ArtsCanisius presents the following performances, which are free and open to the public:
- Monday, September 16 – Meet-the-Faculty Recital at 12:00 p.m. in the Montante Cultural Center. The performance, which will feature James Wright, baritone, and Jannis Peterson, guest pianist, will include works of Gabriel Faure, Charles Gounod, Erik Korngold, Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann.
James is a favorite of critics and audiences for his charismatic presence and warm tone. His recent operatic performances include Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, John Sorel in The Consul with Western New York Chamber Orchestra and Valentin in Gounod’s Faust with Buffalo Opera Unlimited. James is equally comfortable on the concert and recital stage and has performed as a soloist with The Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, The Western New York Chamber Orchestra and the Amherst Symphony Orchestra. Wright is adjunct professor of music at Canisius University as well as adjunct professor of voice at the State University of New York at Fredonia He also currently serves as artistic administrator of Nickel City Opera.
Peterson retired from the School of Music at the State University of New York at Fredonia, where she taught piano, piano pedagogy, theory instruction, solo and collaborative performance from 1978 – 2009. She continues to be an active piano performer and teacher, and serves as chair of the Fredonia chapter of the National Guild of Piano Teachers.
- Thursday, September 26 – “Choosing Words,” a Composer-in-Residence Lecture at 2:30 p.m. in the Montante Cultural Center featuring Persis Parshall Vehar, composer.
Hailed by the New York Times for her musical “honesty, clarity and compositional skill,” Persis Parshall Vehar has had works commissioned and performed by leading orchestras, opera companies, ensembles, soloists and schools throughout the United States and Europe. More than 200 of her vocal and instrumental compositions have been performed internationally at leading concert halls throughout Europe and the United States including the Royal Festival Hall (London), Graz Music Festival (Austria) and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival (Charleston, South Carolina). She is the recipient of seven Meet the Composer Grants, 27 annual ASCAP Awards, and is included in the International Museum’s Collection of Distinguished Musicians in London and the Biblioteque Internationale De Musique in Paris.
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 website at canisius.edu/artscanisius.
Canisius University is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.
