2022-2023 Season Celebrates Successes
While Ensuring that Teaching Stays at the Forefront

KANSAS CITY, MO (August 15, 2022) — Park University’s International Center for Music (Park ICM), under the direction of founder, Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch, has for the last 20 years taken magnificent young instrumentalists, already identified as superior performers, and molded them into international virtuosos. Based upon the European master/apprentice relationship, this rare combination of time, talent, attention, location, and commitment has made Park ICM triumphant in a scant 20 years, demanding the attention of the international music community. The 2022 – 2023 20^th Anniversary Season will celebrate this remarkable accomplishment.

“I wanted to create the experience which I lived through. I remember my musical education from the beginning. I wanted to recreate that,” said Ioudenitch. “We give whatever is needed to develop a great talent. That is unique. We are here to help. And every single person tries to do their best to help our precious talents.”

Thanks to generosity of Park University and Park ICM’s donors, Park ICM concert tickets continue to be inexpensive or free. “We’re an educational institution,” said Lisa Hickok, Park ICM Executive Director, “which means it is our top priority to give our students the best possible performance opportunities whether in an orchestra, solo or in chamber groups. Furthermore, it is our mission to remove as many barriers as possible so that our audiences can be reflective of all those who are interested. Music must be shared so that everyone, no matter their ability to pay, may experience world-class classical music right here in Kansas City. And thanks to our very generous donors, we’re able to provide unbelievable performances at extremely accessible prices.”

Throughout the 2022- 2023 Season, Park ICM will have 13 offerings at venues throughout the metro including The 1900 Building in Mission Woods, Kansas; The Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel at Park University; The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, MO and The Folly Theater, Kansas City, MO.

“With the 1900 Building’s two fabulous concert halls and the celebrated 1900 Restaurant right on site, our audiences can have an exquisite evening with fine food and wines, and the best of classical music,” continued Hickok. “For a completely different experience, visit charming Parkville for one of our five free orchestra concerts. Underwritten by Park University, our orchestra concerts are perfect for a date night or a family as you can grab everything from pizza to Italian to French food right in quaint Parkville, and then attend our concert at no charge on campus, overlooking the mighty Missouri River. But our two highlight performances of the year are held in Kansas City’s most exquisite performing spaces . . . the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the newly renovated Folly Theater. You won’t want to miss a moment of this celebratory season!”

Park ICM 20^th Anniversary 2022 – 2023 Season

Park ICM Orchestra Fall Concert
Oct. 7, 2022, 7:30 p.m.| Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, Park University
8500 NW River Park Dr., Parkville, MO  64152

To commemorate its 20^th year, the International Center for Music will kick off its performance season, October 7-8, 2022, with two back-to-back nights of classical music performances. On October 7^th, the season begins with the Park ICM Orchestra performing in their home, the Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel at Park University, with guest maestro David Amado. “We began the guest conductor program just last year to give our student musicians real-world orchestral experience. Under the direction of guest maestro Amado, it will be a terrific opening celebration,” said Park ICM Orchestra Director Dr. Steven McDonald.

Maestro Amado will conduct:

1. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36. – Written just outside of Vienna between 1801 and 1802, Beethoven had started to deal with his advancing deafness which you would think would be portrayed in the work; but written in D major, the overall mood is fundamentally cheerful and displays signs that Beethoven was “itching to go his own way.” (BBC’s Music Magazine, 1/20/2020).
2. Arvo Pärt’s Fratres (meaning “brothers” in Latin) – Commissioned for the 1980 Salzburger Festspiele, Fratres was written by Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt during a period of extreme productivity following his creation of the “tintinnabuli” musical principles. Influenced by his experiences with chant music, Pärt explains the technique like this: “Tintinnabuli is the mathematically exact connection from one line to another . . . tintinnabula is the rule where the melody and the accompaniment [accompanying voice] are one. One and one, it is one – it is not two. This is the secret of this technique.” (Interview with Pärt recorded for BBC Radio 3, London, March 29, 2000.)

Ilya Shmukler, Piano
Oct. 8, 2022, 7:30 p.m. | 1900 Building
1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission Woods, KS 66205

Continuing the season opening weekend, we move to the 1900 Building in Mission Woods, Kansas, to hear Park ICM’s latest rising star, pianist Ilya Shmukler. In his first public performance in Kansas City since making the finals in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Ilya will present a program which includes:

1. Johann Sebastian Bach’s (arranged by Ferruccio Busoni) Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564
2. Claude Debussy’s “Images,” book I, L. 110
3. Igor Stravinsky’s “Three Movements from Petrushka”
4. Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”

Park ICM Piano Studio
Oct. 28, 2022, 7:30 p.m. | 1900 Building
1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission, KS 66205

An evening devoted to piano lovers; this concert features the entire studio of Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch. “Musicians need to have the practical training of performing,” said Ioudenitch. “That’s what we’re trained to do, to perform in public. These young artists in my piano studio are already successful musicians. They are award winning instrumentalists, so something not to miss.” Program TBD.

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. He is the founder of 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. Ioudenitch is continually invited to teach masterclasses around the world.

https://icm.park.edu/faculty/stanislav-loudenitch/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag0bTwldnJI

Shmuel Ashkenasi, Violin
Nov. 19, 2022, 7:30 p.m. | 1900 Building
1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission Woods, KS 66205

One of the world’s most celebrated musicians, Israeli violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi returns to Kansas City in November for a rare opportunity to see this level of talent in an intimate space of the 1900 Building’s 200-seat Parkway Room. Gold medalist of three international violin competitions, Ashkenasi is also considered a pre-eminent violin instructor. Having been taught by legendary pedagogue Ilona Feher in Israel, he arrived in the United States while still young and studied with Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ashkenasi became a member of the Curtis Institute faculty in 2007.

Ashkenasi’s program will include:

1. Ferruccio Busoni’s Sonata No. 2
2. Moritz Moszkowski’s Suite for 2 violins and piano

For Moszkowski’s Suite, Ashkenasi will be joined by Park ICM violin master, Ben Sayevich, and by Park ICM collaborative pianist, Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich.

https://www.curtis.edu/person/shmuel-ashkenasi/
https://icm.park.edu/faculty/ben-sayevich/
https://icm.park.edu/faculty/lolita-lisovskaya-sayevich/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e47d2SI71gs

An Intimate Christmas with Park ICM Orchestra
Dr. Steven McDonald, Conductor
Dec. 3, 2022, 7:30 p.m. | Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, Park University
8500 NW River Park Dr., Parkville, MO  64152

Park ICM’s first holiday concert in many years is produced in collaboration with the Main Street Parkville Association’s Christmas on the River and conducted by Dr. Steven McDonald. The distinctive holiday repertoire will include the following and other works:

1. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto
2. Schoenberg’s Weihnachtsmusic
3. Scarlatti’s Christmas Cantata

Park ICM String Studios
Jan. 19, 2023, 7:30 p.m. | 1900 Building
1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission Woods, KS 66205

Park ICM’s concert season will then continue with an award-winning roster of string musicians in the studios of violinist Ben Sayevich, cellist Daniel Veis and violist Peter Chun. Program and performers to be determined.

https://icm.park.edu/faculty/

Ben Sayevich, Violin & Lolita Lisovskaya- Sayevich, Piano
Feb. 9, 2023, 7:30 p.m. | 1900 Building
1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission Woods, KS 66205

Violinist Ben Sayevich has established himself as one of the most distinguished violinists of his generation. Sayevich also maintains a vigorous schedule as chamber musician. He is a founding member of the Park Trio, established at Park University and is violinist of the London-based Rosamunde Piano Trio. Sayevich established the string program of Park ICM in 2006. He is joined in concert by his wife, Park ICM Director of Collaborative Piano, Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich.

The highlight of the evening will be the famed Sergey Prokofiev Sonata No. 1 in F minor and other works.

https://icm.park.edu/faculty/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s4Y6qKCgFg

Valentines with Park ICM Orchestra
Suzanna Pavlovsky, Conductor
Feb. 17, 2023, 7:30 p.m. | Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, Park University
8500 NW River Park Dr., Parkville, MO  64152

Park ICM’s Valentine’s Concert has become a community favorite. Produced in collaboration with the Main Street Parkville Association and conducted by Suzanna Pavlovsky, founder, and Artistic Director of Ensemble Eclectica and founder and Artistic Director of the Palmetto Chamber Orchestra.

Maestra Pavlovsky will conduct:

1. Gioachino Rossini- String Sonata No.6 in D Major
2. Erich Wolfgang Korngold -Three Pieces, op.11
3. Antonio Vivaldi -La Follia, op.1/12
4. Arturo Marquez – Danzon No.2
5. Shorter works of Manuel de Falla, Kristina Arakelian, and Bert Ligon

https://suzannapavlovsky.com/

Claudio Martinez Mehner, Piano
Feb. 24, 2023, 7:30 p.m. | 1900 Building
1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Mission Woods, KS 66205

Born in Germany in 1970, Claudio Martinez Mehner began his music studies at an early age at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Madrid. He studied not only piano but violin, viola, and harpsichord. Later he continued his studies at the “Tchaikovsky- Conservatory” in Moscow, at the “Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia” in Madrid with Prof. Dmitri Bashkirov, and afterwards at the Hochschule für Musik” in Germany (Master of Performance), the “Fondazione per il Pianoforte” in Como, Italy; and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland (Artist Diploma). He won first prize at four international music competitions and has performed as a soloist with major orchestras all over the world. This will be his first appearance in Kansas City.

Mehner’s program will include:

1. C.P.E. Bach: Keyboard Sonata in G minor, H 47
2. Brahms: 7 Fantasies, op. 116
3. Albeniz: Book 1 from “Suite Iberia” (Evocación, El Puerto, El Corpus Christi en Sevilla)
4. Debussy: 7 Preludes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc2FmQ5lMtA

Stanislav & Friends 2023
March 11, 2023, 7:00 p.m. | Helzberg Hall in The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
1601 Broadway, Kansas City, MO  64108

For the fourth year, Park University’s signature event will be presented at the Kauffman Center and will feature Park ICM’s biggest stars including Kenny Broberg, Behzod Abduraimov, Igor Khukhua, Ben Sayevich, Daniel Veis, Maria Ioudenitch, and of course the event’s namesake, Stanislav Ioudenitch.

Patron tickets will be available at https://icm.park.edu/ after October 31, 2022.

Single Tickets will be available after January 1^st, 2023, at https://www.kauffmancenter.org/ or by calling 816-994-7222.

Questions will be answered by calling 816-584-6484.

Spring With Park ICM Orchestra
Laura Jackson, Conductor
March 31, 2023, 7:30 p.m. | Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, Park University
8500 NW River Park Dr., Parkville, MO  64152

Park ICM’s concert season will continue with the annual Park ICM Spring Concert. Conducted by Laura Jackson, Music Director, and Conductor of the Reno Philharmonic Association.

Maestra Jackson will conduct:

1. Coleridge Taylor – Four Novelettes
2. Osvaldo Golijv  – Last Round

http://www.laurajackson.net/
https://youtu.be/kxT2h7z7e88

Park ICM Orchestra’s Season Finale
Timothy Hankewich, Conductor
April 28, 2023, 7:30 p.m. | Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, Park University
8500 NW River Park Dr., Parkville, MO  64152

Park ICM’s orchestra season will conclude with Kansas City favorite, Maestro Timothy Hankewich, Conductor of Orchestra Iowa and former Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony.

Maestro Hankewich will conduct:

1. Arthur Honegger -Pastorale d’ete
2. Camille Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2
3. Gabriel Fauré – Masques et Bergamasques, op 112
4. Darius Milhaud – Le Boeuf Sur Le Toit

https://www.hankewich.net/

Behzod Abduraimov, Piano
May 11, 2023, 7:30 p.m. | The Folly Theater
300 W. 12^th St., Kansas City, MO 64105

As a striking finale to Park ICM’s 20th Anniversary Season, Behzod Abduraimov will return to the Folly Theater, the site of the first recital he performed in Kansas City. Described by The New York Times as the “master of all he surveys” and with The Washington Post noting to “keep your ear on this one,” Abduraimov’s captivating performances continue to receive international praise. 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. He is an alumnus of Park University’s International Center for Music where he studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch, and now serves as the ICM’s artist-in-residence.

Program to include Maurice Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit” and other works. Program subject to change.

http://59productions.co.uk/project/behzod-abduraimov/
https://www.harrisonparrott.com/artists/behzod-abduraimov

Photos and Digital Assets

Visit https://icm.Park.edu/events-performances/ for more information about Park ICM’s 2022-2023 performance season. High-res photos can be found at Park ICM 22-23 Season dropbox. Broll and digital content can be found at Park ICM 22-23 Season Broll YouTube. Additional press questions can be directed to Ellen McDonald at 816-213-4355 or ellen@mershonandmcdonald.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Ticket information and Student Discounts

1900 Building: Student tickets are available for $10 (with valid ID, one ticket per ID). General admission tickets are $30. All tickets may be purchased in advance at https://1900bldg.com/ or at the door prior to the performances based on availability. The Box Office opens 30 minutes prior to all performances.

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts: Tickets at the Kauffman Center will be available at https://www.kauffmancenter.org/ by January 1, 2023.

The Folly Theater: Tickets will be on sale by January 1, 2023.

Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel: All tickets are free with reservation. Email Gus Fernandez at GFernandezAgreda@Park.edu to secure your seats.

Additional information on performances and any available discounts can be found at https://icm.park.edu/

Parking

Parking at the 1900 Building is free and readily available. Parking is also available at the Folly Theater for $10 just to the east of the theater. Parking at the Kauffman Center is $10 and available at www.KauffmanCenter.org. Parking on campus is free and freely available. Handicapped parking should be arranged in advance by calling Gus Fernandez at 816-584-6448.

Social Media

Receive updates by joining Park ICM Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ICMPark/, @ICMPark on Instagram and following @ICM_Park on Twitter.

ABOUT PARK 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 entering its 20th 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.

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Please direct all media inquiries to Ellen McDonald
816-213-4355 or ellen@mershonandmcdonald.com.