St. Bonaventure University

Empire Wild, a trio that fuses the sounds of pop, folk, jazz and more, will perform its program “No Place Like Home” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

 

This is the fifth presentation in the 2022-23 Friends of Good Music performance season. 

 

Winner of the 2020 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Empire Wild is a genre-bending, crossover trio featuring Ken Kubota, Holly Bean and Mitch Lyon. Kubota and Lyon bring all the cello has to offer — bowed, plucked, chopped and more. Bean can be found singing and pushing the piano into any style the group sets its mind on.

 

The three musicians channel their love for musical exploration into their songwriting and composition. 

Their debut EP “Paper Seasons” features all original songs, highlighting the trio’s unique sound and instrumentation.

 

Last season, the trio delighted audiences with their signature mix of original songwriting and unique arrangements at venues across the country, including a stop at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, a concert on the Harriman-Jewell concert series in Kansas City, and a day at the Kaufman Music Center’s Musical Storefronts in Lincoln Center. This fall will feature a Midwest tour through 10 states along with educational workshops in Iowa and Ohio.

 

Individually, each musician is committed to community engagement and teaching. Together as an ensemble, Empire Wild brings creative musical outlets and opportunities to students of all backgrounds and skill levels. They have shared their unusual versatility with students through workshops at the University of Iowa, the Peabody Institute, and the Preucil School, among others. Equally at home in classrooms, intimate salons and large concert halls, Empire Wild brings that sense of community to every performance.

 

Single tickets for this performance 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. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.