Alumna Aikin Returns to UB for Two Concerts

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- World renowned soprano and UB alumna Laura Aikin will return to her alma mater next week to perform a concert marking the official naming of UB's Center for 21st Century Music as the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music.

Aikin will perform with the Slee Sinfonietta, UB's professional chamber orchestra, at 8 p.m. Oct. 17 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Joining Aikin and the Sinfonietta will be bass Nicholas Isherwood, one of the leading singers of early music and contemporary music in the world today, in a program of modern music by the great 20th century composer/conductor Pierre Boulez, as well as that of UB faculty member David Felder.

The program will consist of three movements from Boulez' famous "Pli selon pli," sung by Aiken, as well as three works by Felder: "Chashmal" (2006), "Sa'arah" (2007) and "Dionysiacs" (2004).

"Chashmal" and "Sa'arah," featuring Isherwood and video by Emmy Award-winner and UB faculty member Elliot Caplan, make up the first two parts of a three-part work that maps the sounds of the bass voice over a landscape of elemental sounds. "Dionysiacs" is for flute ensemble and antiphonally placed chamber ensemble.

While at UB, Aikin also will give a recital with pianist and recital partner Donald Sulzen at 3 p.m. Oct. 14 in Lippes Concert Hall. The concert, which also will feature cellist Natasha Farny, is the second in the Slee/Visiting Artist Series for 2007-08. The program includes the Richard Strauss works Poems by Hermann Gilm, Op. 10 and Five Little Songs, Op. 69, as well as Last Poems of Wallace Stevens by Ned Rorem.

In addition, Aikin will present a master class for UB vocal students at 10 a.m. Thursday on the Lippes Concert Hall stage. The class is free and open for public observation.

Aikin, who is now based in Berlin, is considered a leader among the generation of dynamic young sopranos today. Possessing a range of more than 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, she also has 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, Aikin has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera and most recently, the San Francisco Opera.

A Clarence native, Aikin received a bachelor of fine arts degree in music education from UB.

Advance tickets for both concerts -- purchased up to three business days prior to the concerts -- are $12 for general admission; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens; and $5 for students ($5). They may be purchased at the Slee Hall box office, the Center for the Arts box office and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets purchased at the door are $20 for general admission; $15 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens; and $8 for students.