Jan 11, 2019
A new year brings a new round of performances in the Martine Performing Arts Series at St. Bonaventure University, and the spring semester’s offerings open with a performance by a group hailed by The Washington Post as “Washington, D.C.’s most energetic and eclectic band.”

Scythian, which one critic praised for “reinventing folk-rock in America,” will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in Rigas Theater of St. Bonaventure’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The concert is free for St. Bonaventure students, faculty and staff. A limited number of tickets are available to the general public at $5 each, and are available by calling the Quick Center at (716) 375-2494.

“This will be our first time at St. Bonaventure and we’re excited to be playing the Quick auditorium,” said a band spokesperson.

The university is just as excited about the band’s visit, said Dr. Leslie Sabina, chair of the university’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts, which plans and executes the annual Martine series.

“Scythian is a unique band with a unique sound that has played to rave reviews across the U.S. and Canada, and overseas,” said Sabina. “They were suggested to us by Kathryn Black, one of our music lecturers, who saw them perform a couple of years ago in D.C. and said it was fabulous, one of the best concerts she’s ever attended. We think they will be enthusiastically received by our students and the Olean community alike.”

Scythian, which is based in D.C., was founded about 12 years ago by brothers Alexander and Danylo Fedoryka, sons of Ukrainian immigrants. What began as a group of college buddies playing Celtic music in the streets has matured into a band that is a headliner on Celtic, bluegrass and Americana festival circuits. 

The band is known for its energetic performances of what it calls “old time, good time music.” After a recent performance in Winston-Salem, N.C., a review in The Camel-City Dispatch read, “The playing is technically brilliant, but it is the energy that carries the day.”

Other Martine Series performances through this spring semester have been announced. They include:

• 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28
  Jazz ’n’ Wings with Les Sabina and the Septet
  Campus Rathskeller
  This event, which is free to all, features the Southern Tier’s best “jazzers” performing contemporary pieces culled from the swing and bepop traditions. Free chicken wings will be served.
• 7 p.m. Monday, March 25
  Sal Andolina’s Mixed Bag, featuring members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
  Rigas Theater, Quick Center
  Andolina makes a return visit to campus with his BPO colleagues, presenting a variety of classical musical styles and repertoires. The concert is free to the campus community, with a limited number of tickets available to the general public at $5 each.
• 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10
  Repertorio Espanol presents “El Quijote” (in Spanish with English superscript)
  Rigas Theater, Quick Center
  New York City-based theater company Repertorio Espanol will present an adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes’ epic novel that follows the misadventures of Don Quijote and his loyal squire, Sancho Panza. The performance is free to the campus community, with a limited number of tickets available to the general public at $5 each.

Additional information on these upcoming performances will be presented in individual news releases prior to each event.

The Martine Performing Arts Series is dedicated to expanding the arts curriculum beyond the classroom walls. “The aim is to bring many different types of musical genres to the campus and local communities,” said Sabina, noting performances are hand-picked by faculty so as to complement the arts curriculum at SBU.

The series is funded by a grant from the James J. Martine Faculty Development Endowment. Named after a longtime former English professor, the endowment funds activities designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning within the core curriculum at St. Bonaventure.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, we believe in the goodness of every person and in the ability of every person to do extraordinary things. St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. Named the #1 regional university value in New York and #2 in the North by U.S. News and World Report, we are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers in the context of our renowned liberal arts tradition.