UNIVERSITY NEWS
International Center for Music pianist releases debut CD, begins tour
From left: Julie Wilson, member of the Park University Board of Trustees and senior vice president/chief people officer at Cerner Corp., is pictured at the Founders Day celebration with Cerner representatives Sharon Downs, Angie Stanland, Dana Streck, Liz Thiel, Stephanie Roberts, Tricia Geris and Rama Nadimpalli. Cerner was the Summa Cum Laude sponsor for the event.
University raises more than $200,000 at Founders Day event Park University raised $202,333 at its annual Founders Day celebration on May 10 in the Victory Suite of Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. Founders Day Chair Tom Holcom, member of the Board of Trustees and chair of its Advancement Committee, along with the Office of University Advancement, led the effort to this nearly 300 percent increase in both gross and net revenue. This year’s celebration featured a shorter program, different venue and more specialized opportunities for major sponsors. Students representing the Park Warrior Center, Department of Athletics and the Presidential Honors Scholarship, who were featured in the event video and whose programs will benefit from this year’s proceeds, were on hand to mingle with the guests. Attendees were also treated to hors d’oeuvres from the home countries of the student-athletes. When announcing the grand total, Holcom declared a new goal and challenge — by 2017 the Founders Day event would annually raise $500,000. “With Founders Day clearly marked as Park’s premier fundraising event, the Office of University Advancement will also be increasing the attendance and visibility of the Alumni Association Awards Banquet as the premier ‘friend-raising opportunity,’” said Laurie McCormack, vice president for university advancement. McCormack also thanked Board of Trustees member Julie Wilson, senior vice president/chief people officer at Cerner Corp., as well as Cerner’s Neal Patterson, chief executive officer, president and chair of the board, and Cliff Illig, vice chair of the board, for the use of the Victory Suite.
Pianist Behzod Abduraimov, grand prize winner at the 2009 London International Piano Competition and a Park University senior applied music/piano major, released his debut CD with Decca Classics, London, and participated in a monthlong tour of Australia in March and April. Abduraimov signed with Decca Classics in 2011. His debut CD, “Abduraimov,” features works by Liszt, Prokofiev and Saint-Saëns. In April, he made his debut at Royal Albert Hall in London, and this year, will be featured in recitals as part of the Gilmore Rising Star and Vancouver Recital Series, London’s International Piano Series and Milan, Italy’s La Societa dei Concerti. The Australian tour by Abduraimov, who studies under Stanislav Ioudenitch, winner of the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and professor of music in the University’s International Center for Music, included performances with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Abduraimov also performed recitals in Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong.
This year’s Alumni Association Awards Banquet will be on Saturday, Sept. 29, at the Kansas City Airport Marriott during Alumni Weekend, which has moved to September to coincide with Harvest Fest Week. For more information about the University’s fundraising, visit www.park.edu/give. Spring 2012 - 9