Monday, June 1 at 4:30pm
Solo and Chamber Music
Baird Recital Hall
Free and open to the public
PROGRAM: Works by JiB Participants
Monday, June 1 at 8pm
Meridian Arts Ensemble
Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall
$12, $9, $5
PROGRAM: TBA
Tuesday, June 2 at 4:30pm
Meridian Arts Ensemble
Baird Recital Hall
Free and open to the public
PROGRAM: Meridian Arts Ensemble Concert and Workshop
Tuesday, June 2 at 8pm
New York New Music Ensemble
Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall
$12, $9, $5
PROGRAM: Bresnick, Bird as Prophet; Rosenblum, Circadian Rhythms; Sollberger,
Into the Light; Foss, Echoi
Wednesday, June 3 at 4:30pm
New York New Music Ensemble
Baird Recital Hall
Free and open to the public
PROGRAM: New York New Music Ensemble Concert and Workshop
Wednesday, June 3 at 8pm
Music of Manoury and Bresnick
Black Box Theatre, Center for the Arts
$12, $9, $5
PROGRAM: Manoury, Partita I; Bresnick, For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise for piano and DVD
Thursday, June 4 at 4:30pm
Mikko Luomo, accordion
Baird Recital Hall
Free and open to the public
PROGRAM: TBA
Thursday, June 4 at 8pm
Verge Ensemble
Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall
$12, $9, $5
PROGRAM: Rands, "now again"—fragments from Sappho; Felder, Innersky; Rosenblum, Under the Rainbow
Friday, June 5 at 4:30pm
Stefano Scodanibbio, bass
Baird Recital Hall
Free and open to the public
PROGRAM: TBA
Friday, June 5 at 8pm
Slee Sinfonietta
Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall
$12, $9, $5
PROGRAM: Sollberger, Sunflowers; Felder, Another Face; Bresnick, My Twentieth Century;
Rands, in the receding mist; Rosenblum, Maggies; Antosca, threads
Saturday, June 6 at 4:30pm
Verge Ensemble
Baird Recital Hall
Free and open to the public
PROGRAM: Verge Ensemble Concert and Workshop
Sunday, June 7 at 2:30pm
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall
$12, $9, $5
PROGRAM: Erb, Solstice; Felder, Three Pieces for Orchestra; Rands, London Serenade
During the first week of every June, the city of Buffalo, NY becomes a Mecca for contemporary music as some
of the world's most distinguished living composers and aspiring student composers gather on the campus of the
University at Buffalo for JUNE IN BUFFALO (JiB). A pedagogical conference highlighted by public concerts of
the highest caliber, June in Buffalo is the premiere festival for emerging composers in North America, as well
as the oldest contemporary music festival in the States.
June in Buffalo's longevity is remarkable for a contemporary music festival in this country.
Similar institutions have flourished in Europe (notably Darmstadt, which after WWII became the
focal point for the European avant-garde led by such figures as Boulez and Stockhausen), yet nothing like
it existed in America until Morton Feldman founded June in Buffalo in 1975. To this day, thanks to the
indefatigable energy of artistic director David Felder, the festival continues to draw young composers and
living icons of every aesthetic to Buffalo from Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas.
Presented by the UB Music Department and the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music, June in
Buffalo 2009 will take place June 1-7. A diverse and celebrated group of composers and pedagogues headlines
the conference as senior faculty: Martin Bresnick, David Felder, Bernard Rands, Mathew Rosenblum, and Harvey
Sollberger. At the helm of JiB once again is David Felder. Currently Birge-Cary Professor of Composition at UB,
and Director of the Center for 21st Century Music, as well as Founder and Artistic Director of the Slee Sinfonietta,
Felder has presided as artistic director of June in Buffalo since 1985, when he resurrected the festival after
a five-year hiatus. He has since reshaped the festival, emphasizing the importance of meaningful interaction
between the senior composers and students.
This summer's resident ensembles and soloists are recognized as some of the world's leading performers of
contemporary music: the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Buffalo's world-class symphony under the baton of
Robert Franz and artistic director JoAnn Falletta; the New York-based brass sextet, the Meridian Arts Ensemble;
members of the widely-renowned New York New Music Ensemble; Washington DC's new music group, the Verge Ensemble;
and UB's own professional chamber orchestra-in-residence, the Slee Sinfonietta. Other distinguished performers
will include Italian composer and bassist Stefano Scodanibbio, the Finnish classical accordionist Mikko Luoma,
acclaimed French violist Christophe Desjardins, and French composer and computer music specialist Philippe Manoury.
Joining the faculty and performers will be composition students from around the world, who must first pass
through JiB's fiercely competitive application process. This year there were 90 applicants for 25 spots. June
in Buffalo offers these students the rare opportunity to work and mix with top musicians and world-class faculty
in an intimate and casual environment. Under the direction of Felder, more emphasis is now placed on providing
opportunities for these emerging composers. For example, each gets to rehearse one of his or her pieces with
world-class musicians in a professional setting, resulting in a public performance on the same program as the
senior composers.
The round-the-clock schedule consists of daily seminars, lectures, master classes, panel discussions, and
open rehearsals—capped by first-rate afternoon and evening concerts that are open to the public. Every seminar
and concert since the Feldman days of '75 has been recorded, and remains in the UB library's extensive archives.
Co-presented by the University at Buffalo's Department of Music and The Center for 21st Music (David Felder, Director),
June in Buffalo is an international festival and conference devoted to composers. It remains the foremost American event of
its kind, dedicated only to the pursuit of contemporary music at its highest level. In addition to the seminars, symposia,
and masterclasses that form the core of June in BuffaloÕs program, the festival maintains a rigorous concert schedule open
to the public and critics.
The University at Buffalo has a long and distinguished history of fostering composers. In 1964, Lukas Foss instituted a
Center for the Creative and Performing Arts on the campus, attracting many leading composers of the day. In 1972, Morton
Feldman joined the UB Music Faculty and in 1975 founded June in Buffalo with the aim of providing young composers with
inspiration and a sense of direction. Eventually funding became difficult, and in 1980 June in Buffalo dissolved.
In 1985, after joining the Music Faculty, David Felder revived and redeveloped June in Buffalo as a stimulus for
work-in-progress, discussion, and performance, with students on more equal footing with the senior faculty. He did
this essentially out of nothing—there was no funding, and all he had was the blessing of the music department. Now, 22
years later, a rare environment flourishes, conducive to open exchange between emerging composers, their established
contemporaries, and professional performers of new music. In the words of Felder, "After all these years, June in Buffalo
continues to sustain an optimistic vision about the possibility of 'new music.'"
June in Buffalo has attracted a large number of participants over the years, and continues to be a prototype for
festivals dedicated to the emerging composer. To date, over 500 emerging composers have participated in June in Buffalo,
representing forty-nine states and twenty-three countries.
Participating senior composers have included such luminaries as Milton Babbitt, Earle Brown, John Cage, John Corigliano,
George Crumb, Jacob Druckman, Morton Feldman, Brian Ferneyhough, Lukas Foss, Philip Glass, Vinko Globokar, John Harbison,
Jonathan Harvey, Lejaren Hiller, Paul Lansky, Alvin Lucier, Tristan Murail, Bernard Rands, Steve Reich, Roger Reynolds,
Christopher Rouse, Poul Ruders, Gunther Schuller, Harvey Sollberger, Rand Steiger, Augusta Read Thomas, Christian Wolff,
Charles Wuorinen, Iannis Xenakis and Walter Zimmermann.
"Best Contemporary Festival in the U.S. Stunning concerts and a 'super school'—students learn from masters,
and audiences learn from both." —Gramophone magazine, May 2008
"Over the years June in Buffalo has become an accumulation of experiences shared by internationally renowned
composers and performers and the emerging composers they mentor. For the mentored, it's a virtual rite of passage,
a barefoot walk over flaming coals. At the 1998 festival I had a surprisingly long conversation with the legendary
composer/trombonist Vinko Globokar, over whiskey, about which squeak toys sound best inserted into brass mouthpieces.
A chat with South African composer Keith Volans about James Turrell's light installations made me revise one of my guitar
ensemble pieces to give it more visceral impact..."—Randy Nordschow, Chamber Music, April 2005
"June in Buffalo has helped revive Buffalo's reputation as one of the leading new music centers on the continent."
—The Toronto Star
"One of the special features of June in Buffalo is the opportunity to hear the younger generation in the company of their
distinguished elders."—The Toronto Star
"This Festival has been worthwhile every second. I deeply admire David Felder who, despite the most desperate financial
situation, every year manages again to find the necessary resources, and whose energy seems to be unlimited. I only can wish
for another 25 years of exciting confrontations on such a high level." —Seen & Heard
"Felder's vast knowledge, drive and dedication has created an atmosphere of artistic freedom, diversity, and unconstrained
openness not often experienced." —20th Century Music