Concert Review: The Buffalo Chamber Players Perform ‘From Sea to Skye'

Anna Mattix Gives A Virtuoso Performance

The Buffalo Chamber Players

The Buffalo Chamber Players were founded in 2007 by Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra violist Janz Castelo de Armas, and for two decades they have performed an eclectic mix of chamber music spanning virtually all periods and styles.

The musicians in the BCP are high-level professionals; most of them are members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and teach in local universities. My review of the ensemble’s June 2023 recital of Handel’s pastoral opera “Acis and Galatea” can be read here.

On Wednesday, January 29, 2025, the ensemble performed a program that highlighted woodwinds and showcased the virtuosity of Buffalo Philharmonic oboist and English horn player Anna Mattix.

Talisker, Isle of Skye

Talisker Beach, Isle of Skye

The concert began with contemporary composer Elizabeth Aitken’s “Talisker: Where Sea Meets Skye” a short tone poem evoking the sublime beauty of the eponymous beach on Scotland’s Isle of Skye.

The oboes and English horn weaved lines that joined and separated like waves meeting the rocky shores of the Inner Hebrides. The three woodwinds achieved a rich, melancholy blend as the melodic lines swelled and retreated.

Anna Mattix