Park University International Center for Music Orchestra Concert to Feature Guest Conductor Jason Seber

Park University International Center for Music Orchestra Concert to Feature Guest Conductor Jason Seber

March 17, 2026 - The Park University International Center for MusicOrchestra will perform its annual spring concert on Friday, April 17, starting at 7:30 p.m. in Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the University's flagship Parkville Campus. Admission to the concert is free, but attendees are asked to RSVP in advance to guarantee seating.

The concert will feature Jason Seber as the guest conductor. Known for his inviting and engaging approach on and off the podium, Seber is a strong believer in the eclectic experiences which today's symphony orchestras offer their communities, and he strives to make music of many genres and styles accessible, relevant and meaningful to diverse audiences across the country.

Seber has conducted many leading American orchestras, including the Kansas City Symphony, where he served as associate conductor from 2016-22. In that role, he led more than 300 performances on a variety of series, and also served as co-host for the Symphony's podcast, "Beethoven Walks into a Bar." Prior to Kansas City, Seber was the education and outreach conductor at the Louisville (Ky.) Orchestra from 2013-16 and music director of the Louisville Youth Orchestra from 2005-16. A passionate advocate for music education, Seber has also led the Honors Performance Series Orchestra in performances at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House and Royal Festival Hall. He is a frequent guest conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra each summer and he has served as the All-State Orchestra conductor for Georgia, Kansas, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

This final ICM Orchestra concert of the International Center for Music's 2025-26 season will feature one work for strings and two works for full orchestra. The Overture to Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a concert favorite, with its high-speed exhilaration painting a musical picture of the hustle-and-bustle of Figaro's approaching wedding day and of the various characters themselves. Giuseppe Tartini's "Devil's Trill Sonata," with its intricate series of variations, will be heard in an arrangement for solo violin and string orchestra, and will feature violinist Mumin Turgunov, a 2025 Park ICM graduate who is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in violin performance under the guidance of Ben Sayevich. Concluding the concert will be a performance of "Symphony No. 4" by Ludwig van Beethoven, a remarkable work that has gained greater appreciation in recent times. Coming between the mighty "Symphony No. 3" and the dramatic "Symphony No. 5," Beethoven's fourth symphony was described by Robert Schumann as being "…like a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants."

For more information about Seber, Turgunov and the concert, visit park.edu/icm-orchestra-seber-april-2026.

The next event in the ICM's 2025-26 concert season will be a performance by students from the International Center for Music's string studios - Ben Sayevich's violin studio, Daniel Veis' cello studio and Chung-Hoon Peter Chun's viola studio - on Friday, April 24, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the 1900 Building in Mission Woods, Kan. Tickets for the concert are $30 for the general public and $10 for students (not including fees), and are available to purchase in advance through Eventbrite. For more information, visit icm.park.edu/1900-string-studios-march-2026.

The Park ICM's 2025-26 season will conclude on Friday, May 1, also at the 1900 Building, as world-renowned pianist and ICM Artist-in-Residence Behzod Abduraimov presents a concert at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now, with more information at icm.park.edu/1900-abduraimov-may-2026.