Shostakovich No. 5
2026-02-07 19:30 (America/New_York) | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Composed to express his gratitude upon receiving an honorary degree despite not attending university, a mischievous Brahms penned the tongue‐in‐cheek Academic Festival Overture, which features boisterous student drinking songs as well as folk songs turned songs of student protest. With the energy of the music and the expansive orchestration, the piece tends to lean more into the celebratory side of the title than the scholarly. South American composer Miguel del Aguila’s Concierto en Tango for Cello and Orchestra was commissioned by the BPO and principal cellist Roman Mekinulov, and received its world premiere by the BPO in 2014. The work’s lighthearted, rhythmic syncopation avoids the melodrama of tango’s traditional form, while capturing the nostalgia of its joyful expression, uniquely conveyed by the cello’s depth. Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, which closes the program, is forcedly optimistic and tonal. It proved career and lifesaving for the under-fire Shostakovich because of its patriotic nature and its glorification of Stalin’s Soviet regime.
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Roman Mekinulov, cello
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture
MIGUEL DEL ÁGUILA Concierto en Tango for Cello and Orchestra
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D minor

CANCELED: Masterclass with Madeline Olson, harp
2026-02-11 19:00 | Clement House @ 786 Delaware Ave., 786 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, 14209, United States
Please note: This masterclass has been canceled.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra hosts incredible guest artists each year on our Classics Series. We make many of these masters available to the community in our Masterclass series. These artists will work one-on-one with talented local students in front of a live audience. All events are FREE with a required reservation. Please send application and recording to rpudlewski@bpo.org.
DEADLINE: January 21, 2026
All applicants notified by January 28th.
Questions?
Rachael Pudlewski
Associate Director of Education
rpudlewski@bpo.org or (716) 242-7822

Candlelight and Romance
2026-02-12 18:00 | Clement House @ 786 Delaware Ave., 786 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, 14209, United States
5:30pm- Complimentary Wine and Cheese Reception
6pm- Performance by BPO Musicians
Join us for an enchanting performance by candlelight! Space is extremely limited. Tickets are $100.
For a limited time, purchase tickets to all three Candlelight Concerts for $250. Proceeds from these special events will benefit the BPO’s Education Programs.
For additional information or questions, please contact BPO Special Events Coordinator, Carson Mannino at cmannino@bpo.org or 716-242-7821.

Ruben Studdard – My Tribute to Luther Vandross
2026-02-13 10:30, 2026-02-14 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Ron Spigelman, conductor
Ruben Studdard, vocalist
From his roots in Gospel to forays into R&B and Jazz to top winner of American Idol’s second season, Ruben Studdard has always considered Luther Vandross his hero. He recreates the velvet tones of songs like Here and Now, Aint No Stoppin’ Us Now, Always and Forever, and Dance with my Father for a sentimental return to the ’80s and ’90s.
Stay post-concert Saturday for the annual Sweetheart Dance!
Enhance Your Evening with a VIP Experience!
Make your Saturday night concert experience even more memorable with an exclusive post-concert Meet & Greet! Enjoy a complimentary beverage, receive a limited-edition signed posted and VIP lanyard, and meet Ruben Studdard in person.
VIP Experience tickets are $40 and must be purchased in addition to your concert ticket. Availability is limited. *Available Saturday evening only. Concert ticket is required to attend the VIP Meet & Greet event.

BPO Little Kids
2026-02-14 10:00 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
A special Saturday morning session for our littlest listeners, age 0-5, with their caregivers. Join BPO musicians and community partners for fun musical activities designed specifically for tiny ears and growing minds.
Subscription packages for the 2025-26 concert season are available now at bpo.org/subscriptions.

Ruben Studdard VIP Meet & Greet Experience
2026-02-14 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Make your concert experience even more memorable with an exclusive post-concert Meet & Greet! After the Ruben Studdard – My Tribute to Luther Vandross concert on Saturday, February 14, enjoy a complimentary beverage, receive a limited-edition signed posted and VIP lanyard, and meet Ruben Studdard in person.
VIP Experience tickets are $40 and must be purchased in addition to your concert ticket. Availability is limited.

Beethoven's Fifth
2026-02-21 19:30, 2026-02-22 14:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Four notes instantly recognizable across generations welcome back the much-loved Symphony No. 5 to the Kleinhans stage. The Fifth’s hallmark four-note pattern, or “short-short-short-long,” was a revolutionary concept at the time, creating a rhythm as the subject line instead of a melody, and one that recurs throughout all four movements. The composer laid the groundwork for future Romantic-era symphonies with the musical triumph and conflict resolution of “light over dark,” ending on a note of hope and human resilience. Copland drew Dance Symphony’s rhythmic jazz motifs from his evocative, unpublished vampire ballet about a morbid conjurer who could raise the dead and make them dance. Copland himself described the three movements as “thin,” “songful,” and “violent,” respectively. In his Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven expanded on Mozart’s influence by featuring challenging key changes and bold harmonies in this piece, exemplifying his first compositional era and style.
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
George Li, piano
COPLAND Dance Symphony
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C minor

The Music of Pink Floyd with The Machine
2026-02-27 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Bradley Thachuk, conductor
The premier Pink Floyd experience returns to the BPO with classic hits timed to a laser light show, celebrating 50 years since the studio album Wish You Were Here.
Subscription packages for the 2025-26 concert season are available now at bpo.org/subscriptions.

Dancing & Romancing
2026-02-28 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Broadway and Hollywood combine for a romantic and entertaining evening of song and dance inspired by the likes of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, and Eleanor Powell. With hit tunes like They Can’t Take That Away from Me and Let’s Face the Music and Dance to Singin’ in the Rain and Begin the Beguine, this evening will put a smile on your face and a spring in your step.
Ron Spigelman, conductor
Joan Hess, vocals
Kirby Ward, vocals
Subscription packages for the 2025-26 concert season are available now at bpo.org/subscriptions.

Fredonia Side-by-Side
2026-03-04 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Join us for a special side-by-side concert with the Fredonia Symphony Orchestra! This collaboration features Fredonia’s College Symphony Orchetra performing alongside the BPO featuring conductors JoAnn Falletta and Emily Schaad.
Ticket Prices:
$15 – General Admission
$25 – General Admission + Alumni Reception
Free – All students

Tchaikovsky Meets Elfman
2026-03-07 19:30, 2026-03-08 14:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
A myriad of eclectic instruments—including pots, pans, and metal gadgets—accompany world-renowned percussionist Colin Currie and his BPO brethren in performing Danny Elfman’s Percussion Concerto, which was written for Currie himself. Sounds in the piece are influenced by Elfman’s traveling experience, where he played many metal-based instruments. The concerto, offbeat and idiosyncratic, was orchestrated without brass or woodwinds. Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony was a topic of debate following its composition, as Russian and Western musical tradition joined hands, resulting in a beloved, emotionally lyrical masterpiece. The piece originated as program music—accompanying ideas or a story—about Fate, and its motif can be heard throughout the symphony. Though once plagued by poor reviews and Tchaikovsky’s personal self-doubt, Symphony No. 5 endures and proves its widespread appeal as it continues to bring enjoyment to concert halls like Kleinhans.
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Colin Currie, percussion
DANNY ELFMAN Percussion Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor

Tim Burton's Batman (1989) in Concert | Film with Live Orchestra
2026-03-14 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Ron Spigelman, conductor
The Bat Signal lights up Buffalo when the BPO performs Danny Elfman’s iconic score live while the star-studded Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson movie is projected above the orchestra.
™ & © DC and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Rick Steves' Europe: A Symphonic Journey
2026-03-15 19:00 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
In partnership with Buffalo Toronto Public Media
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Join Rick Steves and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on a spectacular musical journey through Europe. This unique special blends powerful Romantic-era anthems from composers like Strauss, Grieg, and Verdi with breathtaking visuals and Rick’s cultural insights. Experience Europe’s history, the passion for freedom, and the spirit of unity across borders. Perfect for lovers of music, history, and travel.

Brahms & Bruch
2026-03-20 10:30, 2026-03-21 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
The concert opens with The Banks of Green Willow, George Butterworth’s idyllic work comprised of two English folk songs. The pastoral piece premiered just two years before the promising young composer’s demise in the trenches of World War I. German composer Max Bruch was similarly fascinated with folk song and captivated by Scottish traditions. He wove these melodies into his violin showpiece, Scottish Fantasy. The orchestration aurally paints many Scottish scenes for listeners as Bruch emulates bagpipes and war music. Meanwhile, in Brahms’ expressive Symphony No. 1, finely dubbed “Beethoven’s Tenth”—the composer set out to follow in the musical giant’s footprints after hearing his Ninth Symphony. While many Early-Romantic composers attempted to emulate Beethoven through stark contrasts and an abundance of stunning melodies, Brahms followed Beethoven’s precedent for allowing just a few musical ideas to undergo a journey and transformation throughout a piece. Through the development of these ideas, Brahms tells a story, rife with compelling drama. Due to his perfectionism, the piece gestated for twenty-two years before he allowed it to be heard by the public. Listeners will swing on the emotional pendulum as the movements progress, before the concert ends with a sweeping chorale and majestic final cadence.
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Simone Porter, violin
BUTTERWORTH The Banks of Green Willow
BRUCH Scottish Fantasy
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C minor

Andrew Bird with the BPO
2026-04-07 20:00 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
With a distinctive sound that resists categorization, Grammy-nominated violinist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird makes his debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Balancing swelling sounds with jazz, folk, and pop melodies in an unforgettable display of unique virtuosity, Bird celebrates the 20th anniversary of his acclaimed record The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Featuring a top-to-bottom album performance with orchestral arrangements, Bird caps off the performance with a suite of fan-favorite tunes from his near 30-year repertoire.
Since beginning his recording career in 1997, Andrew Bird has released 18 albums and performed extensively across the globe, headlining concerts at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and festivals worldwide. Bird has been a featured TED Talks presenter, a New Yorker Festival guest, and an op-ed contributor for the New York Times. He performed as the Whistling Caruso in Disney’s The Muppets and scored the FX Series Baskets. Shortly after receiving his 2020 Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album, Bird made his professional acting debut in the cast of FX’s Fargo. In 2025, Bird celebrates the 20th anniversary of his acclaimed record The Mysterious Production of Eggs with a limited run of concerts, performing the record for the first time in its entirety alongside a full orchestra.

Masterclass with Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar
2026-04-10 19:00 | Clement House @ 786 Delaware Ave., 786 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, 14209, United States
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra hosts incredible guest artists each year on our Classics Series. We make many of these masters available to the community in our Masterclass series. These artists will work one-on-one with talented local students in front of a live audience. All events are FREE with a required reservation. Please send application and recording to rpudlewski@bpo.org.
DEADLINE: March 20, 2026
All applicants notified by March 27th.
Questions?
Rachael Pudlewski
Associate Director of Education
rpudlewski@bpo.org or (716) 242-7822

Pablo's Guitar
2026-04-11 19:30, 2026-04-12 14:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
This program will take listeners on a tour of melodies hailing from around the world. Bacewicz’s six-minute Overture for Orchestra was composed during the German occupation of Poland and offers an exciting, perpetually shifting palette of colors. The short duration of this Overture does not keep Bacewicz from demonstrating a litany of orchestral sounds and moods in her composition, overlooked until recently. Meanwhile, Spaniard Joaquin Rodrigo’s animated Concierto de Aranjuez features elaborate instrumentation for classical guitar. The piece took its first recorded form as a Braille manuscript carried into Spain by Rodrigo at the outbreak of the Second World War. Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande Suite offers a contemplative reprieve in a romantic and tragic orchestral retelling of elicit lovers and their star-crossed fate, and Alexander Borodin brings the program’s close with his colorful Symphony No. 2, which evokes the exuberance of Russian folk dances. This concert brings the songs of people across time and space to listeners for an experience full of diverse musical landscapes.
Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, conductor
Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar
BACEWICZ Overture for Orchestra
RODRIGO Concierto de Aranjuez
FAURÉ Pelléas et Mélisande Suite
BORODIN Symphony No. 2 in B minor

Disney in Concert: A Dream Is A Wish
2026-04-17 10:30, 2026-04-18 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Ron Spigelman, conductor
A Dream Is A Wish transports audiences into the musical world of classic and contemporary Disney Animated Feature films to discover that dreams really do come true. Join us as we awaken a little mermaid who longs to be human, a lion cub who struggles to find his place in the circle of life, and two sisters who wish to warm a frozen relationship. The stories of The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, Aladdin, and more are told through the talents of four Broadway-caliber singers, original Disney film footage, and sweeping orchestral scores performed by your Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Ron Spigelman. The magic of Disney storytelling comes to life once again and reminds us anew that anything is possible, “…if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.”
Presentation authorized by Disney Concerts © All rights reserved.
Subscription packages for the 2025-26 concert season are available now at bpo.org/subscriptions.

Peter and the Wolf
2026-04-19 14:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Grant O’Brien, conductor
Brandon Williamson, narrator
Meet the instruments of the orchestra representing each character in this thrilling symphonic fairy tale of Peter and his adventures to capture the wolf.

Mendelssohn & Dvořák
2026-04-24 10:30, 2026-04-25 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
The concert opens with Franco-Brazilian composer Elodie Bouny’s striking homage to the Amazon rainforest and the destruction it has faced in the form of Ignis—meaning “fire.” The piece serves as a contemporary complement to Mendelssohn’s exquisite and romantic Violin Concerto, which features a turning-point cadenza as a center jewel. Award-winning soloist Amaryn Olmeda brings Mendelssohn’s virtuosic and vivacious melodies to the stage. Countering the sparkling energy of the concerto, but no less joyful, Dvořák’s pastoral Symphony No. 8 vividly depicts Czech songs and dances through rich, pleasing melodies and harmonies. The symphony reflects the composer’s musings on the implications of nature, as well as his own experience enjoying its benefits.
Roberto Minczuk, conductor
Amaryn Olmeda, violin
ELODIE BOUNY Ignis
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor
DVOŘAK Symphony No. 8 in G major

BPO UpClose: Musical Machinery
2026-04-29 19:00 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Two immersive performances designed as a unique, intimate, informal concert experience. Led by BPO concertmaster Nikki Chooi and host BPO bassist Jonathan Borden, the program provides backstory and insight to the short classical music pieces while the audience is seated around the orchestra.

The Music of The Tragically Hip with The Strictly Hip
2026-05-01 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Bradley Thachuk, conductor
The music of Canada’s most popular rock band heats up Kleinhans with the return engagement of The Strictly Hip and their faithful interpretation of The Hip’s classic tunes.
Subscription packages for the 2025-26 concert season are available now at bpo.org/subscriptions.

Leslie Odom, Jr.
2026-05-02 19:30 | Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY, 14201, United States
Ron Spigelman, conductor
The multi-talented Tony® and GRAMMY® winner returns to the BPO for one-night-only performing the best of Broadway and the American Songbook, from jazz standards to poignant medleys.
Subscription packages for the 2025-26 concert season are available now at bpo.org/subscriptions.
