KC Performs | Park ICM Provides Precious Training Ground for World-Class Soloists

A performing arts treasure can be found in the bucolic riverside setting of Parkville. That is the seemingly unlikely home of the Park International Center for Music, a renowned program at Park University.

It is a “very boutique, and very unusual program — a conservatory in the United States that trains soloists,’’ says Lisa Hickok, executive director of Park ICM.

Hickok notes that the program is based on intensive one-on-one relationships between student and professor.

“We have 30 incredible musicians from all over the world right here in Kansas City to train with these world-class musicians,” Hickok says.

Consider violinist Igor Khukhua, one of the local performing artists appearing on “KC Performs,” a new Kansas City PBS show created to offer an outlet for performers affected by the pandemic’s impact on live venues.

Check out the attached video to watch Khukhua perform Henryk Wieniawski’s “Variations on an Original Theme,” composed in 1854.

Enjoy!