For New York-based artists and audiences alike, summertime can mean a respite from a congested city concert schedule, in the form of upstate music festivals such as Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown and Bard Summerscape in Annandale-on-Hudson. For “new music” devotees, Western New York’s annual festival June in Buffalo–hosted by the University at Buffalo during the month’s first week–is perhaps the most vital respite of all.

Each year, June in Buffalo presents a sonic symposium in which invited composers, resident ensembles, solo performers, and distinguished senior faculty composers converge to showcase new compositional creations. Beyond afternoon recitals featuring the works of the emergent student composers and evening concerts of pieces by the faculty, the festival is a hub of workshops, open rehearsals, lectures, and participant forums.

2012 registers as the 27th year of David Felder’s tenure as Artistic Director. This year’s faculty includes Robert Beaser, Fred Lerdahl, Steven Stucky, and Julia Wolfe, with performances by resident ensembles such as the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Signal, and Genkin Philharmonic and guest artists such as guitarist Eliot Fisk and conductor Brad Lubman.

Since 1986, an illustrious group of United States-based composers have served on the June in Buffalo Faculty–George Crumb, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Morton Subotnick, and Charles Wuorinen among them. The festival was conceived in 1975 by Feldman, who served on the faculty at University at Buffalo.

Upcoming concerts feature the works of Louis Andriessen, Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Steven Stucky, Anton Webern, and Julia Wolfe, among others. June in Buffalo 2012 continues every day this week through Sunday, June 10, with a concluding concert by conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at University at Buffalo’s Slee Hall, 2:30 p.m.

For more details about the festival and the complete schedule, visit the June in Buffalo website.