October 28 at 1900 Building
Featuring Students of Park ICM Artistic Director
Cliburn Gold Medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch
KANSAS CITY, MO (September 27, 2022) — Park University International Center for Music (Park ICM) announced today that their 2022-2023 Season would continue October 28th with an entire concert devoted to piano lovers. The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the 1900 Building in Mission Woods, Kansas (corner of State Line Road and Shawnee Mission Parkway). High-res photos can be found here.
“It is extremely important for students to have performance opportunities,” said Park ICM Artistic Director Stanislav Ioudenitch, “Any musician needs to have the practical training of performing. That’s what we’re trained to do . . . to perform in public. These young artists in my piano studio are quite successful musicians already. They are award winning musicians, so something not to miss.”
The exciting line-up of artists includes five of Park ICM’s piano studio, including newcomer Michael Davidman (American Pianists Awards Finalist 2021) and 2022 Cliburn finalist Ilya Shmukler, who will present his final Kansas City concert prior to his Carnegie Hall debut on December 13th.
Other ICM students of note on the program include Sihao Qin, Kyoshiro Hirama and Anastasia Vorotnaya.
Held live and in person at the 1900 Building, the repertoire will feature:
Sonata, Op. 25, No. 2 (“Night Wind”) by Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951)
ANASTASIA VOROTNAYA
Prélude, Choral et Fugue, FWV 21 by César Franck (1822-1890)
MICHAEL DAVIDMAN
INTERMISSION
Preludes, Op. 28 by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
SIHAO QIN
8 Klavierstücke, Op. 76 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
KYOSHIRO HIRAMA
Trois Mouvements de Petrouchka (3 Movements from Ballet Petrouchka) by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
ILYA SHMUKLER
Stanislav Ioudenitch – Professor of Piano, Park University
Stanislav Ioudenitch has garnered notable successes in music competitions including the gold medal at the XI Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001. The Van Cliburn Competition launched a career that has taken Ioudenitch around the world for appearances with major orchestras in many of the world’s important musical venues. In addition to concert performances, Ioudenitch has held a lifelong passion for teaching. In 2003, he founded the International Center for Music at Park University (Kansas City) where he is Artistic Director and master teacher of piano. In addition, he is the director of the Young Artists Music Academy (Kansas City) and vice-president of the Piano Academy at Lake Como, Italy. He is also Professor of Piano at La Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid. Ioudenitch is continually invited to teach masterclasses around the world. In September 2021, Ioudenitch was inducted into the prestigious Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame.
STUDENT BIOS
Michael Davidman
Michael started piano lessons at age five at the Greenwich House Music School and continued piano studies with Efrem Briskin at the Manhattan School of Music. Michael completed his Bachelor of Music degree under the guidance of Robert McDonald, also with mentor and teacher Ford Mylius Lallerstedt at the Curtis Institute of Music, and his Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School with renowned pianists Jerome Lowenthal and Stephen Hough. Presently, Michael is pursuing an Artist Diploma studying with renowned pianist Stanislav Loudenich at the International Center for Music (ICM), Kansas City, MO.
Prodigiously gifted from early childhood, in his precollege studies at the Manhattan School of Music, Michael won First Place in the Precollege Concerto Competition in all three age categories: first at age ten, then at twelve, and again at age sixteen. At age thirteen, he was chosen by Lang Lang’s management to perform in the 2010 Lang masterclass at Manhattan School of Music; his rendition of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 was warmly praised by Lang Lang: “You play beautifully and are technically brilliant!”
A dedicated and disciplined young musician, Michael has gone on to win numerous piano competitions, including 2021 American Pianists Association finalist award; winner 2019 Juilliard Gina Bachauer Competition; first prize 2018 New York International Piano Competition chamber ensemble; first prizes in both soloist and concerto categories at the 33rd Ithaca College of Music Piano Competition; Grand Prize at the LISMA Foundation 9th International Music Competition; and first place in the 2011 Mary Smart International Concerto Competition. Michael also received a four-year scholarship from the Chopin Foundation of the United States.
As soloist, he has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Symphonicity, Monterey Symphony, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra, Ithaca College Orchestra, Manhattan School of Music Philharmonic Orchestra, Summit Music Festival Orchestra, Bronx Arts Ensemble Orchestra, New York Concerti Sinfonietta, Doctor’s Orchestra of NY, the NY Chamber Orchestra, and the West Point Band. He has performed as soloist and chamber player at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, Carnegie Recital Hall, the Kimmel Center, Sandler Center, Symphony Space, Merkin Concert Hall, given recitals in Spain at the Burgos International Music Festival, in Italy at Teatro Alfieri, in St. Petersburg Russia with the International Academy of Music, and at numerous music festivals, including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (Yale), the Music Academy of the West, Kneisel Hall, Summit Music, and Music@Menlo. Michael has also performed on WHYY “Curtis On Stage,” WQXR McGraw Hill Young Artist Showcase – “The Robert Sherman Show,” WSKG-FM radio Expressions Series, NPR’s radio program “From the Top,” “Piano Evenings with David Dubal.”
An exceptional presence on the concert stage, Michael has repeatedly earned glowing reviews in the press: “2021 American Pianists Awards concerto round: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat Major, S.124…the excitement of the “Allegro Marziale animato” was introduced with masterly suspense, and the thrills of that finale seemed truly earned by the “intense sensitivity” the pianist had displayed previously…this was not adventitious excitement applied out of nowhere; it had been present, thanks to Davidman’s acuity and interpretive élan, from the start…all told, this was one of the best concerto performances I’ve heard in recent years, (Upstage – Indianapolis, IN – Jay Harvey, June 27, 2021); “The standout twenty yearold Michael Davidman … a talent to watch. His account of Rachmaninoff’s complex and quirky sonata … was electrifying for its sweeping yet refined sentimentality and pyrotechnical prowess of which he tossed off fiendishly difficult passagework with great finesse – and a few gasps were even heard from the spellbound audience.” (The Classical Music Journal); “He performed the final movement so magnificently … it brought the audience to its feet with wild applause.” (Peninsula Reviews, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21); Monterey Symphony); “a high level of playing … the incredible facility of pianist Michael Davidman.” (Philadelphia Enquirer Daily News, Kimmel Center Curtis Symphony performance of Ravel’s opera L’enfant et les Sortilèges); and “Violinist Steven Waarts and Michael Davidman … two 11- year-old prodigies, and I rarely apply that term, and never loosely … the best of the best.” (San Mateo Journal).
An opera enthusiast from a very young age, Michael delights in uploading historical and rare opera recordings to his YouTube channel called PucciniMD and in accompanying opera singers on special occasions on “opera night” at a New York City restaurant.
Kyoshiro Hirama
Kyoshiro Hirama was born in 1998, in Osaka, Japan, and began his piano studies at the age of four. Hirama garnered attention when he received the 5th prize of the 7th Sendai International Music Competition in Piano Section in 2019. He also won three grades of PTNA piano competition and received the 2nd prize and the Public Award at Student Music Competition of Japan, the Matsukata Music Encouragement Award (the 2nd prize) and many other competitions’ prizes. He participated actively in piano academies including the Piano Academy Eppan, the Hamamatsu International Piano Academy and the Coimbra World Piano Meeting.
Hirama has performed extensively at home and abroad, including U.S., Brazil, Uzbekistan, and Japan, and he was selected as a Chanel Pygmalion Days 2020 participating artist. He has collaborated with Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Sao Paulo Youth Symphony Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan. His numerous awards and scholarships include Yamaha Music Scholarships in 2017, 2018, and 2019, Benny and Edith Lee Music Scholarship in 2019-2020, Osaka Governor Awards, and the Neyagawa-City Meritorious Service Awards.
Currently, Hirama is a master’s degree candidate studying piano performance with Stanislav Ioudenitch.
Sihao Qin
Sihao Qin began playing piano at the age of 5. He was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music Middle School in Beijing, China; and studied with Zhiwei Zhang and Qifang Li. In 2017, he attended The Barstow School and Young Artists Music Academy in Kansas City. He currently studies with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University.
He has received awards in several piano competitions including The Fourth Shenzhen Piano Open Competition and Young Musicians International Competition in Los Angeles. He Performed with National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan and Jilin Symphony Orchestra.
Ilya Shmukler
When he was 3 years old, Moscow native Ilya Shmukler’s mother found him jumping on the bed and beautifully singing Robertino Loreti’s “Jamaica;” she immediately recognized his musical talent and started him in lessons. It was important to his non-musician parents that he be raised as a wellrounded person, so his early years were also spent with school, table tennis, and ballroom dancing. But at 10, he says his life changed after applying for and winning his first music competition and attending the subsequent international summer academy: “There I discovered a true musical life, and I fell in love with it, inspiring me to commit my life to music.”
He performed his first recital at age 12 and made his orchestral debut at 14. He has since made solo appearances in Europe and North America, and has performed with the Mariinsky Theatre, Fort Worth Symphony, Sendai Philharmonic, Bayer Symphoniker, Tambov Symphonic, and New Music Orchestras, among others.
Ilya is a laureate of many international piano competitions, taking top prizes at the New York Virtuoso, Lewisville Lake Symphony, Artist Presentation Society (St. Louis), Shigeru Kawai (Tokyo), Sсriabin– Rachmaninov (Bulgaria), and Rachmaninov (St. Petersburg) Competitions. He was a quarterfinalist in the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and achieved the milestone of his career as a Finalist in the 2022 Cliburn Competition. In addition, he received the award for the “Best Performance of a Mozart Concerto” in the 2022 Cliburn Competition. In 2021, he won the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall Debut Audition and will make his New York debut at the venerated venue on December 13, 2022.
He completed his master’s degree with honors at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2021, under the guidance of Elena Kuznetsova and Sergey Kuznetsov. Presently, he studies with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University in Parkville, Missouri.
Anastasia Vorotnaya
Anastasia Vorotnaya was born in 1995 in Togliatty, Russia. When she was six years old, she started to study in Togliatty’s Musical academy. During this period, Anastasia participated and took first prizes in many regional and international piano competitions. In 2004, Anastasia started studying at the Central Music School of the Moscow State Conservatory under Vasily Ermakov, during which time she again achieved numerous firsts and grand prizes in national and international piano competitions. In June 2010 she released her first CD by Concertino Praga Radio.
Ms. Vorotnaya has played in halls across the world including Carnegie Hall, New York, Musikverein, Vienna, Auditorio Nacional, Madrid, Rudolfinum, Prague, the Grand and Small halls of the Moscow State Conservatory, Armoury Museum of Moscow Kremlin, Chamber and Svetlanovskiy halls of Moscow International House of Music, Tchaikovsky hall, and many others.
As a member of The Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation and “New Names” International Charity Foundation, she has had recital concerts in many different Russian cities. Plus, she has taken part of international tours to such countries as: Japan, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, USA, Austria, Spain, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, and others.
From 2012 until 2019 Anastasia was a student of Escuela Superior de música Reina Sofía under Professor Dmitri Bashkirov, winning the Yamaha Piano Scholarship in 2014. Since 2016, Ms. Vorotnaya has been a student at the Lake Como International Piano Academy where she met Stanislav Ioudenitch. In 2017, she won Yamaha Music Europe Scholarship. Since 2019, Anastasia has been pursuing her Artist Diploma at the International Center for Music at Park University under Professor Stanislav Ioudenitch.
Tickets and Information
Tickets are $30 per adult and $10 for students with a valid student ID.
Tickets can be obtained online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stanislav-ioudenitch-class-recitalpresented-by-park-icm-tickets-351964604607.
Parking is free and freely available. Additional information can be found at ICM.PARK.EDU.
ABOUT PARK INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR MUSIC
Park University International Center for Music (Park ICM) was established (ICM.Park.Edu) at Park University in 2003. This All-Steinway School trains and educates the next generation of accomplished musicians in a focused and creative atmosphere with an international faculty of renowned excellence. Park ICM offers degree, certificate, and diploma programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Our courses of study are focused in the areas of performance in violin, viola, cello and piano. At the core of all ICM programs is one-on-one studio instruction providing vital interactions between the student and master faculty, now completing its 18th season. This extremely exclusive music academy selects just over 30 students each year to study in the historic European apprenticeship tradition. Each student receives individual studio instruction twice weekly.
Park’s amazing campus provides focused and uninterrupted practice time 24-hours daily in a serene and extremely supportive environment. The international faculty’s incredible network of acquaintances throughout the world provides for master classes with renowned guest artists in each performance degree.
The European tradition demands public concerts as part of student training that creates performances alongside faculty in sublime intimate concerts throughout Kansas City. Ultimately, the Park ICM master faculty mentors inspiring apprentice musicians and trains them in music and performance. The master faculty also coaches musicianship and career development so that the students will become award-winning musicians, traveling the world, and entertaining the most discerning music lovers across all continents.
Visit https://icm.Park.edu/events-performances/ for more information about Park ICM’s 20th Anniversary 2022-2023 performance season. High-resolution photos of the performers can be obtained by contacting Ellen McDonald at 816-213-4355 or ellen@mershonandmcdonald.com.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Social Media Receive updates by joining Park ICM Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ICMPark/, @ICMPark on Instagram and following @ICM_Park on Twitter.
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Please direct all media inquiries to Ellen McDonald 816-213-4355 or ellen@mershonandmcdonald.com.
