Coffee Concerts
Where coffee and conversation come together! Join us on select Friday mornings for BPO Coffee Concerts, with complimentary coffee and doughnuts in the Mary Seaton Room starting at 9:30am, preceding the following 10:30am concerts.
The Coffee Concert Series is presented by Highmark.
2024-25 Season
Dvořák Symphony No. 6
Fri Apr 25, 10:30am
Experience the lush, pastoral beauty of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6, paired with the evocative The Miraculous Mandarin by Bartók and Glazunov’s melodious Violin Concerto. This evening celebrates the rich tapestry of Eastern European music, its cultural heritage, and its influence on the world stage.
Patriotic Pops
Fri May 23, 10:30am
Celebrate Memorial Day weekend with the BPO’s Patriotic Pops program, honoring our nation’s defenders with a stirring selection of America’s most beloved songs and anthems.
Bernstein & Copland
Fri May 30, 10:30am
Two premiere chroniclers of the American experience bookend a program presenting the world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone, written for the BPO and performed by the superb Timothy McAllister.
2025-26 Season
Single tickets for the 2025-26 season will go on sale Saturday, July 12. Subscriptions to the Coffee Concert series are available now!
Fabio, Folklore & Fantasy
Fri Oct 3, 10:30am
Menacing timpani rolls set the tone for Rossini’s solemn Overture to Semiramide, a deceivingly upbeat narration of family rivalries. Bartók’s Dance Suite—featuring five original Hungarian folk soundscapes composed for the 50th anniversary of the merger of Buda and Pest—offers a vibrant musical journey. Chopin’s poetic Piano Concerto No. 1 stands as a sparkling showcase of virtuosity.
Nikki Plays Beethoven
Fri Oct 17, 10:30am
The spirited orchestration of Gould’s Cowboy Rhapsody, filled with yodels and cowboy calls, is complemented by two works by Behzad Ranjbaran. Concertmaster Nikki Chooi masterfully leads Beethoven’s monumental Violin Concerto in D major, celebrated for its improvised cadenzas.
Beethoven’s Pastoral
Fri Oct 24, 10:30am
Britten’s mysterious and moving Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes powerfully interpret an outcast fisherman’s tragic end amid turbulent seas. Buffalo-born Robert Paterson’s colorful Triple Concerto compellingly examines Earth’s fragility, while Beethoven’s gentle Sixth Symphony portrays a charming countryside turn, evoking deep relaxation and contemtment.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in Concert
Film with Live Orchestra
Fri Oct 31, 10:30am
Director Stephen Spielberg’s heartwarming masterpiece is filled with unparalleled magic and imagination in the moving story that follows a lost little alien who befriends a 10-year-old boy named Elliott. Experience all the mystery and fun of their unforgettable adventure, complete with John Williams’ Academy Award®-winning score performed by the BPO while the film is projected overhead.
Mahler & Mahler
Fri Nov 7, 10:30am
Only sixteen Lieder (songs for voice and piano) survive from Alma Mahler’s vast output, as her husband Gustav curtailed her publication efforts. Five poem-based works evoke love—intoxicating, intimate, infinite, and reflective of loves’ past. Gustav’s initially panned Symphony No. 1 employs musical imagery akin to a song cycle, interpreting nature’s joys and sorrows.
JoAnn’s Classical Christmas
Fri Dec 12, 10:30am
Join JoAnn Falletta on a captivating journey through centuries of seasonal music highlighted by soprano Sirgourney Cook performing “O Holy Night,” John Jacob Niles’ “I Wonder as I Wander” and Handel’s “Let the Bright Seraphim” from Samson. Perfect for the whole family, this performance promises a warm, illuminating feast celebrating winter’s spirit and charm.
Holiday Pops
Fri Dec 19, 10:30am
Deck the halls for Western New York’s most cherished holiday tradition! Ron Spigelman conducts a celebration of the sounds of the season with help from the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, the Buffalo United Community Choir, and a few surprises!
Mozart’s Great Mass
Fri Jan 16, 2026, 10:30am
Our Mozart Festival opens with the “Prague” Symphony No. 38, composed on the heels of The Marriage of Figaro‘s tremendous success. Rich in complex subtleties and lyrical sophistication, it spans a full spectrum of emotion. Mozart’s unfinished “Great” Mass in C minor—his most exalted and personal work—was deeply influenced by the Baroque traditions of Bach and Handel. Its original movements journey from somber to soaring, with later 20th-century revisions completing the piece.
Shostakovich No. 5
Fri Feb 6, 2026, 10:30am
Composed to acknowledge an honorary degree despite not attending university, a mischievous Brahms penned the tongue-in-cheek Academic Festival Overture, featuring boisterous student drinking songs. Reinecke’s Concerto in E minor spotlights the harp in a virtuosic display of shimmering arpeggios and rhythmic optimism. The forced optimism of Symphony No. 5, glorifying Stalin’s regime, proved both career- and lifesaving for Shostakovich.
Ruben Studdard – My Tribute to Luther Vandross
Fri Feb 13, 2026, 10:30am
From his roots in Gospel to forays into R&B and Jazz to top winner of American Idol’s second season, Ruben Studdard has always considered Luther Vandross his hero. He recreates the velvet tones of songs like Here and Now, Aint No Stoppin’ Us Now, Always and Forever, andDance with my Father for a sentimental return to the ’80s and ’90s.
Brahms & Bruch
Fri Mar 20, 2026, 10:30am
Two English folk songs form George Butterworth’s idyllic The Banks of Green Willow, premiered just two years before the promising young composer’s demise in the trenches of World War I. German Max Bruch, captivated by Scottish traditions, wove these melodies into his violin showpiece, Scottish Fantasy. Meanwhile, Brahms’ expressive Symphony No. 1, finely dubbed “Beethoven’s Tenth,” gestated for 22 years due to his remarkable perfectionism.
Disney in Concert: A Dream Is A Wish
Fri Apr 17, 2026, 10:30am
A Dream Is A Wish transports audiences into the musical world of classic and contemporary Disney Animated Feature films to discover that dreams really do come true. Join us as we awaken a little mermaid who longs to be human, a lion cub who struggles to find his place in the circle of life, and two sisters who wish to warm a frozen relationship. The stories of The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, Aladdin, and more are told through the talents of four Broadway-caliber singers, original Disney film footage, and sweeping orchestral scores performed by your Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Ron Spigelman. The magic of Disney storytelling comes to life once again and reminds us anew that anything is possible, “…if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.”
Mendelssohn & Dvořák
Fri Apr 24, 2026, 10:30am
Ellen Taafe Zwilich declared her popular Concerto Grosso 1985 as a “20th century response to the spirit of Handel,” created for his 300th birthday celebration. Inspired by Handel’s Violin Sonata in D, in serves as a fitting precursor to Mendelssohn’s exquisite and romantic Violin Concerto in E minor. Dvořák’s pastoral Eighth Symphony vividly depicts Czech songs and dances through rich, pleasing melodic harmonies.
Haydn Cello Concerto
Fri May 8, 2026, 10:30am
Canadian Larysa Kuzmenko composed Fantasy on a Theme by Beethoven in celebration of his birthday. Haydn’s high-spirited and dramatic Cello Concerto No. 1 remained undiscovered for two centuries until its chance 1961 find at the Czech National Library. Fittingly, Grieg’s four charming Symphonic Dances, inspired by Norwegian folk, played a key role in formalizing Norway’s national identity.
Patriotic Pops
Fri May 22, 2026, 10:30am
Join your BPO and the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus for a patriotic tradition as we honor the men and women who have served our country and pay tribute to the American spirit.
American Soundscapes
Fri Jun 5, 2026, 10:30am
Our season concludes with three iconic compositions and two orchestral world premieres. Bernstein’s toe-tapping Three Dance Episodes from On the Town, Copland’s distinctively American Appalachian Spring Suite, and Gershwin’s jazz-infused Rhapsody in Blue are paired with two works rooted in Western New York. Michael Daugherty’s Niagara Falls is a musical journey through one of the world’s great scenic wonders, while Buffalo-born Paul Moravec’s Serenade—inspired by the Great Western Staircase at the New York State Capitol, a marvel of intricate sculpture and history—offers a stirring narrative of ascent and aspiration.