By Lee Shepherd
It occurs to me that the community doesn’t take full advantage of the many free or very low-cost concerts offered by the Binghamton University Music Department. Take the weekly Mid-Day Thursday (1:20 p.m.) Concerts during the school year, all in Casadesus Recital Hall in the Fine Arts Building. They’re free and feature up-and-coming student musicians and/or faculty. A special treat will be the May 3 Jazz Mid-Day with guest artist Mark Buselli, who also will perform that evening with the Harpur Jazz Ensemble in the Osterhout Concert Theatre of the Anderson Center.
Throughout the academic year, faculty and student recitals abound. At Tuesday night’s Friedheim Memorial Lecture (April 24), violinist Janey Choi, pianist Michael Salmirs and soprano Mary Burgess gave a stunning performance of Brahms’ Regenlieder, songs about rain and nature that evolved into the Violin Sonata No. 1 in G, Op. 78. Choi beautifully described this evolution in a short lecture that took audience members through the works, with explanations fascinating to students of music of all levels.
Upcoming music department concerts include the following:

  • 3 p.m. Saturday (April 28) in the Osterhout Concert Theatre — “The Three B’s (Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach),” the University Orchestra with violinist Choi and oboist John Lathwell;
  • 3 p.m Sunday (April 29) in the Anderson Center Chamber Hall — Harpur Chorale and Women’s Chorus “Sing Into Spring”;
  • 8:30 p.m. May 1 in Casadesus Recital Hall — free recital by the string department;
  • 8 p.m. May 3 — the aforementioned jazz concert;
  • 10:15 a.m. May 4 in Fine Arts Room 21 — Flute Studio recital;
  • 3 p.m. May 5 in the Chamber Hall — the Wind Symphony celebrates Cinco de Maya.

For ticket information on all these concerts, call the Anderson Center box office at 777-ARTS.