On March 8, 2024, Park University’s International Center for Music (ICM) will celebrate excellence in classical music with the fifth annual Stanislav & Friends. As part of the celebration, the ICM will feature its young stars, alums and friends of its founder and artistic director, Stanislav Ioudenitch, in a special concert which promises to be emotionally stirring and undeniably powerful.

For two decades, under the leadership of 2001 Van Cliburn gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch, Park University’s International Center for Music (ICM) has molded already accomplished musicians into national and international phenoms, leaving an indelible mark wherever they perform. Stanislav & Friends is Park University’s one-of-a-kind, signature event offering a chance to experience the magnificence of the ICM’s award-winning artists all in one special concert event. Plus all audience members meet the performers in a dessert reception immediately following the concert.

Ioudenitch is widely admired and celebrated around the globe, performing at many of the most prestigious concert venues in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Shortly before founding the ICM in 2003, Stanislav moved his family to Kansas City, though he keeps a heavy domestic and international travel schedule with commitments to perform and teach worldwide. Kansas City has been fortunate to be the beneficiary of Stanislav’s decision to make his home in the Midwest never more in evidence than in this annual showstopper, this year featuring internationally acclaimed ICM alum, Behzod Abduraimov, in piano duet with Maestro Ioudenitch.

In the showstopping finale, the two virtuosos, Ioudenitch and Abduraimov, will come together to perform Francis Poulenc's captivating "Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra." The concerto features an enchanting interplay between the two pianos, engaging in a lively and expressive musical dialogue throughout the piece. Poulenc's inventive use of both pianos offers a delightful sense of camaraderie and playfulness, providing an engaging and enjoyable listening experience. The duo's synergy and technical prowess, combined with the accompaniment of a full orchestra under the skillful direction of Bruce Sorrell, conductor of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, will create an electrifying atmosphere, captivating the audience from start to finish. It will be a mesmerizing end to this fifth annual celebration.

Writer Paul Pattison, in a special to KC Star, called Stanislav & Friends, “. . . completely alluring. Bravo to all. Although the concert was over two-hours long, I was left wanting more. If you have not attended one of the many presentations by the International Center for Music, I strongly recommend going to the next one. The teachers and students are all highly accomplished and you have the enviable chance to hear them without traveling to distant cities and countries. They’re all right here in town, ready to entertain you.”