BPO, UB team up to present ‘Portals’

The Department of Music and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will present violinist Tim Fain’s “Portals” project at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

“Portals” is an evening-length, multimedia, musical exploration of the human longing for connection in the digital age. The centerpiece of the program is the seven-movement “Partita,” created by composer Philip Glass specifically for Fain.

Performing live, Fain will interact with his on-screen collaborators, including “Performance Today” host Fred Child reading the words of Leonard Cohen, performances of pianist Nicholas Britell filmed by Kate Hackett, and dance films choreographed and directed by Benjamin Millepied.

The program also presents works by Lev Zhurbin, Nico Muhly, Aaron Jay Kernis, William Bolcom, and Kevin Puts.

As part of his visit to UB, Fain will hold a masterclass at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 26 in the Mary Seaton Room in Kleinhans Music Hall. The masterclass, part of the BPO’s Masterclass Series, is free and open to the public.

The concert and masterclass are sponsored by Clement and Karen Arrison; media sponsor is WNED-FM.

Tickets for “Portals” are $30 for general admission, $20 for UB faculty/staff/alumni and senior citizens, and $15 for students, and can be purchased at the Center for the Arts box office or online at tickets.com.

A special ticket package that includes a post-concert reception with Fain in the Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre, hosted by the Arrisons, may be purchased for $75. To purchase this package, contact Lauren Piekarski at lpiekarski@bpo.org or 242-7825.