ultimately, establish it as one of the premier schools in the world for advanced study in musical performance.” The International Center for Music was established in 2003 with a mission to train and educate the next generation of accomplished musicians in a focused and creative atmosphere with a faculty of renowned excellence. The ICM offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, graduate certificates and diplomas focused solely on performance in violin, viola, cello and piano. Since its inception, the ICM has been attracting serious attention. “We’re competing with schools like The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music to attract high-caliber young musicians,” Stölzel said. In fact, pianist Behzod Abduraimov, a Park senior applied music/piano major from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, turned down a full ride to Juilliard for the chance to study with the renowned faculty in the ICM, particularly compatriot Stanislav Ioudenitch, ICM associate professor of music/piano and artistic director, and the 2001 gold medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
1991. Stölzel earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in music composition from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance in 2009. Stölzel also received a Bachelor of Music degree in music theory from UMKC and a Master of Music in composition from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford (Conn.). “I’ve been in this country for more than 20 years and can relate to the adjustment that our ICM students experience when they arrive in America for the first time,” Stölzel said. “Everything is so new. Even talking about the shared language of music in English can be challenging.” Stölzel said the ICM musicians arrive at Park with the goal to become great performance musicians. “ICM students are here to pursue a similar dream and that creates a special family here. Most of our students live on campus and have access to the performance space and to the practice rooms 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so the environment breeds a very dedicated musician.”
Housed in Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the Parkville Campus, the International Center for Music currently has 19 students from the U.S., Brazil, China, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Uzbekistan and Venezuela. “Our space in this beautiful chapel is wonderful for focused practice time, and our degrees are designed in a way that students have maximum time and individual attention,” Stölzel said. “All of the professors are world-class,” said Artem Kuznetsov, an ICM student from Saratov, Russia, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in piano performance. “Because the program is small, we have the opportunity to have more time with them and to grow faster as professional musicians.” Earlier this year, Kuznetsov won the silver medal in the Collegiate Piano Division at the 2013 International Crescendo Music Awards Competition. But not all students come to the ICM from abroad. Violinist David Radzynski, a native of New Haven, Conn., was fresh
Abduraimov’s decision has paid off. In 2009, Abduraimov became the youngest grand prize winner in the history of the prestigious London International Piano Competition. Today, Abduraimov performs regularly as a concert pianist with orchestras around the world, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra and, most recently, at the International Piano Series in Milan, Italy. Next April, he will make his solo debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, one of the top five orchestras in the world.
Point of connection For many Park ICM students, it is their first time living in the United States. That’s a point of connection for Stölzel, a native of Germany who has been in the U.S. since
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