University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: August 29, 2002

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

A tribute to the memory of the victims of Sept. 11 by the Slee Sinfonietta, UB's professional chamber orchestra led by musical director and conductor Magnus Mårtensson, will be among the highlights of the Department of Music's concert schedule for August and September.

Victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be remembered with a concert by the Slee Sinfonietta, conducted by Magnus Mårtensson.

Also presenting concerts will be the Maine-based DaPonte String Quartet, the contemporary music sextet eighth blackbird, and UB faculty members Kent Smith and Roland E. Martin—in Martin's first UB faculty recital.

The Sept. 11 tribute will be held at 8 p.m. Sept. 10 in Slee Concert Hall, North Campus. The chamber orchestra will be joined by guest soloists Jon Nelson, trumpet; Jacqueline Leclair, oboe, and Tony Arnold, soprano.

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

Each work on the program speaks to the tragedy of Sept. 11 and the city it devastated, says Mårtensson, assistant professor of music.

The DaPonte String Quartet will perform the first concert of the 47th annual Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle at 8 p.m. Sept. 6 in Slee. Audience members will be treated to a pre-concert talk with the artists at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $12 for general admission; $9 for UB faculty, staff, alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens, and $5 for students.

The DaPonte String Quartet is considered to be one of the most exciting groups on the international scene. The Juilliard- and Peabody Conservatory-trained players include violinists Ferdinand (Dino) Liva and Dean Arthur Stein, who alternate playing first violin; violist Mark Preston, and cellist Myles Jordan.

Hailed as "new music ambassadors," eighth blackbird has earned a reputation for astounding musical versatility, as well as for dedication to the works of today's composers. The ensemble will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 28 in Slee.

The award-winning ensemble—Molly Alicia Barth, flute; Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinet; Matthew Albert, violin; Nicholas Photinos, cello; Lisa Kaplan, piano, and Matthew Duvall, percussion—derives its name from the Wallace Stevens poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."

During its UB visit, group members will work with UB graduate composers to rehearse and critique their music. That session is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 27 in Baird Recital Hall, North Campus.

Tickets are $12 for general admission; $9 for UB faculty, staff, alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens, and $5 for students.

Pianist and harpsichordist Roland E. Martin performs at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Slee with an eclectic program that will conclude with the premiere of his own song cycle, "The Northeast Gardener's Year," featuring Martin on piano, soprano Cristen Gregory and cellist Bryan Eckenronde.

Martin also will appear with baritone Kent Smith during Smith's recital "Man & Faith" at 8 p.m. Sept. 13 in Slee. Martin and oboist Pierre Roy of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will join Smith for a performance of J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 82, "Ich habe Genung."

Tickets for both concerts are $5; UB students showing a valid ID are admitted free of charge.

Concert tickets may be obtained at the Slee Hall box office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, from the Center for the Arts box office from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at all TicketMaster outlets. For more information, go to http://www.slee.buffalo.edu.