Buffalo, although one of the smaller big cities in the U.S. is still quite an important city for the arts. In the mid 1900’s it stood at the center of the New Music Scene and the University of Buffalo was an important training ground for cutting edge composers. This changed, for the worse, as the new millennium approached, but that doesn’t mean that great things aren’t happening there.

The director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, one of the leading conductors in the country and one of the only female conductors, not to mention the first, of a major American Orchestra, hosts an annual International Guitar Concerto Competition. Excitement in the area is high as the finals are set for tomorrow. Information can be found here.

This is an important event for guitarists that are just beginning their careers and I feel that Western New York is lucky to be host to a unique event such as this. If you are in the area I would suggest checking it out, or at the very least listening to the finals tomorrow on WNED, the Buffalo classical music station. You can also listen to the performances of all the semi-finalists here.