenblith, Zuill Bailey and Peter Kondrashin, as well as members of the Kronos, Ying, Da Vinci, and Turtle Island String Quartets.

Tatiana Tessman has performed as soloist with orchestras around the world, including the World Symphony in Cincinnati, Shreveport Symphony, Bach’s Festival Orchestra, Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia, Uruguay Philharmonic Symphony, Panama Philharmonic Symphony, Korea W. Philharmonic the Russian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, upon a personal invitation from Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich.
On the competition front, Tessman has seen overwhelming success, claiming first prizes at the Glenn Gould International Piano Competition in Ostra (Italy), Santorini International Piano Competition (Greece), 55th Wideman International Piano Competition, the Missouri International Piano Competition and the 50th Cincinnati World Piano Competition, in addition to multiple other awards at the Panama International Piano Competition, the Florida International Piano competition and the Eisenberg-Fried Manhattan School of Music Concerto Competition in New York. Fueled by her victories on the international competition circuit, Tessman’s reputation as an outstanding pianist of exceptional value expanded rapidly, leading to engagements throughout Russia, Europe, Latin America, Cuba, Asia, and the United States. Her artistry has taken her to many of the world’s leading venues, including The Big Hall of Moscow Conservatory, The Seoul Arts Center in Korea, Italy’s La Scala, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie’s Weill Hall, where her performance was recorded and broadcast by New York’s WQXR Classical Music Station.
Tessman was admitted to the Moscow State Conservatory, where she studied with teachers such as Valery Kastelsky, Pavel Nersessian, Nikolai Lugansky, Sergei Dorensky (with whom she pursued her studies as a post-graduate student), and Mstislav Rostropovich. After finishing her Bachelor and Master degrees at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatoire, Tessman moved to the United States, where she earned her Doctoral degree at Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of Solomon Mikowsky, where she was a recipient of the Elda van Gelder Memorial Foundation Scholarship.
Dr. Tessman is the Artistic Director of the Mid-America Performing Arts Alliance.