June in Buffalo 2023: Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

 Tuesday, June 6

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

7:30pm, UB Center for the Arts

Fernanda Lastra, conductor

June in Buffalo welcomes back the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, who will perform the first evening concert of the 2023 Festival with an exciting program of works by the JiB’s senior composers and its long-time Artistic Director, David Felder. The program includes Mathew Rosenblum’s Eliza Furnace and Melinda Wagner’s Proceed, Moon, along with David Felder’s Die Dämmerungen: movements 1-3. The BPO will be led by Maestra Fernanda Lastra. Ms. Lastra is the BPO’s Conductor Diversity Fellow, a post she assumed in September 2022.

(Source: https://www.fernandalastra.com/gallery )

Fernanda Lastra was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina. As a passionate and creative conductor, she is interested in a wide variety of repertoire, including symphonic, contemporary, and operatic works. In 2022, Fernanda is appointed Conductor Diversity Fellow at the Buffalo Philharmonic under the mentorship of JoAnn Falletta. In this role Fernanda serves as assistant conductor, cover conductor, and main conductor for the BPO Family Kids series and Music for Youth concerts. Fernanda also serves as a member of the BPO’s artistic team, the BPO's music education committee and the BPO’s Diversity Council, among other responsibilities.

As guest conductor Fernanda has led professional and youth orchestras in the United States, Argentina, and Brazil. Some of her previous engagements include conducting the National Orchestra of Argentine Music "Juan de Dios Filiberto" at the CCK National Auditorium in Buenos Aires, and the production of Missy Mazzoli's opera Song from the Uproar in collaboration with Demaskus Theatre and Kassia Ensemble in Pittsburgh.

Fernanda Lastra is a passionate advocate for Latin American composers, especially those from Argentina. In 2020, Fernanda created Compositores.AR, a cycle of interviews of Argentinian composers in collaboration with MúsicaClasicaBA in Buenos Aires.

From 2021-2022 Fernanda Lastra served as Director of Orchestras at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, where she led the Symphony and Chamber orchestras. She also served as Assistant conductor for the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra from 2018-2022.

More about the history of Buffalo’s remarkable and innovative BPO, including its various connections to the Music Department at the University at Buffalo.
http://edgeofthecenter.blogspot.com/2017/06/

David Felder · Die Dammerungen Mvt 1 Excerpt

 David Felder’s Die Dämmerungen was commissioned by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and premiered by the Orchestra in 2019. Here is a sample