Oct 04, 2019

Acclaimed accordion and bandoneón player Julien Labro will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. It is the second concert in the 2019-2020 Friends of Good Music performance season.

In a concert titled “The Art of the Accordion,” Labro will guide the audience through the history of these two related instruments, performing works by Albeniz, Bach, Scarlatti, a French medley, tangos by the late Argentine bandoneón virtuoso Astor Piazzolla, and some compositions of his own.

Heralded by the Chicago Tribune as “the next accordion star,” Labro has established himself as the foremost accordion and bandoneón player in the classical and jazz genres. He’s been described as “a triple threat: a brilliant technician, poetic melodist and cunning arranger.” His artistry, virtuosity and creativity as a musician, composer and arranger have earned him international acclaim, and he continues to astonish audiences worldwide.

French-born, Labro picked up the accordion at age 9. His earliest influence was traditional folk music and the melodic, lyrical quality of the French chanson. After graduating from the Marseille Conservatory and sweeping first prize in many international accordion competitions, he moved to the United States to further pursue his musical dream.

Piazzolla, a major influence on Labro and the reason he picked up the instrument, is also the title of Labro’s album with classical guitarist and Grammy Award-winner Jason Vieaux and A Far Cry chamber orchestra. Labro is also featured on “Another Country,” an album by Grammy Award-winning vocalist Cassandra Wilson, and on the Hot Club of Detroit’s critically acclaimed “Junction” LP.

Labro has worked with numerous symphonies and chamber ensembles around the world, and his musical journey has taken him all across North America, Europe, the Middle East and South America. He has performed and collaborated with diverse artists such as Brazilian legend João Donato, big-band leader Maria Schneider, Lebanese oud master Marcel Khalife, saxophonists Paquito D’Rivera, Miguel Zenón, James Carter, Chris Cheek, Jon Irabagon and Victor Goines, clarinetist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, and guitarists Howard Alden, Larry Coryell, Frank Vignola, Tommy Emmanuel, and John and Bucky Pizzarelli.

Labro will perform with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2020.

Subscription tickets for the remainder of the Friends of Good Music season are still available. A basic subscription, which includes one ticket to each of six concerts, is $102 at full price, $84 for senior citizens and St. Bonaventure employees. An extended subscription (seven concerts) costs $112 at full price, $92 for senior citizens and SBU employees.

Single ticket prices for each concert are $20 at full price, $16 for senior citizens and SBU employees, and $5 for students.

For tickets and information, call The Quick Center at (716) 375-2494.

For each Friends of Good Music performance, The Quick Center will open its galleries one hour before the performance and keep them open throughout the intermission. Regular gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 

Museum admission is free and open to the public year round. For more information, visit www.sbu.edu/quickcenter.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2019, St. Bonaventure was named the #1 regional university value in New York and #2 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.