Park University International Center for Music to Host Annual “Intimate Christmas with the ICM Orchestra” Concer

Park University International Center for Music to Host Annual "Intimate Christmas with the ICM Orchestra" Concert

November 13, 2025 - The Park University International Center for MusicOrchestra will conclude the 2025 portion of the ICM's 2025-26 concert seasonwith its fifth annual "Intimate Christmas with the ICM Orchestra" event on Friday, Dec. 5. The concert will take place in Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the University's flagship Parkville Campus starting at 7:30 p.m., coinciding with the Christmas on the Riverevent that same evening in downtown Parkville.

Admission to the concert is free, but because the Chapel is expected to reach seating capacity for this special event, attendees are required to RSVP in advance.

The concert, under the direction of Steven McDonald, D.M.A., ICM director of orchestral activities, will feature a wide range of festive music, including a number of well-known Christmas and holiday season selections. Among the scheduled performances will be "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" ("Praise God in every land"), BWV 51, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. This church cantata, a virtuoso showpiece for soprano and trumpet will feature Payton Boldt, soprano, a 2025-26 apprentice artist with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Aaron Romm, D.M.A., instructor of trumpet at the University of Kansas School of Music. Boldt will also perform as a soloist on "Maria Wiegenlied," also known as "The Virgin's Slumber Song," composed by Max Reger.

In addition, former Kansas City Symphony harpist Deborah Clark will perform as a soloist on "In the Bleak Midwinter," composed by Gustav Holst, and the Interlude movement from "A Ceremony of Carols" composed by Benjamin Britten. The program will also feature a number of traditional Christmas carols with patrons being invited to sing along, including "Let it Snow," composed by Jule Styne. The song will feature the ICM's Intimate Christmas Quartet of violinists Yuren Zhang and David Brill, violist Iana Korzukhina and cellist Nikita Korzukhin.

The complete repertoire for the concert includes:
• "In the Bleak Midwinter," composed by Gustav Holst
• "O Come, All Ye Faithful," composed by John Francis Wade and arranged by David Willcocks
• "Sonata Natalis," composed by Pavel Vejvanovsky
• "Pizzicato Polka," composed by Johann Strauss II
• "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" ("Shout for joy to God in all the lands"), BWV 51, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (featuring Boldt and Romm)
• Interlude movement from "A Ceremony of Carols," composed by Benjamin Britten
• "Maria Wiegenlied," also known as "The Virgin's Slumber Song," composed by Max Reger (featuring Boldt)
• "Silent Night," composed by Franz Gruber
• "Coventry Carol" (anonymous composer)
• "White Christmas," composed by Irving Berlin
• "Let it Snow," composed by Jule Styne (featuring the ICM's Intimate Christmas Quartet)
• "Sleigh Ride," composed by Leroy Anderson
• A reading of the poem "The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus," by Ogden Nash
• "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," composed by Felix Mendelssohn and arranged by Willcocks
• "Radetzky March, Op. 228," composed by Johann Strauss

The next performance in the International Center for Music's 2025-26 seasonwill feature the ICM husband-and-wife duo of violinist Ben Sayevich(professor of violin) and pianist Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich(director of collaborative piano), as they present a concert on Friday, Jan. 23, 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-sayevich-lisovskaya-sayevich-january-2026.

For more information about the International Center for Music, visit icm.park.edu.