David Felder speaks for himself

No overview of June in Buffalo would be complete without a few words on David Felder, who is not only Artistic Director of JiB, but also the Slee Sinfonietta and the Center for 21st Century Music itself. David Felder has long been recognized as a leader in his generation of American composers. His works have been featured at many of the leading international festivals for new music, and he earns continuing recognition through performance and commissioning programs. Felder’s work has been broadly characterized by its highly energetic profile, through its frequent employment of technological extension and elaboration of musical materials (including his “Crossfire” video series), and its lyrical qualities. 


He has earned numerous honors for his composition, and is widely recognized as an important teacher and mentor as well. He has served as dissertation advisor for over forty composers at Buffalo, many of whom are actively teaching, composing and performing internationally at leading institutions. 


David Felder served as Master Artist in Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in February-March, 2010. During that time, the Atlantic Center created a series of video interviews with the composer, in which he speaks eloquently on various topics, including his thoughts on collaboration, working with visual elements, and the question of who he writes his music for. Three of these follow: