Department of Music announces 2025-26 concert season

The Department of Music’s 2025-26 concert season offers something for every listener — from celebrated chamber ensembles and world-class guest artists to UB’s own exceptional faculty and ensembles, all performing a wide range of music from the classical canon to today’s most innovative works.

Among the highlights is Feldman@100, a two-day festival in January celebrating the centennial of Morton Feldman, the pioneering composer and beloved UB professor whose influence continues to shape the global contemporary music scene.

From Jan. 12–13, audiences will experience five concerts, pre-concert talks and film screenings featuring works spanning Feldman’s career, performed by world-class artists including the JACK Quartet, Horszowski Trio, pianists Amy Williams and Eric Huebner, the Slee Sinfonietta and other UB faculty and ensembles. The celebration will culminate in a performance of “Rothko Chapel,” Feldman’s iconic meditation on color, space and spirituality.

Other noteworthy events include the Slee Visiting Artist Series, featuring acclaimed international performers including the Belcea Quartet (Oct. 18), Roomful of Teeth (Jan. 27), Gilles Vonsattel, piano (March 6), Dafnis Prieto Sí o Sí Quartet (March 27) and the Jerusalem Quartet (April 29).

The department’s annual presentation of the Slee Beethoven String Quartet Cycle continues with performances by the Viano Quartet Oct. 23-25 and the Dalí Quartet April 16-18.

UB may be the only place in the country — or the world, according to Department of Music staff — that presents all 16 Beethoven string quartets annually.

The Center for 21st Century Music, which embodies UB’s tradition of innovation and artistry at the forefront of contemporary music, will present the Slee Sinfonietta, UB’s professional chamber orchestra in residence, (Jan. 21 and March 4) and Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart (April 1-2) performing groundbreaking new works by living composers.

The center also will present the internationally renowned June in Buffalo, the annual new music festival and conference dedicated to emerging composers, June 1-7.

Other events showcase UB’s world-class Fisk organ, including recitals by organ students from the Eastman School of Music (Jan. 27) and concert organist and scholar Anne Laver (April 12), co-presented with the American Guild of Organists.

The department continues its community outreach with its free, noontime Brown Bag Concerts on the first Tuesday of the month, as well as the Gift to the Community Concert on May 10. Originally conceived in 2023 as a musical tribute honoring the victims and community resilience following the Tops mass shooting in May 2022, the Gift to the Community Concert has grown into the department’s annual season finale — a unifying celebration of Buffalo’s musical talent and spirit.

Tickets to Department of Music events are $20 for visiting artist concerts and $10 for Center for 21st Century Music concerts, organ recitals and special events. UB students receive one free ticket to all Department of Music events with a valid UB ID.

Student outreach is particularly important, Huebner notes. “By making all concerts free for UB students and often requiring concerts attendance as part of our large general education music classes, we hope to foster an interest in classical and contemporary chamber music among the younger generation of UB college students,” he explains.

Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster, at the Center for the Arts box office and at the Slee Hall box office one hour prior to concert time.

The department is running a buy one, get one free ticket promotion on Sept. 3 and Nov. 28. Faculty and staff can buy one ticket to a concert this season and receive one ticket free from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Slee Hall box office. The complimentary ticket does not have to be for the same event but must be of equal or lesser value.

Visit the music department’s online concert calendar for a full list of events.