Slee/Visiting Artist Series
New York New Music Ensemble / Laura Aikin, soprano / Dorian Wind Quintet / Todd Wilson, organ / NEW! Jesse Blumberg, baritone / American Brass Quintet
Please check back as more information is added about each concert!
Concert I: Saturday, September 8th
New York New Music Ensemble
Jayne Rosenfeld, flute; Jean Kopperud, clarinet; Linda Quan, violin; Christopher Finckel, cello; Stephen Gosling, piano; Tom Kolor, percussion; James Baker, conductor
Advance: $12/$9/$5
Door: $20/$15/$8
Program to feature works by Druckman, Felder, and Schonfeld PLUS a staged performance of Peter Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King (1969) with Haleh Abghari, soprano, as King George, and stage direction by Mike Phillips.
Unfamiliar with Contemporary Music?
The UB Music Department will provide a "concert buddy" on the night of the concert. You will meet your buddy at the pre-concert talk in the lobby, and then sit with that individual during the performance to answer any questions you may have. If interested, an RSVP is required to (716)645-2921.
Visit the New York New Music Ensemble online at www.nynme.org.
Help us to welcome this Buffalo native, UB alum, and Metropolitan Opera soprano as she returns to Buffalo for two performances and a Master Class...
Concert II: Sunday, October 14th at 3pm
Laura Aikin, soprano
Donald Sulzen, piano
Natasha Farny, cello
Advance: $12/$9/$5
Door: $20/$15/$8
Program will be as follows:
Richard Strauss: Poems by Hermann Gilm, Op. 10
Richard Strauss: Five Little Songs, Op. 69
INTERMISSION
Ned Rorem: Last Poems of Wallace Stevens
AND DON'T MISS...
Master class with Laura Aikin
Thursday, October 18 at 10am
Lippes Concert Hall stage
Free and open for public observation
Ms. Aikin will work with current UB vocal students.
World renowned American soprano Laura Aikin is considered a leader among the generation of dynamic young sopranos today. Possessing a range of over three octaves and an arresting stage presence, her repertoire embraces works from the Baroque to the contemporary on both the concert and operatic stages. In great demand in both Europe and America, she began her career as a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, where she has performed more than 300 times in such major roles as Lulu (Lulu), Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Amenaide (Tancredi), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Adele (Die Fledermaus), and Zaide (Zaide). A regular guest in the world's leading opera houses, Laura has also performed at the Vienna State Opera, La Scala Milan, Bavarian State Opera, Opernhaus Zurich, the Liceu in Barcelona, Netherlands Opera and at the Bastille in Paris, among many others.
In the United States Laura Aikin has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and most recently has had a great success singing for San Francisco Opera.
As a concert artist, Laura Aikin has appeared in numerous major concert houses throughout the world with orchestras such as the London, Chicago, San Francisco, Vienna, San Francisco, Cleveland, Melbourne, La Scala, NDR and BBC Symphony Orchestras, the Berlin, Munich, London, Israel and Vienna Philharmonics, the Berliner and Desdener Staatskapellen, the Bayerische Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, the Phlharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, the Sudwestfunk Orchestra, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Tonhalle Zurich Symphony Orchestra, Les Arts Florissant, Concerto Köln, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Mozarteum Orchester and Concentus Musicus. The many international festivals in which she has performed include Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, Schlesswig-Holstein, Melbourne, Edinburgh, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Luzern, Wienerfestwochen and Berlinerfestwochen. As a Lied singer, she has performed in Berlin, Milan, Munich, Vienna, Dresden, Rome and San Francisco.
Recent appearances included a command performance for Pope Benedict in Rome in a world wide television broadcast celebrating the first anniversary of his papacy, concerts with L'Orchestra di Santa Cecilia and Vladimir Jurovskij, the New Years Eve Concert with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle and her debuts with both the Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony.
Upcoming concerts include appearances at the Styriate Festival with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Candide opening the Edinburg Festival and Berg's Altenberg Lieder with Pierre Boulez. In 2007/8 she will appear with the San Francisco Opera and the Netherlands Opera.
Her critically acclaimed recordings include Beethoven's Christus am Ölberg with Daniel Barenboim on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's
Centenial Edition Recording,
Miss Aikin studied music in her hometown of Buffalo, New York. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Education from the UB College of Arts and Sciences, and continued her studies at Indiana University.
Visit Laura Aikin online at www.lauraaikin.com.
Concert III: Friday, October 26th
Dorian Wind Quintet
Gretchen Pusch, flute; Gerard Reuter, oboe; Jerry Kirkbride, clarinet; John Hunt, bassoon; Karl Kramer, horn
Advance: $12/$9/$5
Door: $20/$15/$8
The Quintet's program will be:
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 539, Fiddle Fugue (arr. Mordechai Rechtman)
Mozart: Adagio and Allegro, K. 594 (arr. Rechtman)
George Perle: Wind Quintet No. 1
INTERMISSION
Karl Kramer: Funk 4 Five
Paul Taffanel: Quintet for Winds
AND DON'T MISS...
"Up Close and Personal" with the Dorian Wind Quintet
Saturday, October 27 at 9:30am
Baird Recital Hall
Free and open to the public
The Dorian Wind Quintet, like other artists on UB's concert series this season, has some very strong ties to the city of Buffalo and to the University. Clarinetist Jerry Kirkbride, for example, was a Creative Associate at UB's renowned Center of Creative and Performing Arts, and bassoonist John Hunt is a former member of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since its formation at Tanglewood in 1961, the Dorian Wind Quintet has been recognized worldwide by professional musicians and audiences alike for its uniquely polished and passionate performances. Audiences consistently take with them memories of compelling, energetic and dramatic music-making. The Dorian made history as the first wind quintet to appear at Carnegie Hall in 1981.
The Dorian Wind Quintet has collaborated often with well-known artists, including Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Jean Casadesus, Phyllis Curtin, Anne Epperson, Lukas Foss, Claude Frank, Lee Hoiby, Lorin Hollander, Ruth Laredo, the late Jean-Pierre Rampal, James Tocco, and Beveridge Webster. The Quintet has appeared at numerous festivals including the Stravinsky Festival at Lincoln Center, International Festival in Warsaw, Caramoor International Music Festival, Newberry Spring Festival (Great Britain), Stratford Festival in Ontario, San Luis Obispo Festival, and the New American Music Festival in Sacramento.
Visit the Dorian Wind Quintet online at www.dorianwindquintet.org.
Concert IV: Friday, November 16th
Todd Wilson, organ
Advance: $12/$9/$5
Door: $20/$15/$8
Presented with support from the Buffalo Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
The Columbus Dispatch says of Mr. Wilson's ability, "It would be hard to imagine better playing."
PROGRAM
Dupre, arr. Farnam: Cortege et Litanie, Op. 19, No. 2
Vivaldi, arr. J.S. Bach: Concerto in D minor, BWV 596
David Conte: Soliloquy
Widor: Allegro vivace (Variations) from Symphonie V
Durufle: Scherzo, Op. 2
Reubke: Sonata on the 94th Psalm
A highlight of Mr. Wilson's program is the inclusion of music which is noted for demonstrating the power and essence of the organ by drawing on all of its resources, such as the variation movement from Widor's fifth organ symphony. Reubke's Sonata on the 94th Psalm, which includes an intense pedal technique, has been said to be the pinnacle of the Romantic period in organ literature. On most organs, it is virtually impossible for the audience to see the pedals. On the Fisk organ in Lippes Concert Hall, however, the audience members will be able to view Mr. Wilson's grand display of technique.
Mr. Wilson has won numerous competitions, including the Fort Wayne Competition, which encouraged him early on to expand his knowledge of the arts. He has, over the years, developed a keen interest in the art of improvisation, which has led to the inclusion of some of his improvisations in silent classical films.
As Director of Music at The Church of the Covenant in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Wilson is responsible for running a program of choirs and a concert series. He has developed many programs for students such as the Covenant Choir and the Guitar Choir. When not performing, Mr. Wilson is responsible as curator of the E.M. Skinner Organ in Severance Hall, which is the home of the Cleveland Orchestra.
"Wilson is not only a virtuoso performer and respected teacher. He is also a warm personality who engages the audience with spoken program notes and a sense of humor." —The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio)
NEW! Saturday, February 9th
Jesse Blumberg, baritone
with Thomas Bagwell, piano
Baird Recital Hall
Advance: $12/$9/$5
Door: $20/$15/$8
Presented in association with the Marilyn Horne Foundation.
Mr. Blumberg's program will be as follows:
Beethoven: Adelaide
Schumann: 4 Selections from Kerner-Lieder, Op. 35
Korngold: Soliloquy
Widor: 4 songs
INTERMISSION
Stanford: La Belle Dame Sans Merci
Poulenc: 3 Songs
Libermann: Music
Musto: Nude at the Piano
Bolcom: Black Max
Gordon: Shimmer
Cipullo: Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House
In 2004, Jesse Blumberg was the first prize winner in the Art Song category of the Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation Vocal Competition. He was also named a New York District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2005 and has won the Marian Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists.
Mr. Blumberg has participated in apprentice programs at The Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater, and covered major roles at each of these companies. Aside from his opera career, Mr. Blumberg is committed to the performance of vocal recitals, with a particular passion for the music of Schubert, Schumann, and Wolf.
Thomas Bagwell has accompanied in recital such singers as Susan Graham, Marilyn Horne, Frederica Von Stade, Roberta Peters, Denyce Graves, and many others. He has performed with violinists Midori and Scott St. John, and has been a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival. Mr. Bagwell served as Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera for many seasons, as well has holding positions at the Santa Fe Opera, New York City Opera, Washington Opera, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. As a teacher, Thomas Bagwell has taught at Yale University and is currently on the faculty of the Mannes College The New School for Music.
Founded in 1993, The Marilyn Horne Foundation is devoted to the vocal recital, and to exceptionally gifted young vocal recitalists. Its mission is to encourage, support and preserve the art of the vocal recital through the presentation of recitals and related educational programs in communities across the United States.
The MHF is committed to revitalizing this art form, which in recent decades has increasingly disappeared from the live-performance series of many U.S. concert presenters. Because the MHF believes so deeply in the uniqueness and importance of this art form it has vowed to change this trend.
"Vocal recitals were essential to my development as a singer. I want young singers in this new millennium to have the same opportunities I've had in bringing the art of song to audiences everywhere." —Marilyn Horne
For more information about Jesse Blumberg, visit his website.
Concert V: Friday, April 4th
American Brass Quintet
Raymond Mase, trumpet; Kevin Cobb, trumpet; David Wakefield, horn; Michael Powell, trombone; John D. Rojak, bass trombone
Advance: $12/$9/$5
Door: $20/$15/$8
Presented with support from the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music
Composer Workshop session with the American Brass Quintet
Thursday, April 3rd, 4pm
Baird Recital Hall
Free and open to the public for observation
Visit the American Brass Quintet online at www.americanbrassqunintet.org.