The University at Buffalo Department of Music is recognized world-wide as an institution where artistically compelling and very unique events take place. We are the only place on the globe that presents all 16 of Beethoven's string quartets annually, and in perpetuity (since 1955). We are regarded by many musicians near and far as a destination to experience the creation and performance of new music at the highest level. Our Visiting Artist Series resembles concert listings at some of the world's most prestigious and revered concert venues. Please enjoy perusing our concert offerings, and we'll look forward to seeing you at a concert event in the near future!
Wednesday, September 6
11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Slee Hall box office only.
Receive one complimentary ticket for every ticket purchased to a UB Department of Music concert. The complimentary ticket does not need to be for the same event.
Friday, September 8
7:30 p.m.
$10
Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall
The William Blake Cycle: Unseen, Unbodied, Unknown, featuring saxophonist Kyle Hutchins
Skidmore’s multimedia saxophone opera with chamber ensemble and spatial audio, video, and theatrical direction considers text and characters created by William Blake, exploring relationships between mythological characters in the Blake universe, non-binary gender identity, gender stereotypes, and sexual politics.
Saturday, September 16
7:30 p.m.
$20
Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall
Nathalie Joachim is a Grammy-nominated performer and composer. The Haitian-American artist is hailed for being “a fresh and invigorating cross-cultural voice”. (The Nation). Her creative practice centers an authentic commitment to storytelling and human connectivity while advocating for social change and cultural awareness, gaining her the reputation of being “powerful and unpretentious.” (The New York Times)
Created by composer and Juilliard Creative Associate Nathalie Joachim Ki moun ou ye (Who are you?) is a new evening-length (65’) song cycle that weaves together textured vocal samples, somber flute tones, and longing melodies that take listeners on a journey of discovery and defining of self. It will be performed in English and Haitian Kreyòl.
Tuesday, September 19
7:30 p.m.
$10
Baird Recital Hall
Room 250 Baird Hall
This eminent European ensemble turned the 18th century concept of a violin duo into a driving force of contemporary exploration. Cecilia and Martin Gelland revive forgotten gems with historically inspired insight, and in close collaboration with composers, bring new scores to life.
Sunday, October 1
3 p.m.
$10
Baird Recital Hall
Room 250 Baird Hall
with special guest pianist Debi Adams
Michael Serio will be joined by Debi Adams, faculty member of the Boston Conservatory, in a piano four hand program that will include a set of 7 pieces by Thomas Cabaniss called Tiny Bits of Outrageous Love, Samuel Barber's Souvenirs, Brahms's Waltzes, Op. 39, and arrangements of Rachmaninoff's Vocalise and Mozart's Papageno.
Tuesday, October 17
7:30 p.m.
$10
Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall
Program to feature chamber musicians of the Slee Sinfonietta.
Wednesday, October 18
7:30 p.m.
$20
Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall
Corina Belcea & Suyeon Kang, violin; Krzysztof Chorzelski, viola; Antoine Lederlin, cello
Schubert: Quartet in E-flat Major, D. 87
Dvořák: Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 51 “Slavonic”
~intermission~
Bartók: Quartet No. 5
As the London Times wrote in the Spring of 2019, these musicians are not confined by traditional boundaries. The two founding members, the Romanian violinist Corina Belcea and the Polish violist Krzysztof Chorzelski, brought a very different artistic provenance to the ensemble in 1994.
Saturday, October 28
7:30 p.m.
$10
Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall
An inaugural recital curated by Su Lian Tan and David Sanford for pianist May Phang. Color, shape, rumination, a set of expressions and impressions composed for the contemporary piano, this program includes underrepresented and emerging composers and will kick off with a world premiere by Jeffrey Mumford.
Program to include:
Kaija Saariaho: Ballade
Jeffrey Mumford: resonant echoes, world premiere (commissioned by Su Lian Tan and David Sanford)
John McDonald:
1) That Thus May Flow…
And Not Altogether Matter
2) Sol, Ut
3) Fantasy Couple
Chen Zhangyi: Clima
Su Lian Tan: The Other Pictures
Thursday, November 2–Saturday, November 4
$20
*All concerts held in Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall at 7:30 p.m.
Daniel Ching & William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello
The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets, having been labeled by The New Yorker as “furiously committed” and noted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer for its “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity.” For over twenty-five years the Quartet has performed throughout the world on the most prestigious concert stages.
Tuesday, November 7
8 p.m.
$30
Mary Seaton Room
Kleinhans Music Hall
Frederik Øland & Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin; Asbjørn Nørgaard, viola; Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, cello
Co-sponsored with the Buffalo Chamber Music Society.
Purcell: Chaconne in G minor, Z. 730
Haydn: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 7, Op. 108
~intermission~
A selection of Folk music
Tickets for this event are at Buffalo Chamber Music Society.
*This event will not be offered as part of the BOGO sale.
Wednesday, November 8
7:30 p.m.
$20
Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall
Mozart: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138
Thomas Adès: Four Quarters String Quartet, Op. 28
Britten: Three Divertimenti
~intermission~
Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”)
"What they do know is how to be an exceptional quartet, whatever repertory they play." — The New York Times
Thursday, November 16
7:30 p.m.
Free
Baird Recital Hall
Room 250 Baird Hall
Works by Leah Reid, Ted Moore, Elizabeth A. Baker, UB composer Cort Lippe, and UB alumni Barry Moon.
Saturday, November 18
3 p.m.
Free
Baird Recital Hall
Room 250 Baird Hall
Composer and pianist Yvar Mikhashoff taught at UB from 1973 until his death in 1993. This program will celebrate Mikhashoff’s legacy with original works and transcriptions performed by the Frisof/Pesca flute and piano duo as well as UB faculty, students and alumni.
Presented with support from UB’s Center for 21st Century Music
Friday, December 1
7:30 p.m.
$10
Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall
Known for their “enthusiastic embrace of daring new music” (Chicago Reader), Fonema Consort commissions, performs, and records new music characterized by deep expressivity that explores the possibilities of the human voice in avant garde chamber settings. This concert features iconic works by eminent guest composer Julio Estrada, Pablo Santiago Chin, and Gabriela Paraskevaídis.
All concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Lippes Concert Hall, Slee Hall, unless otherwise noted. Some concerts may take place in Baird Recital Hall, Room 250 Baird Hall.
All concert events are ticketed and priced below unless otherwise noted in the Event Calendar:
Further information: (716) 645-2921 or rehard@buffalo.edu
Buy One, Get One ticket promotion on September 6, 2023 and February 1, 2024. Visit the Slee Hall box office from 11-6 p.m. to pick up your tickets!
The Slee Visiting Artist Series and the Slee Beethoven String Quartet Cycle are made possible, in part, by the generosity of the late Frederick and Alice Slee.
Center for 21st Century Music events are sponsored and managed by The Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music in the UB Department of Music. Jonathan Golove, Artistic Director