BUFFALO, NY – Canisius University will welcome the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) to campus, under the direction of BPO Associate Conductor Matthew Kraemer, on Wednesday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Montante Cultural Center.
The program will include a performance by the Canisius University Chorale, under the direction of Frank Scinta. Cristen Gregory, soprano and Melissa Thorburn, mezzo soprano, will be the featured soloists. Don Harry will also solo on the tuba during the concert.
The performance will include the following works:
- Suite No. 4 in G Major, Opus 61, “Mozartiana,” by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra, John Williams
- Gloria in D Major, R. 589, Antonio Vivaldi
Kraemer is the Montante Family Endowed Associate Conductor’s Chair of the BPO. He leads each of the orchestra’s major series as well as its award-winning education and community engagement programs. Kraemer was recently appointed music director and conductor of both the Butler County Symphony Orchestra and the Erie Country Orchestra.
Cristen Gregory has performed to rave reviews in the United States and internationally. She is a member of the soprano/cello duo Voci d’Amore and the chamber group Camerata. Gregory is an adjunct professor of music at Canisius, a faculty member at Niagara University, and teaches voice privately.
Melissa Thorburn, adjunct professor of music at Canisius, has performed with the BPO, the Greater Buffalo Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra and with the symphony orchestras of St. Louis, Indianapolis, Utah, Seattle, Memphis and Puerto Rico, among others. Career highlights also include a performance of Handel’s Messiah, under the direction of Roger Norrington, at Washington’s Kennedy Center.
Don Harry is professor of tuba at The Eastman School. He has performed with many groups and orchestras including Henry Mancini, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Toronto Symphony and others.
The Canisius University Chorale, composed of 120 undergraduate and graduate students, is one of Western New York’s most active collegiate music ensembles. The Chorale regularly presents concert programs to school, church and community audiences throughout the region. Its repertoire covers more than five centuries of composition and nearly every interpretive style of choral music.
Tickets are $25 general admission and $10 for students with ID. Purchase tickets online or call the Office of Fine Arts at (716) 888-2536.
The ArtsCanisius series at Canisius University presents concerts by professional musicians, including members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Canisius faculty, art shows and lectures by professional artists, as well as student recitals. For more information, contact the Fine Arts Department at (716) 888-2536 or visit the ArtsCanisius website.
One of 28 Jesuit colleges in the nation, Canisius is the premier private college in Western New York.
