BPO Summer Concerts

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From The Buffalo News:

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra?s summer season will take the musicians to several of Western New York?s best public spaces and performing venues.

The BPO will perform 12 times, including several free outdoor concerts and the return of Summer Nights@Kleinhans.

? The summer season kicks off with the BPO?s return to Bidwell Park in the Elmwood Village on June 25 and Knox Farm State Park in East Aurora on June 27, each beginning at 7 p.m. These free, outdoor concerts will be conducted by Matthew Kraemer, and will feature a mix of Americana.

? At 7 p.m. June 29, the BPO will perform a concert at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown. Matthew Kraemer conducts this concert of classical favorites, including works by Rossini, Copland, Dvorak and Beethoven, concluding with the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. The concert is free for children younger than 6; $10 for students and $20 general admission. A family four-pack is available for $49. All tickets will be available through the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra box office at 885-5000 or www.bpo.org. Tickets include admission to the park.

? The BPO?s second season of Summer Nights@Kleinhans will kick off at 7 p.m. July 6 with Tchaikovsky Spectacular, conducted by Matthew Kraemer. Audiences are invited to pack a picnic supper or sample the wares of the Buffalo food trucks and enjoy the grounds of the concert hall and its historic neighborhood setting.

Summer Nights@Kleinhans will continue at 7 p.m. July 19 with A Tribute to Dave Brubeck. The jazz composer and pianist, credited with introducing jazz to the Baby Boom generation, was 91 when he died last year. The BPO will pay tribute to his legacy with a performance featuring the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, formed by his sons.

Tickets for Summer Nights@Kleinhans range from $19-$49.

? The BPO and the Bisons continue their Independence Eve tradition on July 3, when the Bisons play the Rochester Red Wings at Coca-Cola Field starting at 6:05. After the game, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will take the field, joined by the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and led by Paul Ferington, for a program of patriotic favorites followed by a fireworks display. Tickets are available at www.bisons.com.

? Over a two-day period, the BPO will share its best with Western New York through a series of free performances at Canalside.

The afternoon of July 13 offers audiences a chance to see what orchestra members do when they?re not rehearsing for a concert. Chamber groups, jazz quartets, and percussion ensembles featuring BPO members are all on the schedule.

At 7 p.m. that day, the orchestra will perform a Broadway-themed concert with soloists Gary Mauer and Elizabeth Southard. The Broadway veterans are also husband and wife, and have played opposite one another in major touring productions of Showboat and Phantom of the Opera, as well as many symphonic engagements. On July 14, the BPO will hold an afternoon of instrument demonstrations, workshops and a superhero-themed concert, with music from X-Men, The Incredibles, Spiderman, Batman and more.

? The M&T Bank Plaza summer noontime concert series is celebrating its 44th year, and the Buffalo Philharmonic will once again perform. Paul Ferington will lead the orchestra on July 16 in this free outdoor concert.

? Artpark is celebrating a milestone year, and for its 40th anniversary, the BPO will perform with a host of special guests at 8 p.m. July 25, recreating the park?s 1973 opening concert. Buffalo native turned Broadway star Michele Ragusa will sing selections from Phantom of the Opera, Music Man and My Fair Lady. Eminent pianist Norman Krieger, once the winner of the BPO?s Young Artists Competition Prize, will perform Chopin?s Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brilliante. Dancers from the Festival Ballet of Providence and Neglia Ballet Artists will join the BPO onstage, dancing to selections from ballets by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.