Buffalo native & Grammy-winning classical guitarist Jason Vieaux to perform varied concert - from Bach to Pat Metheny - at UB

University at Buffalo Press Release

The University at Buffalo department of music is privileged to present Jason Vieaux, one of the world’s finest classical guitarists, to perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in UB’s Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall.

From his performances, Vieaux has cemented his reputation as an artist of brilliance and uncompromised mastery. He will perform the following program:

• J.S. Bach – Cello Suite #1, BWV 1007 (arr. Vieaux)
• Leo Brouwer – El Decameron Negro
• Pat Metheny – Four Paths of Light, composed for and dedicated to Mr. Vieaux
• J.S. Bach – Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001 (arr. Vieaux)

Tickets are $20. Advance tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster: https://www.ticketmaster.com/slee-visiting-artists-series-jason-vieaux-buffalo-new-york-03-09-2024/event/00005F02D7948F85, at the Center for the Arts box office, or at the Slee Hall box office within the hour before concert time.

UB students with a valid ID are entitled to one complimentary ticket (to this and all UB music department concerts), and may pick up their complimentary ticket right before the concert.

Vieaux will also lead a two-hour master class, a coaching session where he will be working with UB guitar students in a public setting, at 4 p.m. Friday, March 8, in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall. This class is free and open to the public.

Vieaux has been described as “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” by Gramophone and has been hailed as “virtuosic, flamboyant, dashing, and sometimes ineffably lyrical” by the New York Times. Vieaux has performed with numerous orchestras, including Cleveland, Toronto, St. Louis, Houston and Columbus, and has made premiere recordings with the Nashville Symphony (Leshnoff Concerto) and the Norrköping Symphony (Beal Six Sixteen). He also has enjoyed repeated invitations from distinguished series, including San Francisco Performances, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the 92nd Street Y. In 2015, Vieaux won a Grammy in the category of Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his 2014 album, “Play,” which the Huffington Post declared as “part of the revitalized interest in the classical guitar.”

Vieaux is long sought-after for his extensive concerto repertoire, from Bach to Tárrega, and Spanish classics to contemporary. In March 2021, he performed the premiere recording of a new four-movement solo guitar suite, “Four Paths of Light,” composed for him by jazz legend Pat Metheny for his new album, “Road to The Sun.” The work was around 10 years in the making, after Metheny and Vieaux met and became friends while attending each other’s concerts and exchanging albums.

As a teacher, Vieaux co-founded the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2011 and has taught for over 25 years at his alma mater, the Cleveland Institute of Music. Growing up in Buffalo, he studied classical guitar with one of the founding members of Buffalo Guitar Quartet, Jeremy Sparks.

UB faculty member and guitarist Sungmin Shin has built a festival around Vieaux’s concert, titled the 2024 Buffalo International Guitar Festival. Information about the overall event can be found at: https://2024bufguitarfest.wordpress.com/.

For more, visit www.jasonvieaux.com.