Performances by Endellion String Quartet, Cheryl Gobbetti Hoffman Highlight October Concert Schedule

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Endellion String Quartet, winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Best Chamber Ensemble, will perform the second concert of the 47th Annual Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle at 8 p.m. Oct. 12 in Slee Concert Hall on the UB North Campus.

The appearance of the British quartet will be one of several noteworthy concerts to be presented by the Department of Music during October.

Also on tap for Slee Concert Hall will be faculty recitals by percussionist Anthony Miranda and the Carnegie Hall-bound flutist Cheryl Gobbetti Hoffman; a performance by the brass and percussion ensemble Metalofonico, and a concert by organist Kevin Bowyer.

In addition, the Slee Sinfonietta, UB's professional chamber orchestra conducted by Magnus Mårtensson, will perform the original version of Edgard Varèse's "Ecuatorial" for the first time since its 1934 premiere.

Formed in 1979, the Endellion String Quartet is renowned as one of the finest quartets in the world, a group that captivates concert goers with a remarkable rapport, "playing to each other with a sense almost of discovery, communicating to the audience on a level of unusual intimacy," according to the Guardian.

In Britain, the Endellion Quartet has appeared at nearly all the major series and festivals, and is regularly broadcast on BBC radio and television. It recently was invited by the BBC to give the 25th anniversary concert of the first-ever St John's Smith Square BBC lunchtime broadcast, repeating the original program given by the Amadeus Quartet.

The quartet's Slee Hall program will feature Beethoven's "Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 74" ("The Harp"), "Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2," and "Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131."

Tickets for the Endellion Quartet are $12 for the general public; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens, and $5 for students.

In "Cheryl Gobbetti Hoffman and Friends," Hoffman on Oct. 1 will team with Miranda and saxophonist Susan Fancher to preview the program that Hoffman will present as part of MidAmerica Productions' Solo and Chamber Music Series on Oct. 6 in Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall.

The Oct. 1 performance at UB, to be held at 8 p.m. in Slee, will feature, among other pieces, "Duo for G Major, for flute and soprano saxophone" by Francois Couperin; "Hyxos for alto flute and percussion" by Giacinto Scelsi and "Of Erthe and Air, for chamber ensemble" by Hilary Tann.

Miranda, coordinator of percussion at UB and director of the internationally renowned UB Percussion Ensemble, will revisit the Slee stage with a program, "The Music of Anthony Miranda," at 8 p.m. Oct. 26. The program will include the premier of two of Miranda's own compositions -- "Shattered Glass #1" and "Shattered Glass #2," accompanied by UB dancers choreographed by Tressa Gorman-Crehan, a faculty member in the UB Department of Theatre and Dance.

Tickets for both Hoffman and Miranda are $5; UB students are admitted free when showing a valid ID.

Plenty of star power and historical significance will fuel the concert to be performed by the Slee Sinfonietta at 8 p.m. Oct. 15 in Slee. For the first time since 1934, Varèse's "Ecuatorial" will be performed with its intended instrumentation -- two theremin cellos, baritone voice and orchestra.

Guest musicians will include English organist Kevin Bowyer and members of Metalofonico, a brass and percussion ensemble directed by UB faculty member Jon Nelson -- both of whom will be presenting recitals later in the month -- as well as renowned bass-baritone Nicholas Isherwood and the husband-and-wife duo of Jonathan Golove and Mary Artmann who will play the theremin cellos. These instruments -- stringless, bowless cellos that were a variation of the basic theremin design -- are replicas built locally by Colden-based, award-winning instrument builder and restorer Floyd Engels, who reverse-engineered them from a vintage, non-working theremin cello in a private collection.

A pre-concert lecture will be given at 7 p.m. by UB musicologist Olivia Mattis, a Varèse scholar who was the first person to conduct an interview with Leon Theremin when he came out of Soviet seclusion in 1989. A panel discussion also will follow the concert, featuring Theremin biographer Albert Glinsky and others.

Tickets for the Slee Sinfonietta are $12 for the general public; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens, and $5 for students.

Following its appearance with the Slee Sinfonietta, Metalofonico will take the Slee stage with a program titled "A Concise History of Brass Bands in America," billed as the second concert of the Slee/Visiting Artist Series, at 8 p.m. Oct. 17. Bowyer will take command of the Fisk organ at 8 p.m. Oct. 19, presenting an intriguing mix of the modern and the classic.

Tickets for Metalofonico are $12 for the general public; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens, and $5 for students. Tickets for Bowyer's recital are $5.

Created at the 2001 June in Buffalo Music festival by Nelson and David Felder, professor of music, Metalofonico (JIBrassworks) is comprised of some of North America's finest brass musicians. The 20-piece ensemble of brass, percussion, saxophone and electric guitar performs landmark 20th century brass repertoire, newly commissioned works and ethnic styles of the Americas. For this concert, Nelson will share conducting duties with Magnus Mårtensson.

The UB program will include Tom Pierson's "Music for a Solemn Occasion," Felder's "Incendio" and Nelson's "Insomnio."

A student of Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, David Sanger and Virginia Black, Bowyer has won first prizes at the international organ competitions in St. Albans, Dublin, Paisley, Odense and Calgary. He has played throughout Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, and has become known for his contemporary and unusual repertoire.

Bowyer's program will feature Philip Glass's "Finale" from "Satyagraha," Charles Wuorinen's "Evolutio" and Milton Babbitt's "Manifold."

Tickets to Department of Music's Slee Hall concerts can be obtained at the Slee box office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the UB Center for the Arts box office from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at Ticketmaster outlets.