September 20, 2024
7:30 p.m.
Folly Theater, 300 W 12th St, Kansas City, MO

The Park International Center for Music season kicks off with a notable collaboration between Park ICM and NAVO Arts, featuring our Artist-in-Residence and ICM alum, Behzod Abduraimov, and conductor and ICM alumnus, Shah Sadikov. This unique partnership, which stemmed from their time together in Park ICM, brings together the ICM Orchestra and NAVO Arts musicians, creating a rich tapestry of talent. Behzod, internationally celebrated for his performances with major orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, the London Symphony Orchestra, and at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, New York, and Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, will be the featured soloist. Repertoire to include the Kansas City premiere of a revised Genius Loci by Ingrid Stolzel (1971), Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 “Classical Symphony”, Johannes Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466 with Abduraimov on piano. Tickets $20-$50. Student rush $10 at the door. 

Behzod Abduraimov

Called “the most perfectly accomplished pianist of his generation,” Behzod Abduraimov is current Artist-in-Residence at Park ICM and former student of Park ICM founder and Artistic Director Stanislav Ioudenitch. Behzod has soloed with leading orchestras worldwide such as the LA Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and prestigious conductors including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vasily Petrenko and others.

Following his debut success at Carnegie Hall in 2015, recent seasons have seen Abduraimov work with leading orchestras worldwide. An award-winning recording artist, he released his first concerto disc in 2014 on Decca Classics which features Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3 and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No.1 with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai under Juraj Valčuha. His debut recital CD won both the Choc de Classica and the Diapason Découverte. Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Abduraimov began to play the piano at the age of five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent.

https://www.harrisonparrott.com/artists/behzod-abduraimov

Shokhrukh (Shah) Sadikov

An adamant believer in the power of music to unite, inspire, and elevate, Shokhrukh (Shah) Sadikov is one of the most driven young conductors of his generation. From concert halls to classrooms, community centres and libraries, Sadikov leads an engaged career as a conductor, violist, researcher, and music educator. His work with numerous organizations, hundreds of people, and advocacy of access to the arts-for-all stands as a testimony to his belief.

In 2015, Mr. Sadikov co-founded and became the CEO and Music Director of a non-for-profit arts organization, NAVO Inc. (navoarts.com), whose mission is to create unique programs that challenge, entertain, and enrich the lives of underserved communities in the Midwest of the United States. In its only few years of existence, NAVO has already reached audiences in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Illinois. During the 2018-19 season he also led the Overland Park Orchestra as the Music Director.

During his tenure as Music Director of the Hays Symphony Orchestra (2015-2019), the orchestra has reached its first pedestal of success in every direction: innovative programming that appeals to a wide range of audience (including two festivals: Cottonwood Chamber Music in the Spring and New Music in the Fall), high quality concerts with a strong regular following, the first HSO brand, website, and the Hays Youth Orchestra. The Children’s Halloween concert became one of the most successful family events of the city. Mr. Sadikov also worked as an assistant professor of upper strings and orchestra director at Fort Hays State University.

Sadikov appeared as a conductor, soloist, and principal violist with the National Symphony Orchestra and the National Radio Chamber Orchestra of Uzbekistan. He also conducted ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra in DC, Baltimore Symphony, Hamburg Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Aspen Chamber Symphony, Berlin Sinfonietta, Kazakh State Philharmonic, Kansas City Civic Orchestra, Kansas Wesleyan Chamber Orchestra, Medomak Symphony Orchestra, Taldykorgan Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra “Turkiston” and newEar Contemporary Ensemble among others.

In the theater, Sadikov has conducted the productions of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Mozart Die Zauberflöte, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and has been engaged with the productions of Puccini La bohème and Gianni Schicchi, Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin, Strauss II Die Fledermaus, Britten The Rape of Lucretia, Mechem Tartuffe, as an assistant conductor and violist.

As violist, Mr. Sadikov performed in festivals that include Aspen, Sarasota, Halcyon, Killington, Cottonwood, Lincoln Crossroads and Vladimir Spivakov’s “Moscow Meets Friends”. He produced two recordings with he rapper Tech 9 under the Strange Music label, and released two CD’s of viola works by Brahms, Schumann, Clarke, and Ingrid Stölzel. He recently performed recitals in Germany, Uzbekistan, and the United States, and played his Carnegie Hall debut in 2014.

As a founding member of Wakarusa Trio, Mr. Sadikov is a first prize winner of the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, American Protégé International Competition and MTNA Competition, as well as a Bronze medalist at the Chamber Music Foundation Competition of New England. As a soloist and conductor, he is a laureate of several international competitions such as the 2005 Young Artist Competition of the Republic (Uzbekistan), the 2006 International Competition in Almaty (Kazakhstan) as well as the Tolebaev Conducting Competition (Kazakhstan) in 2019.

His educational journey took him from the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan to Park University International Center for Music, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music under the tutelage of Ben Sayevich and Daniel Veis. Shah continued his academic pursuits at the University of Kansas, securing a Master’s Degree in music with Professor Peter Chun while simultaneously working as a Teaching Assistant in viola. He further honed his skills in Germany, attaining a prestigious Kontakstudium Certificate from Detmold Hochschule für Music under Diemut Poppen’s mentorship. During his time in Kansas, David Neely became Shah’s first conducting mentor, affording him invaluable podium experience.

His academic journey then led him to the Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute, where he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting under the guidance of renowned figures like Marin Alsop and Joseph Young, while concurrently studying for a Master of Musicology degree with Laura Vasilyeva. In a parallel pursuit, Shah has ventured into Computer Science, working toward a Bachelor of Science degree, and holds certificates in Python and JavaScript from esteemed programs. Additionally, he has benefited from mentorship and master classes with prominent figures in conducting and viola, including Robert Spano, Mei-Ann Chen, Michael Stern, Ludovic Morlot, Bernard Labadie, Patrick Summers, Larry Rachleff, Kenneth Kiesler, Cliff Colnot, Donald Schleicher, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Neubauer, and Paul Coletti, all of which have contributed to his multifaceted journey of achievement.