The Buffalo Community Orchestra (BCO) is conducting a search for a Concertmaster and Principal Second Violin to begin in the 2023-2024 Season.
OVERVIEW: The Buffalo Community Orchestra maintains an orchestra comprised of talented local amateur and professional musicians organized to serve the community by giving musical performances of high quality.

QUALIFICATIONS:
• Minimum bachelor’s degree, or the equivalent in Violin Performance.
• Experience leading a full orchestra.
• Background with Music Education a plus.
• Must have proven ability to exercise leadership in developing the total artistic quality of a symphony orchestra and/or violin section

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Coordinate with conductor and other string principals to set bowings and distribute to all section members.
• Attend all scheduled services (rehearsals and performances). Principals are expected to be at rehearsal and ready to play at least five minutes prior to start.
• Responsible for preparing all solo excerpts within the selected repertoire.
• Prepare for all rehearsals by being ready and familiar with music; and lead sectional rehearsals.
• Encourage musical development and orchestral playing skills within the section.
• Be available for pre-concert and post-concert interviews and musical demonstrations
as part of the pre-concert lectures.

TERM:
• Concertmaster and Principal Second Violin are independent contractors.
• Yearly contract from September 1 to June 30.
• Five concerts per season, rehearsals are Sundays 4:30 to 7:00
• Compensation rates: Concertmaster $125/service; Principal Second Violin $100/service
• Rehearsal and performance venues are held at the Buffalo High School Performing Arts Center and the Buffalo Band Shell.

AUDITIONS:
• Remote Auditions – Please submit an unedited video (in one take) of you performing your solo and all the excerpts. The order of performance is up to you and does not need to reflect the order below. All orchestral excerpts should be performed from the 1st Violin part. If you need electronic copies of the excerpts, please request access by
emailing orchestrabco@gmail.com

Solo:
A movement/section from a concerto of your choice OR a virtuosic solo work of your choice. Your selection should last between 5-10 minutes.
Orchestral Excerpts:
1. Strauss Jr., Overture to Die Fledermaus – Beginning to measure 40
2. Copland, Appalachian Spring (suite for full orchestra) – Rehearsal [6] to 2 measures after rehearsal [10]
3. Verdi, Prelude to Act III of La Traviata – Beginning to measure 30

Submit a letter of interest, resume and an unlisted YouTube link of your audition to: Search Committee at orchestrabco@gmail.com

Please submit all materials by Friday June 30, 2023

Emily is a violinist from Syracuse, New York and began studying violin at age 8 in her elementary school orchestra. She studied privately from middle school through high school with Shelby Dems and Edgar Tumajyan, a violinist of Symphoria. Following high school, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance from Ithaca College under the mentorship of Calvin Wiersma.

Emily has performed in many masterclasses for world-renowned performers and teachers such as Stefan Jackiw, Benjamin Baker, The Israeli Chamber Project, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, and more. She has performed throughout Europe and the United States as a chamber and orchestral musician, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Kodak Hall. In addition to her performing career, Emily maintains a private violin and viola studio, teaching students of all ages and abilities. Emily currently resides in Minnesota and enjoys cooking, coffee, and dogs.

We hope to prepare a wonderful program of music for our audience online in early November. Watch for more information to come!

Looking for a fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Join BCO as we host a fun night of music, dancing, food, beverages (available for purchase from the Legion) and of course FUN! There will also be numerous silent auction items available to bid on a purchase, with all proceeds going directly to the scholarship foundation!

The event takes place Saturday, February 8, 2020 from 7pm-11pm at the Buffalo Minnesota American Legion Club, 304 10th Ave. South, Buffalo at the Buffalo Minnesota American Legion Club, 304 10th Ave. South, Buffalo, MN.

Price of admission is $10 and includes music from area musicians including White Wave (70’s and 80’s and original music!) and Group Decision (Jazz, Rock, Swing, Latin …40’s to Today!).

Last year’s event raised over $1600 to help with scholarships for area musicians. Three winners were announced last year!

For more information, to make a donation or donate a silent auction item, contact Kendell Kubasch at 612-381-7472.

Buffalo Community Orchestra is celebrating its 25th year this October with its Brass Spectacular concert featuring the BCO Brass section, the BHS Jazz I ensemble, and special guests Bob Baca and Buffalo’s own Joyce Lyons. Ranging from the Renaissance era to contemporary Jazz, this concert has a variety of pieces sure to entertain music lovers of all types!

Joining the BCO as a special guest will be Robert (Bob) Baca, Professor of Trumpet and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Mr. Baca has performed with ensembles such as the Milwaukee Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, as well as legendary singers Frank Sinatra and Tony Benett. He also directs the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Jazz Ensemble I, a two-time Grammy nominated group which holds the title of the first jazz ensemble to tour in China since they opened their borders to the western world.

Baca will be leading two workshops the day before the concert for local and high school musicians. The first will focus on jazz musicianship, and the second will focus on classical brass, a form started in the late Renaissance period that has continued to this day. Micah Kafka, a BHS senior in Jazz I, says “I’m excited for the jazz workshop with Bob Baca because he’s a lot more experienced than me in the ways of jazz, and every time we’ve worked with a guest musician, I’ve learned a lot.”
Joyce Lyons, jazz vocalist, will also be featured as a special guest artist on the jazz piece It’s Been a Long, Long Time. Joyce is a resident of Buffalo, Minnesota, but has spent over thirty years performing in New York. She is currently the vocalist for the West Metro Big band and is a board member of the Central Minnesota Arts board. This is not the first time she’s performed with Bob Baca. “We met several years ago through BCO member Kendall Kubasch and we actually did an impromptu performance that evening,” said Lyons.

In her time in New York, Joyce performed in cabaret, clubs, musical theater, and even stand-up comedy. “I haven’t sung this particular tune [It’s Been a Long, Long Time] before, but I have spent the majority of my career singing songs from the great American Songbook, and this fits right in.” Lyons has immersed herself into a variety of artistic mediums and genres. When asked to choose a favorite, Joyce said: “Hard to say what my favorite genre would be… I like all music. I thought musical theater was going to be it, and it was for a while, but I moved on and spent many years embracing the great composers. And then I steeped myself in the musical stylings of the great jazz vocalists. One can never stop learning. Jazz just seems to suit me.”

The Buffalo High School’s Jazz I ensemble will also perform with the BCO. Who better to perform alongside jazz veterans such as Baca and Lyons than the next generation of jazz artists? Jazz I is the top of three audition only jazz groups in the high school and is directed by Scott Rabehl. “We were so pleased to be asked to join the BCO and Bob Baca for this performance. The jazz experience at BHS is designed to provide both educational and performing opportunities for its students. Between rehearsing and performing with adult musicians, interacting the BCO strings, backing up world class jazz musicians such as Joyce Lyons and Bob Bacca, and jazz and brass Master Classes led by Mr. Baca, this will be a mountain top experience for BHS band students, “ Rabehl said.

Every piece in the program will highlight the brass, as hinted by the title of the concert. One such piece is Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzon duodecimi toni, from Sacrae Symphoniae, the composition that made Giovanni’s name. The piece features a double brass choir, which meant that if played in a Renaissance church, the two ensembles would be separated by the audience and would perform music facing each other.

Bach’s famous Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring will also be performed, in an arrangement that features a trumpet solo performed by special guest Bob Baca. Following Jesu will be the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, a piece composed during a period of great turmoil in Tchaikovsky’s personal life. The horns, woodwinds, and trumpets exemplify what he called “the fatal power which prevents one from attaining the goal of happiness” while the rest of the orchestra slowly joins the theme. After intermission, the BCO will perform Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, Movement Three. This piece features a hunting motive first introduced by the french horns and carried throughout the entire wind and brass sections.

The concert will close with a piece that was dedicated to and was commissioned by Doc Severinsen: Frank Proto’s A Carmen Fantasy for Trumpet and Orchestra. This piece is derived from Georges Bizet’s Carmen.
The concert schedule of events on Sunday, October 27th:
● 1:00 pm Conductor’s Chat with the BCO’s new conductor Hisham Bravo Groover
● 1:30 pm Bravo Strings of Montrose Showcase concert
● 2:00 pm BCO Concert begins
Tickets for the October 27th concert at the Buffalo High School Performing Arts Center are available now at Buffalo Books, online at bcomn.org, and at the door. Adults $15.00, Seniors $12.00. Students and children are free. Save $1.00 on a single ticket purchase when bought in advance.

Mr. Groover will be pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Minnesota beginning this fall, and is coming to Minnesota from Colorado. He has a B.M. in Violin Performance from Loyola University, a M.M. in Violin Pedagogy from Western Kentucky University, a M.A. in Orchestral Conducting from The University of Iowa and an Artist Diploma from The University of Denver. He has served as Associate Conductor of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Arapahoe Philharmonic, and Assistant Conductor of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Groover will be moving from Denver to the twin cities this summer and is already preparing for the coming season. Originally from Querétaro, México, he moved to the U.S. at a young age and grew up in Las Vegas, NV until he left to pursue his education. In his spare time, he enjoys attending concerts and performing chamber music as a violinist. The BCO and the community are very fortunate to have such a qualified, dynamic Music Director/Conductor who will be adding to the aesthetic quality of life in our region.