BUFFALO, NY – Canisius University will welcome the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) to campus, under the direction of BPO Conductor and Music Director JoAnn Falletta HON ’00 on Tuesday, February 4 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. Michael Ludwig will also solo on the violin during the concert.
Tickets are $25 general admission and $12 for students with ID. To purchase tickets, visit canisius.edu/artscanisius-tickets or call the Office of Fine Arts at (716) 888-2536.
The performance will include the following works:
Carmen Aquila – SerenadDaron Hagen – Songbook (a piece written specifically for Ludwig, Falletta and the BPO)Antonio Vivaldi - Beatus VirLudwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in c minor
Falletta is internationally celebrated as a vibrant ambassador for music, an inspiring music artistic leader and a champion of American music. She has guest conducted more than 100 orchestras in North America, and many of the most prominent orchestras in Europe, South America and Africa. Falletta is the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards, including the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Awards the coveted Stokowski Competition and the Toscini, Ditson and Bruno Walter Awards for conducting. Since stepping up to the podium as music director of the BPO in the fall of 1999, Maestro Falletta has been credited with bringing the orchestra to a new level of national and international prominence.
Scinta is well known as one of Western New York’s most active choral directors and music educators. In addition to his role as adjunct professor of fine arts at Canisius University, where he teaches piano and conducts the Canisius University Chorale, he also serves on the faculty of the Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts. Scinta is organist/choirmaster at St. Louis Church and has been associate director of Opera Sacra since its inception in 1975.
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.
Ludwig enjoys a multi-faceted career as a soloist, recording artist and chamber musician. He has performed on four continents, including appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra. Ludwig has been featured numerous times on the syndicated radio program Performance Today and his media credits include live broadcasts at WRTI (Philadelphia, PA) and WAMC (Albany, NY). As a producer, his honors include a Mid-Atlantic Emmy nomination for Outstanding Live Programming. In addition to his active performance and recording schedule, Ludwig provides master classes around the world.
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.
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 canisius.edu/artscanisius.
Canisius is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.
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