Wooden Cities has had the pleasure of working with a number of amazing artists over the past few years. Below is a list of performers and composers who were formerly members of the ensemble, and with whom the group still frequently collaborates. Click here for a list of artists currently working with the ensemble.
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Daniel Bassin is an active conductor, composer, trumpeter and improviser, currently Music Director of the University at Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, a position he began in autumn 2010, and the newly-appointed Music Director/Choir Conductor at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo.
A passionate advocate of contemporary music, Daniel has led first performances of over 80 new works, and has performed as a conductor and trumpeter in 37 countries. In 2008 he acted as assistant conductor for the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra's 16-city tour of the American West Coast and Midwest. In 2012, Daniel was featured as guest conductor for the Williamsville School District String Orchestra Festival, he had his debut as conductor of the Slee Sinfonietta in April of that year, and he also conducted the UB Percussion Ensemble at the 2012 June in Buffalo Festival. In May 2013, Daniel participated in Ensemble Linea's conducting master classes at the Royaumont Abbey, under the tutelage of Peter Eötvös and Jean-Philippe Wurtz, where he was selected to lead a performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Kontra-Punkta.
Tyler J. Borden grew up in Rochester, NY. He has performed with modern music luminaries such as the JACK Quartet, Tony Conrad, and Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky. He has performed at the Soundways New Music Festival in St. Petersburg and June in Buffalo and is currently a member of the SWITCH~ ensemble. He has premiered solo works by composers such as Lena Nietfeld, Ben Isaacs, and Zane Merritt. He has been commissioned to write and perform by a variety of entities, including the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Hochstein Alumni Orchestra, and hammered dulcimer virtuoso Mitzie Collins and he is regularly active as an improviser. His primary teachers have been Elizabeth Simkin and Jonathan Golove. He is currently working towards his DMA at UC San Diego with Charles Curtis.
Jacob Gotlib was born and raised in Louisville, KY, and has written music for instruments, electronics, dance, and multimedia. His music is regularly played in North America and Europe, most recently at the Wellesley Composers Conference (Wellesley, MA), the Acht Brücken Festival (Cologne, Germany), and June in Buffalo (Buffalo, NY). His works have been premiered by a variety of American and European ensembles, including Ensemble SurPlus, Ensemble Linea, and the Crossfire Percussion Duo.
Jacob has studied at the Oberlin Conservatory, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and currently studies with David Felder at SUNY at Buffalo. He has a pet hedgehog named Ormsby.
Esin Gündüz is a composer and singer. Currently residing in Buffalo NY, while luckily pursuing a PhD in music composition under the tutelage of David Felder, she is having her music played by small chamber ensembles which often include herself as a performer. Her music has been performed at June in Buffalo (2013), SoundSCAPE (2009), The 1st Viola and Chamber Music Festival (2010), and more… As a singer for the MUJE big band, she performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Jazz a Juan Festival, Nice. As a performer and improvisor, she is one of the founders of the unique improvisational trio resAUnance, and is also a proud member of Wooden Cities of Buffalo.
Originally from Istanbul, Esin holds a BA in jazz performance and composition from Istanbul Bilgi University, and a MA in music composition from Marshall University. Additionally, she coordinated two chamber music festivals, as well as a new music ensemble in Istanbul. She is a proud member of Donne in Musica, PEO and Opus Zero Inc. She is a dedicated voice-teacher, incorporating techniques and understandings from yoga in her teaching, in connection to her fascination with nature's -and humans'- (sound-like) flexibility for adapting and ever-changing!
Nathan Heidelberger composes diverse instrumental and vocal music. He is currently a Presidential Fellow and PhD candidate at the University at Buffalo, and he also holds undergraduate degrees in Composition and English from Oberlin College and Conservatory. His primary teachers have included David Felder, Lewis Nielson, and Richard Carrick. He has participated in the Aspen Music Festival and the Copland House Cultivate Institute, and this summer he will be a composition fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Sometimes a pianist and horn player, Nathan focuses on performing the contemporary repertoire. He is a founding member of Wooden Cities.
Over the past four years pianist Michael McNeill has become an integral part of the creative music scene in Buffalo, participating in jazz projects ranging from the solidly mainstream to the outer reaches of the avant-garde, as well as playing in the Wooden Cities New Music Collective. McNeill also performs with and composes for the New Buffalo Jazz Octet, "...a veritable who's who list of killer regional jazz players" (The Buffalo News). Passageways, McNeill's debut CD as a leader, features renowned improvisers Ken Filiano (bass) and Phil Haynes (drums). Notable performances in the 2012-2013 concert season include an original film score with the New Buffalo Jazz Octet, a trio concert in New York City with Phil Haynes and bassist Drew Gress, and a Buffalo concert with the virtuoso bass trombonist David Taylor.
Michelle Purdy is a contemporary percussionist committed to performing, teaching, experimenting, and commissioned new works from both emerging and established composers. Ms. Purdy's passion for contemporary works has led to a vast array of opportunities including performances at Baltimore's Artscape Festival, The Megapolis Audio Festival, So Percussion's Summer Institute, IFCP at Mannes, June in Buffalo, Make Music New York, and The Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale.
Purdy received her B.A. in Percussion Performance at UMBC, where she was a recipient of the Linehan Artist Scholar Award, and her Masters from the University at Buffalo where she studied with Tom Kolor of Talujon. Ms. Purdy is currently freelancing in the Baltimore area.
Aaron Staebell hails from Buffalo, NY and has lived in Rochester, NY since 2001. Having earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Staebell is an in-demand performer, clinician, and composer both locally and nationwide. He has played with such visionaries as Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider and Tony Malaby. He is a member of the Brownman Electryc Trio (Toronto, CA) and has performed with smooth jazz trumpeter Rick Braun and jazz trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. Staebell has also spent time as the drummer for the hip-hop syndicate "Gruvasylum" featuring Mad Dukez and for jazz vocalist Madeline Forster. He was a member of Downbeat Magazine's "Best Collegiate Jazz Ensemble" in 2009 with the ESM New Jazz Ensemble and Dave Rivello. His playing has been described as "honest, unpredictable and refreshing" and he is a frequent first-call for recording sessions, musicals, concerts and a wide range of freelance projects.
Staebell's playing can be heard on two other recent releases: Dave Chisholm's Calligraphy, and a release from Ben Thomas featuring free jazz legend Tony Malaby called Endless Mountain Regions. He has already recorded the tracks for the forthcoming Instrumental project by Dave Chisholm, which combines a suite of 8 songs with a 200 page graphic novel.
Jon Nelson
Professor, University at Buffalo
Music Department
Founding Member/Trumpet,
Meridian Arts Ensemble
