University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: March 6, 2003

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

Internationally acclaimed organist Hector Olivera will showcase his technical proficiency and passionate style for Western New York audiences later this month, performing in two concerts scheduled on consecutive nights—each concert featuring a distinctive program highlighting a particular style of playing.

Olivera will present a program of classical organ works on UB's Fisk organ at 8 p.m. March 28 in Slee Concert Hall, North Campus. The recital is co-sponsored by the Department of Music, the Buffalo chapter of the American Guild of Organists and the Riviera Theatre, 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda.

The Riviera, "Home of the Mighty Wurlitzer," will offer a theatre-style organ recital by Olivera the following evening, March 29, at 8 p.m.

Also on March 29, Slee will be the setting for an unusual performance by the Baird Trio. The trio, which is in residence at UB, will break out of the mold and try its hand at a piano quartet. During the second half of its concert, set for 8 p.m., Laurie Kennedy, principal violist with the Portland (Maine) Symphony and a former Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra musician, will join the trio in a performance of Brahms' "Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 26."

During the first half of the program, the trio will perform two works that draw inspiration from the world of folk music—"Five Bagatelles" by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, which reflects his heritage, and "Trio of Popular Irish Melodies," based on Irish folk melodies, by Swiss composer Frank Martin.

Tickets are $5.

Tickets for Olivera's Slee concert are $12 for the general public; $9 for UB faculty, staff and alumni, senior citizens and WNED members with card, and $5 for students. Tickets for the Riviera concert are $10 for the general public and $8 for seniors and students. For more information, contact the theater at 692-2113 or http://www.rivieratheatre.org.

Olivera

A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Olivera was a child prodigy who started playing the pipe organ at age 3, was appointed organist for the Church of the Immaculate Conception at age five and four years later composed a suite for oboe and string orchestra that was performed by the Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra.

He entered the University of Buenos Aires at age 12, and later moved to New York to study at the Juilliard School of Music on scholarship. Three years later, he won the National Improvisation Contest sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, and began a concert career that spans decades.

In addition to performing in concert halls throughout the world and dedication recitals in churches and symphony halls, Olivera is a consultant for the design of both new and refurbished pipe organs. He also has worked with several of the world's most prestigious electronic organ manufacturers, assisting in the development of new digital samples and digital sound libraries.

He has released more than 20 recordings from classical to contemporary and film-score transcripts, and continues to delight audiences with both solo classical literature and his own orchestral transcriptions.

Baird Trio

The Baird Trio—consisting of pianist Stephen Manes, violinist Movses Pogossian and cellist Jonathan Golove—performs a wide range of repertoire, focusing particularly on recent and rarely heard works. The trio, believing it has a significant role to play in the music of the 21st century, actively seeks new music in an effort to extend the vitality of the genre for the future.

The trio is named in honor of the late Cameron Baird, founder of the UB Department of Music, and his wife, Jane, a long-time benefactor of the music department.

Other UB-based ensembles will perform during April, including the Slee Sinfonietta, UB's professional chamber orchestra in residence, at 8 p.m. April 9 in Slee. The Sinfonietta, led by conductor Magnus Mårtensson, will present a program featuring the works of Lukas Foss, including the venerable "Time Cycle," as part of a two-week festival being held in conjunction with other area arts organizations, among them the BPO and the Buffalo Chamber Music Society.

The Sinfonietta will be joined for the performance by Manes and Tony Arnold, soprano.

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

Foss' ties to the Buffalo music scene are notable—not only was he the music director of the BPO from 1963-71, but he can be credited, along with Allen Sapp, with beginning the tradition of contemporary music at UB.

Performances by student ensembles will round out the concert year, with numerous concerts scheduled throughout April. All performances are free of charge and open to the public.

For a list of ensembles that will be performing and their programs, call the Slee Concert Office at 645-2921.

Tickets for Slee Hall concerts may be obtained at the Slee box office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, from the Center for the Arts box office from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster outlets.