June in Buffalo
Charles Wuorinen conducts the Slee Sinfonietta. Photographer: Irene Haupt
A Festival for Today’s Composers
With more than 50 years of history, June in Buffalo is a landmark festival and conference dedicated to emerging and established voices in contemporary music. Hosted annually at UB, the festival brings composers together with world-class performers, ensembles and mentors to develop new work, exchange ideas and build lasting professional connections.
UB's North Campus
Fully in-person festival
Learn about:
June in Buffalo offers an immersive, intensive experience designed to support today’s composers and performers at every stage of their creative journey.
Participants take part in:
- Seminars, Lectures and Workshops: Led by world-renowned faculty composers and guest artists.
- Professional Presentations: Explore current practices, technologies and artistic trends shaping contemporary music.
- Participant Forums and Open Rehearsals: Collaborate closely with professional ensembles and receive direct feedback on your work.
- Concerts Open to the Public: Afternoon and evening performances featuring faculty composers, resident ensembles and acclaimed soloists from around the world.
Festival highlights:
- Each selected composer has one work performed during the week
- Evening concerts spotlight leading composers, ensembles and adventurous new voices
- Open to composers, performers and anyone passionate about contemporary music
Whether you’re here to compose, perform or listen, June in Buffalo is a place to engage deeply with new music.
Year of the Composer/Conductor
The 2026 festival puts the composer/conductor in the central role. Each participant composer—selected through a competitive application process—will conduct their own work in rehearsal and performance with the festival’s resident ensemble, the Slee Sinfonietta. This hands-on model offers a rare opportunity to refine both compositional and conducting skills in a professional rehearsal environment.
Participants will receive close mentorship from distinguished figures, including:
Open Rehearsals
Location: Lippes Concert Hall
When: 1:45-2:50 p.m. and 3:10-4:15 p.m.
Lecture
Location: Baird Recital Hall
When: 4-6 p.m.
Lecture: Jason Thorpe Buchanan with Tyler J. Borden, cello (Cello soloist, Like a Scattering from a Fixed Point)
Performance
Location: Baird Recital Hall
When: 7:30 p.m.
Performance: Participant composers perform original solo works 1.
All works in this concert are performed by the composers themselves, evidencing the current renaissance of the classical composer as professional performer.
Lecture
Location: Baird Recital Hall
When: 4-6 p.m.
Lecture: Christian Baldini with Isabel Ong, violin (Whimsical Spheres for solo violin)
Performance
Location: Lippes Concert Hall
When: 7:30 p.m.
Performance: Slee Sinfonietta Concert 1
Program
- Like a Scattering from a Fixed Point composed by Jason Thorpe Buchanan with Tyler J. Borden, cello
- O, the unknown, I cry for thee composed by Manel Paret with Tiffany Du Mouchelle, soprano
- Between Steps and Dance composed by HsinYi Lisa Tseng
- What is Poetry? composed by Jinxin Fu with Tiffany Du Mouchelle, soprano
Intermission
- io composed by Zachary Blakeslee Reid
- Autumn Light composed by David Fulmer
Slee Sinfonietta
- Nicole Murray, flutes
- Megan Kyle, oboe and English horn
- Michael Tumiel, clarinets
- Laura Koepke, bassoon
- Mark Engebretson, baritone saxophone
- Susan Fancher, tenor saxophone
- Jessica Lombardo, French horn
- William Lang, trombone
- John Bacon, percussion
- Brian Graiser, percussion
- Steve Solook, percussion
- Hope Wilk, harp
- Eric Huebner, piano
- Haeyeun Jeun, piano
- Sungmin Shin, electric guitar
- Shannon Reilly, violin
- Sophia Klin, violin
- Isabel Ong, violin and viola
- Leanne Darling, viola
- Jonathan Golove, cello
- Edmond Gnekow, double bass
- Technical assistant: Jackson Roush
- Technical Director: Chris Jacobs
Lecture
No Lecture
Performance 1
Location: Baird Recital Hall (Baird 250)
When: 4 p.m.
Performance: Chamber and Solo Concert
Program
- Movements 2 and 3 from String Quartet No.1 with Mazer Piper Drum and Shannon Reilly (violin), Sophia Klin (violin), Leanne Darling (viola) and Jonathan Golove (cello)
- Verlöschend (Part 3 – On Night) for soprano saxophone with David Fulmer and Susan Fancher, sioprano saxophone
- Ended still then (glacial erratic) for cello with Isaac Barzso and Tyler J. Borden, cello
- Delicious Silence for violin with David Dzubay and Shannon Reilly, violin
Performance 2
Location: Baird Recital Hall
When: 7:30 p.m.
Performance: Participant composers perform original solo works 2
All works in this concert are performed by the composers themselves, evidencing the current renaissance of the classical composer as professional performer.
Open Rehearsals
Location: Lippes Concert Hall
When: 12:45-1:35 p.m., 1:35-2:25 p.m. and 2:45-3:15 p.m.
Lecture
Location: Baird Recital Hall
When: 4-6 p.m.
Lecture: David Fulmer with Susan Fancher, saxophone (Verlöschend, Part 3 – On Night, for solo soprano saxophone)
Performance
Location: Lippes Concert Hall
When: 7:30 p.m.
Performance: Slee Sinfonietta Concert 2
Program
All works conducted by their composers, except where noted.
- spring, and autumn or tautology and simultaneity composed by Ziyi Tao and conducted by Ziyi Tao and David Fulmer
- As if Making a Confession composed by Christian Baldini with Tiffany Du Mouchelle, soprano
Intermission
- Drop then fade composed by Guang Yang
- Ephemeral Existence composed by Jiaqui Wang
- PHO David Dzubay
Slee Sinfonietta
- Nicole Murray, flutes
- Erin Keppner, flutes
- Megan Kyle, oboe and English horn
- Michael Tumiel, clarinets
- Laura Koepke, bassoon
- Mark Engebretson, baritone saxophone
- Susan Fancher, soprano saxophone
- Jessica Lombardo, French horn
- William Lang, trombone
- John Bacon, percussion
- Brian Graiser, percussion
- Steve Solook, percussion
- Hope Wilk, harp
- Eric Huebner, piano
- Haeyeun Jeun, piano
- Hannah Zaborski, piano
- Shannon Reilly, violin
- Sophia Klin, violin
- Josh Corwin, viola
- Leanne Darling, viola
- Tyler J. Borden, cello
- Lindsey Joslin, double bass
- Technical Director: Chris Jacobs
Lecture
Location: Baird Recital Hall
When: 4-6 p.m.
Lecture: David Dzubay with Shannon Reilly, violin (Delicious Silence for solo violin)
Performance
Location: B1 Baird Hall
When: 7:30 p.m.
Performance: The Composers’ Cabaret
Program to be announced from the stage.
This informal evening is intended to present the results of the “late night” sessions in which JiB participants are invited to collaborate in an atmosphere of spontaneous music-making, free from outside curation.
Open Rehearsals
Location: Lippes Concert Hall
When: 2:50-3:45 p.m.
Lecture
Location: Baird Recital Hall
When: 4-6 p.m.
Lecture: Ming Tsao with a screening of short films related to his composition, Refuse Collection
Performance
Location: Baird Recital Hall (Baird 250)
When: 7:30 p.m.
Performance: Solo and chamber works featuring William Lang, trombone and Jonathan Golove, theremin cello
Program
- The Dream of Radio (2026) with Jonathan Golove, theremin cello and devices
- The Voyage of Dream with Endong Li, David Fulmer (conductor), Erin Keppner (flute), Shannon Reilly (violin) and Rosanna Moore (harp)
- Keren (1986) with Iannis Xenakis
- Abluvion (2022) with Marti Epstein
- Past Forgot (2026) with B.K. Zervignón and William Lang, trombone
Lecture
No Lecture
Performance
Location: Lippes Concert Hall
When: 3 p.m.
Performance: Slee Sinfonietta Concert 3
Program
All works conducted by their composers, except where noted.
- Refuse Collection composed by Ming Tsao and conducted by David Dzubay
- Ideas of Utopia composed by Camden Boyle
- a barely supressed hysteria composed by Gabriel Fynsk
Intermission
- of light and smoke emitting forth in the night composed by Nathaniel Otley
- TON composed by Oliver Dubon
Slee Sinfonietta
- Nicole Murray, flutes
- Erin Keppner, flutes
- Brian Greene, oboe
- Megan Kyle, oboe and English horn
- Barret Ham, clarinets
- Michael Tumiel, clarinets and alto saxophone
- Laura Koepke, bassoon
- Natalya Rose Vrbsky, bassoon and contrabassoon
- Jessica Lombardo, French horn
- Sam Jones, trumpet
- William Lang, trombone
- John Dawson, percussion
- Brian Graiser, percussion
- Steve Solook, percussion
- Rosanna Moore, harp
- Eric Huebner, piano
- Haeyeun Jeun, piano and harmonium
- Hannah Zaborski, piano
- Shannon Reilly, violin
- Sophia Klin, violin
- Evan Courtin, viola
- Andrew Borkowski, cello
- Jonathan Golove, cello
- Lindsey Joslin, double bass
- Technical Director: Chris Jacobs
Whether you’re an emerging composer or an established voice, June in Buffalo offers a dynamic environment to grow, create and connect with today’s new-music community.
June in Buffalo is designed especially for composer/conductors, providing a rare opportunity to develop the artistic vision and professional leadership skills essential to shaping the future of contemporary music. Through hands-on rehearsals, performances and mentorship, participants prepare for the creative and collaborative roles that define this field.
Take the next step and apply to be part of June in Buffalo. 👉
Application Deadline:
All application materials and the processing fee must be submitted by March 1.