JiB 2026 Senior Composer Introduction Series: Ming Tsao

To continue our series, we have the pleasure of introducing Ming Tsao, Birge-Cary Chair in Composition at the music department here at UB.

EofC: Describe the moment when you discovered your calling to music.

 

Tenth grade in high school is when I discovered my calling to music. This is the moment when I switched from playing violin in the school orchestra to learning the electric bass and forming my jazz/fusion band. I also began composing pieces at this time for my bandmates.

EofC:This is the JiB year of the composer/conductor. How do composing and conducting relate to each other in your practice?

I don't conduct my music but have, over the years, formed relationships with conductors of my music where I trust them to interpret my music. Occasionally, this has led to a collaboration where a conductor would suggest modifications to help the performance situation which I usually agree to.

EofC: What place does the audience have in your compositional process?

I think it is important to respect the intelligence of the audience (or listener) during my compositional process by making each piece ambitious as to require effort and a reorientation from a listener. In other words, to offer a listener an experience which at a first listening may not sound like music. My goal is for a listener to sense their full human potential in grasping an experience that can be both difficult and rewarding, and for each listener to apprehend that they are capable of much more than what is often prescribed for them. Listening is an attribute of intelligence, and the goal of a composer is to create works that can challenge one's capacity for intelligence.

EofC: How do you approach giving masterclasses?

I always try to meet a student where they are and challenge them from their vantage point. As a composer is more experienced, my approach becomes less involved with practical matters and craftsmanship and more centered around aesthetics.

EofC: How do you approach giving public lectures?

The importance of public lectures is to give the public an intellectual context for a musical work so that they have some ideas before experiencing the piece, since artworks should form part of a larger cultural discourse. The ideas should never be directed as if to instruct a listener as to how a piece should be heard but rather, to give background contextual information so that a listener's experience can be an informed one.  It is always important to maintain a balance between giving a context for a composition and describing the composition. Giving a context is open ended and traces some of the ideas that prepared the piece from which a listener can build their own experiences.

Edge of the Center thanks Ming Tsao for the interview. We hope it will help you, the reader, to come to know him. If you are interested to hear a work from the composer, look below where you'll find a recent performance of Ming's by Neuevocalsolisten Stuttgart here at UB!

JiB 2026 Senior Composer Introduction Series: David Dzubay

This is the first of a series of posts which will be introducing our five senior composers for the 2026 June in Buffalo festival. We at Edge of the Center have sent a few questions to each of the senior composers to help introduce themselves to you, our readers.

We begin with David Dzubay.

EofC Describe the moment when you discovered your calling to music.

Dzubay A moment? That is hard. I was lucky in my high school years to play trumpet in one of the best and oldest youth orchestras - the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Highlights that I'm sure tilted me toward a lasting love for music were playing Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms, Holst Planets, and one year, both Rite of Spring and Daphnis et Chloe on tour to the Spoleto Festival. At the same time, my high school had an incredible arts program, with an hour of trumpet class and an hour or two of jazz ensemble every day. Many fantastic experiences.

EofC This is the JiB year of the composer/conductor. How do composing and conducting relate to each other in your practice?

Dzubay After years as a fairly serious trumpeter, sort of wrapping up playing in the National Repertory Orchestra for two years, composing and conducting took over, and I have always been doing both. My early model was Harvey Sollberger, who was a frequent JIB guest, and I played under his direction for years as a student at IU. Conducting has certainly informed my approach to many aspects of composing, but particularly choice of meters, use (or not) of fermatas, score organization and clarity of intent, strategies for more complex textures, rhythms, balances, etc.

EofC What place does the audience have in your compositional process and what place do they have while conducting?

Dzubay I do want my music to be heard by an audience, so that is important! But, my first audience is myself....I try to write music that is personally compelling, and have to trust that if I'm excited about hearing a piece, at least some others might be. I do think a conductor helps the audience understand the music, not unlike how the conductor leads the way for the musicians. Gestures and expressions at least partly lead an audience through the expressive experience.

EofC How do you approach giving masterclasses?

Dzubay In masterclasses, usually we are reviewing existing work, so it is a bit different than in a lesson focusing on a work in progress. It would be more of a conversation about the piece, identifying aspects that worked well and perhaps some that didn't quite hit the mark, identifying things to keep in mind for the next project, or potentially adjustments that might yet be made to the piece being presented.

EofC How do you approach giving public lectures?

Dzubay I usually try to offer some general information about my process of composition and go through a few specific examples. In a talk for music specialists, I enjoy getting into the nuts and bolts, answering questions, having a discussion. If you mean for a general audience, it would of course be less technical

If you would like to discover some of David Dzubay's music, see the video below!

Solstsice Reed Quintet plays UB composers at Hallwalls

We are quickly approaching the culmination of yet another collaboration between the UB graduate composers and a professional ensemble! The Solstice Reed Quintet will be in Buffalo on Monday, April 6th as part of the Music Department concert series at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center. The concert will take place at Hallwalls on Monday, April 6th at 7:30 PM.

Reed quintets are a rather new ensemble in the chamber music scene, and one that is growing in popularity. Distinct from a wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon), the reed quintet consists solely of instruments which have reeds, as the name would suggest, while the wind quintet includes other instrument types. The reed quintet was first developed by the Dutch ensemble, Calefax Reed Quintet as recently as 1985! They did this by bringing together oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, and bass clarinet. As with the birth of any new ensemble, the group is obliged to seek composers and arrangers to create a repertoire of pieces for the ensemble to play. It is impressive how quickly a repertoire has come into being, and likewise how quickly the reed ensemble has become an established ensemble within chamber music more broadly. The Solstice Reed Quintet hails from the University of Southern Mississippi, first coming together in 2022. They are firm champions of the unique ensemble, and in their words, their “mission is to present music that challenges, inspires, and offers fresh perspectives on the unique possibilities of this distinct ensemble.” The ensemble has a strong belief in the power of music to build community, and wish to leave a lasting impression on their diverse audiences. They have won a number of competitions, including first prize at the Mississippi Music Teachers Association competition, and were finalists at the North American Saxophone Alliance Flex Competition. Solstice is building a name for themselves, and has a robust schedule of performances at colleges, universities, festivals, and various music venues. This concert will feature new works by Mark Bogacki, Garrison Bouchard-Ferdon, Andres Bonilla Garcia, Sohwa Lee, Thomas Little, Giovanni Maraboli and Jackson Roush. This group of composers comprises both PhD and Master’s students. It is sure to be a memorable night at Hallwalls, again on Monday, April 6th at 7:30, and it is an exciting opportunity to hear a distinct and recent addition to chamber music ensembles!

Spring Festival featuring Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart

Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart

 

We are quickly approaching a not-to-be-missed visit from Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart starting on Wednesday, April 1^st. This visit will mark the opening of our Spring Festival: The Expanded Musical Canon, a series of four concerts and one lecture. The festival’s concerts will include music from the early Renaissance to our current day.  

As of this writing, UB's Birge-Cary Professor of Composition, Ming Tsao, is in Stuttgart, Germany meeting with Neue Vocalsolisten for a performance similar to the one they will give in Buffalo. The next time Neue Vocalsolisten and Ming Tsao are together will be in our own Lippes concert hall for the April 1^st concert featuring his Das wassergewordene Kanonbuch (2016-17) and Immaterial (2021) by Chaya Czernowin. The concert will also feature the UB Chamber Choir under the direction of Claudia Brown performing Johannes Ockeghem’s Missa Prolationum (late 15th-Century) and Ludovico da Viadana’s Exsultate Justi (early 17th-Century), adding a visit from the Renaissance to the concert experience.

This opening of the Spring Festival will be followed on Thursday the 2^nd with an afternoon lecture on the music of Helmut Lachenmann given by our PhD student composers, and then an evening concert by Neue Vocalsolisten performing works from these same UB composers. Will Brobston, Francisco Corthey, Chi-Yen Huang, Jackson Roush, and Maria Lihuen Sirvent have been working with Neue Vocalsolisten for months now preparing the pieces which you will hear at this concert. It is a phenomenal opportunity for our young composers to work with a world-class ensemble and is sure to be an exciting and ground-breaking concert experience.

Barret Ham

The festival continues on Friday the 3^rd with two more concerts featuring a trio of musicians. The reader will be familiar with the brilliant pianist and UB Professor of Music Eric Huebner, and he is joined by cellist Christopher Gross and clarinetist Barret Ham. Gross has been praised by the New York Times for his “lustrous tone”, and is highly active in the New York contemporary music scene – he is a founding member of the prominent Talea Ensemble. Ham is a Lecturer at Boston University and member of the New York Philharmonic. These three musicians will perform Lachenmann, Tsao, and Brahms (yes, Johannes Brahms) over the two concerts on the 3^rd.

Christopher Gross

 

Below you’ll find a complete listing of the events of the festival.

Wednesday April 1
Event: Concert #1
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Lippes Concert Hall
Program: Neue Vocalsolisten & UB Chamber Choir
Missa Prolationum (excerpts) - Ockeghem
Das wassergewordene Kanonbuch - Tsao
Immaterial (excerpt) - Chaya Czernowin

Thursday April 2
Event: Perspectives on Helmut Lachenmann's Allegro Sostenuto
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Baird Recital Hall

Program:

PhD composition students present Lachenmann's Allegro Sostenuto (1988).  

Event: Concert #2 

Time: 7:30PM

Location: Lippes Concert Hall

Program: Neue Vocalsolisten performs UB PhD Student Composers

ah neehat - Jackson Roush

the breath fails, reaching the screaming beneath the rubble - Chi-Yen Huang

Cosas calladas - Francisco Corthey

Imitaciones - Maria Lihuen Sirvent

TERNION - Will Brobston 

Friday, April 3 

Event: Concert #3
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Baird Recital Hall
Program: Christopher Gross, Barret Hall
Pression - Lachenmann
Dal Niente - Lachenmann
Canon - Tsao

Event: Concert #4
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Lippes Concert Hall
Program: Christopher Gross, Barret Hall, Eric Huebner
Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Opus 114 - Brahms
Allegro Sostenuto - Lachenmann

Jon Nelson on Why Music Matters Podcast

UB's own Jon Nelson was recently a guest on the Why Music Matters Podcast hosted by Jeff Miers. Miers was the music critic for The Buffalo News from 2002-2023, where he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2008. No stranger to podcasting, in his credits is "Gusto Sessions with Jeff Miers" which he co-hosted with Robby Takac of Goo Goo Dolls fame. Miers was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 2014 as a musician and journalist. Alongside his journalism career, he has been a mainstay in the Buffalo and Western New York music scenes as bandleader and sideman. In 2022 he released his debut solo album Dharma for None. 

 

Check out the interview below: 

 

Slee Sinfonietta to Play Buffalo Composers

  

The Slee Sinfonietta will be performing a potpourri of short solo works honoring composers associated with the city of Buffalo on Wednesday, March 4^th at 7:30PM. This unique concert will feature faculty and student performers from Music Department at UB. The concert will feature a wide array of soloists: hornist Ariel Arney, violist Leanne Darling, cellist and artistic director of the Sinfonietta Jonathan Golove, oboeist Megan Kyle, soprano Tiffany Du Mouchelle, guitarist Sungmin Shin, percussionist Steve Solook, and violinist Melissa White.

Readers of the blog who attended the Morton Feldman @100 festival will be delighted to know that this concert will feature rarely performed shorter works of the venerated composer, including two pieces which each clock in at only one-and-a-half minutes! Rarely will you hear the composer in a more distilled fashion! 

 

Morton Feldman at UB with Creative Associates: Julius Eastman, Jan Williams, William Appleby, David Del Tredici. 1972.

A work of Paul Hindemith will be making an appearance, as the composer did himself at UB at Cameron Baird’s request in 1940. Former faculty composers David Felder and Jeffery Stadelman will also be featured, neither strangers to Slee Hall. Bringing the concert into the Buffalo of today are works by guitarist Sungmin Shin, violist Leanne Darling, and PhD student Jackson Roush. Along with being accomplished composers in their own right, Shin and Darling are also beloved professors in the Music Department. Please join us for this delightful concert!

 

 

 

Slee Sinfonietta Plays Composers of the African Diaspora

    We at the Center for 21^st Century Music would like to send you warm regards on this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and announce the upcoming concert by the Slee Sinfonietta featuring music of the African Diaspora. This Wednesday evening, January 21^st at 7:30 in Lippes Concert Hall, the Sinfonietta will be featuring an exiting program of contemporary voices, trailblazers, and under-performed historic masterpieces. Included in the program is Dorothy Rudd Moore, founding member of the Society of Black Composers, whose piece Transcension was written in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1986 for the recognition of his birthday as a national holiday. 

Dorothy Rudd Moore

 

Also on the concert is Samuel Coleridge-Taylor whose career spanned the previous turn of the century. His Nonet in F Minor from 1894 is a rare dip into late Romanticism by the Sinfonietta. 

 

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

 

 Coming into this century, Adolphus Hailstork’s Behold, I Build a House (2018) presents Biblical versus sung by baritone Jaman Dunn-Danger, our evening’s conductor, set against marimba played by John Dawson from the Eastman School of Music. Jonathan Bailey Holland’s The Clarity of Cold Air (2013) is a spacious work that may evoke for many the sublime beauty of the winter season. 

 

Below is a recent performance by Slee Sinfonietta.  

 

 

Ticket information is available here. As always, UB students with a valid ID are entitled to one complimentary ticket.

 2026 opens with Feldman@100, a Morton Feldman centennial celebration

 On January 12 and 13, the UB Department of Music and the Center presented two days of outstanding programming in celebration of Morton Feldman's 100th birthday. An internationally recognized figure and giant of post-war American music, Feldman served as Visiting Slee Professor at UB before being named "Edgard Varèse Professor" in the Department from 1973 until his death in 1987. Over the course of five concerts, a lecture and a panel discussion, Feldman's life and music were put into the context of works by composers he esteemed (Xenakis, Webern, Barbara Monk Feldman, and Schubert), as well as those by current UB doctoral composition students, representing the continuing tradition of musical exploration in the Department. An audience that had in some cases traveled considerable distances to attend Feldman@100 was treated to fabulous performances, including of two of the lengthy later works which are too seldom heard in concert in the USA: Piano and String Quartet, with the remarkable Amy Williams and JACK Quartet, and Piano Trio, with the amazing Horszowski Trio. Congratulations to all the performers, many of whom were UB faculty and graduate students, and special appreciation to Music Dept. Chair Prof. Eric Huebner and Birge-Cary Professor Ming Tsao for the tremendous programming work which made the event revelatory on many levels (Also congrats to Ming for the insightful essay he contributed to the program book!).

 Two of the Feldman@100 concerts are streaming on the Center's YouTube channel. The complete program information is here.

     Concert #4: Schubert, Feldman and Monk Feldman

 Concert #5: Webern and Feldman, incl. Rothko Chapel

Happy 100th, Morty!