University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: February 3, 2005

By AMY GREENAN
Reporter Contributor

Paul Jacobs, appointed chair of the Organ Department at the Juilliard School in 2003 at the ripe old age of 26, will perform a recital on the Fisk Organ that includes four works by J.S. Bach at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus.

Also appearing this month as part of the Department of Music's concert schedule will be UB's Baird Trio; flutist Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman, joined by some musical "friends;" and the Cavani String Quartet performing the fourth concert in the Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle.

"Marathon" organist Paul Jacobs will perform on the Fisk Organ in a concert that includes works by J.S. Bach at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus

Paul Jacobs came to national attention as a concert organist in 2000 when he twice performed the complete organ works of J.S. Bach in 14 consecutive evenings in New York City and Philadelphia. Later in the year, he trumped that achievement by performing the complete works again in a spectacular 18-hour, nonstop marathon in Pittsburgh.

A recitalist possessing a huge repertoire, Jacobs has memorized the complete organ works of Brahms, Franck and Duruflé, much Messiaen, most of Bach, and a vast range of other organ literature. In 2002, he performed the complete organ works of Messiaen in a series of nine-hour, one-day marathons in six American cities—Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, San Francisco, Minneapolis and Seattle, and more recently repeated the extraordinary performance in New York City. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in South America, Australia, Canada, and Europe.

He is the first organist ever to be honored with the Harvard Musical Association's prestigious Arthur W. Foote Award. As a student at Yale University, he was awarded numerous honors, including the Dean's Prize and the Faculty Prize of the Institute of Sacred Music.

In their first concert in Buffalo following their triumphant Carnegie Hall debut, members of the Baird Trio will present an intriguing program at 8 p.m. on Monday in Lippes Concert Hall that includes Brahms, Copland and the world premiere performance of a new work by local composer Chester L. Mais.

The recital, originally scheduled for Dec. 6, was postponed due to illness. Those already holding tickets for that date will be admitted at the door.

In residence at UB, the trio—pianist Stephen Manes, violinist Movses Pogossian and cellist Jonathan Golove—performs a wide range of repertoire, devoting particular attention to recent and rarely heard works for the medium, and actively seeks new music in an effort to extend the vitality of the genre for the future. Acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, the members of the ensemble have given numerous world premieres by living composers, and they believe they have a significant role to play in the music of the 21st century. In addition, they see education as a crucial part of their creative activity, and offer programs geared to students at a variety of levels, including concert performances, workshops and master classes.

Those planning to attend flutist Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman's faculty recital at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Lippes Concert Hall can expect the unexpected—in the form of a celebratory concert, high Mardi Gras-style, followed by a postconcert party in the Slee lobby. Gobbetti-Hoffman will be joined by guests Susan Fancher, soprano saxophone; Jonathan Golove, cello; and Jacob Greenberg, piano and harpsichord. Golove and Greenberg also are members of the UB music faculty.

Committed to exploiting the sonorous and interpretive possibilities of contemporary flute voice, fostering challenging musical collaborations in varying ensemble instrumentation and performer roster, leading educational master classes and workshops, and commissioning new works, Gobbetti-Hoffman has coordinated acclaimed performances for such leading concert venues as New York's Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Cooper Union and Merkin Hall

While a tenured musician and board director for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Gobbetti-Hoffman was a member of its Artistic Advisory Committee; a cofounding artist of the Beaufluvian Players and co-founder for New & Used Music and the Niagara Frontier Flute Association. She also has served as teaching artist for The Western New York Institute for the Arts-in-Education, board director for Young Audiences of Western New York, Inc., and eclectic program host for the classical music radio station WNED-FM.

Quartet-in-residence at the world-renowned Cleveland Institute of Music since 1988, the Cavani String Quartet has been described by The Washington Post as "completely engrossing, powerful and elegant," leaving an impression wherever it goes, from a kindergarten classroom during a "whirlwind residency" in the Midwest to New York City's Carnegie Hall.

The group will perform the fourth concert in the Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle at 8 p.m. Feb. 12 in Lippes Concert Hall. Members of the quartet, who are well-known for their outstanding outreach activities, also will present a master class at 1 p.m. Feb. 12 in Baird Recital Hall, North Campus. The master class is free and open to the public.

In addition to receiving the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1989, the Cavani Quartet has been a top prizewinner in numerous competitions, including the Coleman, Fischoff, Banff International and Cleveland Quartet competitions. Since its New York debut in 1987, the ensemble has performed regularly in major series and festivals throughout North America and Europe.

At the Cleveland Institute, the quartet has developed the Apprentice Quartet Program, Intensive Quartet Seminar and New Quartet Project for students devoted to the serious study of chamber music. Nationally recognized as pioneers in arts-in-education, the Cavani Quartet is sought after by universities and communities for its ability to cultivate community partnerships. The quartet has developed creative outreach programs for a wide variety of settings and for audiences of all ages, including a series of children's concerts for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

The quartet also has collaborated with artists across disciplines to create programs that unite poetry, painting, theatre and dance with the string-quartet medium.

Tickets for Paul Jacobs and the Cavani String Quartet are $12 for general admission, $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, senior citizens and WNED members with a card, and $5 for students. Tickets for the Baird Trio and Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman are $5; UB students showing a valid ID are admitted free of charge.

Tickets for 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 locations.