Musicians and audience members share the stage for unique program of music and history

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Music in Buffalo’s Historic Places will present the second of this year’s two-concert series on Friday, June 5, at 6 p.m. at Kleinhans Music Hall.

The concert is part of the 40th anniversary of June in Buffalo, the University at Buffalo’s pioneering contemporary classical music festival. June in Buffalo’s weeklong program features master classes, seminars, lectures and 15 concerts.

Music in Buffalo’s Historic Places is a chamber music program that intimately ties its performances to each venue, sometimes through direct historical connections, but also by taking traditional spaces and using them differently.

“For this year’s show at Kleinhans the audience will be seated on stage with the musicians,” says Eric Huebner, an assistant professor of music at UB and the program’s co-founder.  “This is a chance not only to enjoy music in one of the country’s great concert halls, but to actually sit onstage near the musicians during the show.  It’s a truly unique experience.”

The June 5 show will feature the June in Buffalo Performance Institute, playing the work of composers long associated with the iconic festival, including Lukas Foss and Jacob Druckman.

General admission tickets and discounted seats for students and seniors can be purchased online.  

Tickets are also available at the door on the night of the performance.

Huebner says he and Brian Carter, a professor in the UB School of Architecture and Planning, devised the series and presented their first concert in 2012 in the Darwin Martin House, performing music that was reminiscent of the American West, in tribute to the prairie-style of the home’s architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.

That show, which featured UB faculty and guests, became the template for future performances that combined classical music with the city’s rich architectural history.

“I think inspiration can come in part from the importance of the performance space,” says Huebner. “For me, as a performer, I can feel that history.”

Huebner says Kleinhans is both an historic building and an acoustic marvel. Completed with funds from the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s and designated a National Historic Landmark in the 1980s, its design considers the needs and demands of both the audience and the musicians.

“Kleinhans is an instrument in itself,” he says. “The audience will be up close, giving the concert an intimate feel despite the size of the hall.”