Cellist and Composer Stephen Katz to be in Residence at UB in October

By David Wedekindt

Release Date: September 13, 2012 This content is archived.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Stephen Katz on Friday, Oct. 12, at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts, UB North Campus.

Cellist and award-winning composer Stephen Katz has charted new territory for the rhythmic potential of the cello. The groundbreaking technique he calls "Flying Pizzicato" picks up where guitar playing leaves off, taking listeners into the realm of highly rhythmic, individual-note, strummed counterpoint. He also uses live looping electronics to generate dynamic orchestral textures. In other words, he composes and performs soulful cello pieces that juggle two or three "voices" at a time, to make music that simultaneously lays grooves, weaves tunes and lifts spirits.

Katz has premiered his cello compositions at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City and performed internationally with the Paul Winter Consort, Essex String Quartet, and more. A veteran cello teacher, Katz has been a regular workshop presenter at the New Directions Cello Festival since its inception in 1995.

The New York Times has said, "With a bow and fingers as light as feathers, Stephen Katz makes a cello bring out meanings you might not have suspected were there."

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant will fund the residency of Stephen Katz, who in addition to the public performance on Oct. 12 will perform and conduct hands-on activities with patients, staff and families at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo for two weeks in October. The two hospitals are partners in the Center for the Arts' Arts in Healthcare initiative, which began in 2008.

Tickets for Stephen Katz are $14.50. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and tickets.com. To charge tickets call 1-888-223-6000. For more information call 716-645-2787 or visit http://www.ubcfa.org.