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New BPO assistant conductor debuts at free Hispanic Heritage concert Friday at Kleinhans

BPO

In most American cities, the assistant conductor assists. But in Buffalo, he conducts—a lot! Todd Craven is the new "AC with the BPO."

The former trumpet player and his wife moved to Allentown early this summer and says he loves all the coffee shops in the area. Caffeine is almost as important as his conductor's baton because of the workload: leading all the Music For Youth concerts, the BPO Kids Series, several Pops concerts, and many special events starting with the Hispanic Heritage Celebration this Friday, September 21 at 7 p.m. at Kleinhans Music Hall. It's Craven's debut conducting with the BPO and the concert is FREE!

Everyone is invited to join new Assistant Conductor Todd Craven and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for a musical celebration of the Latin sound. From classical works like Ginastera's "Malambo" to de Falla's "Miller's Dance" to Abreu's "Tico Tico" to Marquez "Danzon No. 2" this evening promises to be loud and energetic. "Salsa dance power couple Fanny and Calvin" will return to the Kleinhans stage for this.

The concert is free and open to the public, but the BPO does request that you reserve your tickets by visiting their website.

Credit BPO
Todd Craven has been selected to be the BPO's Assistant Conductor and his debut is the free concert this Friday 9/212 at 7 p.m. at Kleinhans

Even though "semi-retired," Peter Hall continues to wear many hats. He is the Sunday afternoon host on WBFO’s “sister station,” WNED Classical where he has produced over 1,000 radio interviews with musical artists. If you see him at a theater with a pen in his hand, he’s probably getting ready to co-host “Theater Talk” with Anthony Chase (heard Friday mornings at 6:45 and 8:45 a.m. on WBFO) or to write a review for www.buffalorising.com. He is also a member of the "Artie Awards" committee (think “Tony Awards for Buffalo theaters”).