After the last final exam has been taken and the last dorm has been vacated, life still goes on at UB during the summer. In addition to summer classes and workshops, students may also take advantage of the Center for the Arts' yearlong season of entertainment and arts programming.
In the next few weeks, the CFA will present a little bit of everything.
On Friday, vocalist Linda Eder presents a concert of soft-pop and Broadway standards. Eder, who starred on Broadway in her composer-husband Frank Wildhorn's "Jekyll & Hyde" and "The Civil War," has wowed audiences with her breadth and emotion. The USA Today has called her performance captivating, praising that it elevates everything it touches.
Eder will soon be seen on the Great White Way as the title role in Wildhorn's upcoming musical, "Camille Claudel."
A different genre of music is also represented in coming weeks, in the form of 80s/new wave singer David Byrne, former lead singer of the Talking Heads. The singer appears on May 12 on the Mainstage. Byrne's latest release, "Grown Backwards," has received much acclaim for its experimental string arrangements. Byrne will be performing with an orchestra; hopefully both his older Talking Heads and solo material will receive updated arrangements as well.
Backed by a unique mix of emo and pop with a little new wave thrown in for nostalgia, Byrne's accompanying vocals are mundane in tone but deep in content. His rare area performance shouldn't be missed, if only for Byrne's untamed eccentricities.
On June 22, the CFA will host the annual North American Rock Guitar Competition, now in its fourth year. Held as part of the greater Buffalo Niagara Guitar Festival, which includes events all across the Western New York area in many venues, the competition draws a large crowd of guitarists who cover a variety of rock styles.
The competition has gained so much attention in its first three years that last summer's event was taped for broadcast on national PBS channels. It has quickly become a Buffalo summer mainstay, and this year's competition is expected to grow even more.
Taking July off to host a children's theatrical workshop, music returns to the CFA's roster in August for the 2004-2005 10th anniversary season.
Another name from the 80s resurfaces then, Cyndi Lauper on August 8. The former "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" pop rocker turns smooth jazz crooner on her 2003 release, "At Last." The disc covers jazz standards like the titular Etta James classic, Nina Simone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose," as well as Stevie Wonder's "Until You Come Back To Me."
The disc, which presents Lauper in a more refined and sophisticated light than her rebellious teenager 80s persona did, has become a critical darling, and has kept the singer touring non-stop.
The only non-musical artist to appear during the summer months is television veteran Bob Newhart, who speaks on August 13.
Highlights of the upcoming 10th anniversary season are yet to be announced. Already scheduled are author David Sedaris on Oct. 16, comedian Colin Quinn on Nov. 12, Verdi's La Traviata on Feb. 9 and the national tour of Broadway's "Rent" on Feb. 22 and 23.
The complete season is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. For more information on this summers calendar, as well as news on the 2004-05 season, visit the CFA on the Web at www.arts.buffalo.edu. Tickets to all events are available at the CFA box office and at all Ticketmaster locations. Discounted student tickets may be available for certain performances, so be sure to ask ahead.
