Archives
REBEL Ensemble to perform in Slee series
By AMY GREENAN
Reporter Contributor
The REBEL Ensemble for Baroque Music, a group known for its unique style and virtuosic, expressive and provocative approach to the baroque and classical repertoire, will perform the fourth concert in the Slee/Visiting Artist Series at 8 p.m. Jan. 21 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus.
REBEL Ensemble for Baroque Music
The performance will kick off the spring semester concert schedule presented by the Department of Music.
Also appearing in January will be UB pianists Stephen Manes and Jacob Greenberg, who will combine their talents into one intriguing program featuring Messiaen's rarely heard masterpiece Visions de l'Amen. The faculty recital will be held at 8 p.m. Jan. 27 in Lippes Concert Hall.
The REBEL Ensemble has earned an impressive international reputation since forming in The Netherlands in l99l.
Named after the innovative French Baroque composer Jean-Féry Rebel (1666-1747), REBEL's two violins, recorder/traverso, cello/viola da gamba and harpsichord/organ frequently expands with additional strings, winds, theorbo and vocalists performing on period instruments. In its first year together, REBEL was awarded first prize at the Fifth International Competition for Ensembles in Early Music, Utrecht (now known as the van Wassenaer Competition).
Stephen Manes
REBEL currently is in residence at historic Trinity Church in New York City, collaborating with Trinity Choir in works ranging from the cantatas of Bach to the major oratories of Handel, Bach, Mozart and Haydn.
REBEL also has collaborated with such renowned vocalists as Max von Egmond, Peter Kooy, Barbara Schlick, Suzie LeBlanc and Curtis Streetman, and has recorded for all the major European national radio networks, as well as the BBC. In 1999, REBEL became the first and only period instrument ensemble to be awarded an artists residency at National Public Radio.
Tickets for the concert are $12 for the general public, $9 for UB faculty, staff and alumni, senior citizens and WNED members with a card, and $5 for students.
The Manes-Greenberg recital will feature works for two pianos. In addition to Visions de l'Amen, the pianists will perform Linea by Luciano Berio and En Blanc et Noir by Claude Debussy.
Chair of the UB Department of Music, Manes is equally distinguished for his formidable technique and interpretive refinement. A native of Vermont, where he received his early training with Lionel Nowak, he has appeared with the New York and Buffalo Philharmonic orchestras and the Boston (Esplanade), Pittsburgh, National, Detroit, Baltimore and Denver symphonies under such conductors as Michael Tilson Thomas, Sergiu Comissiona, Brian Priestman, Neville Marriner, Arthur Fiedler, Christopher Keene, Semyon Bychkov and Maximiano Valdes. In 1997, he made his concert debut in Chicago playing with the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra under Alan Heatherington.
A graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a student of Irwin Freundlich, Manes has performed in most major U.S. cities, as well as in such European centers as London, West Berlin, Amsterdam, The Hague and Vienna. His affinity for chamber music has led to performances with the Cleveland, Tokyo, Kronos and Rowe string quartets, and to appearances at the Marlboro and Chautauqua music festivals. He is a member of the Baird Trio, in residence at UB.
Greenberg's work as a soloist and collaborative performer highlights his far-reaching interests in music old and new. He served for three years as principal keyboardist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, with whom he also played extensively as a chamber musician. As an orchestral player, he has performed with the Israel Philharmonic and the New World Symphony. Other ensemble performances include Symphony Center's MusicNOW series (with members of the Chicago Symphony), the Fulcrum Point New Music Project and the Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago.
A recipient of fellowships to the Tanglewood and Aspen music festivals, Greenberg completed his doctoral and master's programs at Northwestern University, where he studied with Ursula Oppens. He is a graduate of Oberlin College, where in addition to his musical degree, he completed a bachelor's degree in religious studies.
Tickets for the concert are $5; UB students showing a valid ID are admitted free of charge.
Tickets to all Department of Music concerts can be obtained at the Slee Hall box office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the Center for the Arts box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets also may be obtained on the Internet at Ticketmaster.com.