Honoring Our Legacy
Clementina Fleshler
Executive Director, Emeritus1983-2026
Clementina Fleshler led the Buffalo Chamber Music Society from 1983 until her retirement in 2026. Over those four decades she brought the world’s greatest quartets and soloists to the Mary Seaton Room. She also grew the free Gift to the Community series, traveling to New York each year to hear the Young Concert Artists auditions and find young talent for Buffalo audiences. She commissioned new works for the Society’s milestone seasons, including Chris Rogerson’s quartet for the 90th season and Jennifer Higdon’s Azure Waves for the centennial. She also compiled a book celebrating BCMS’s 100th anniversary.
Clementina is a violinist and pianist herself. In 1959, conductor Josef Krips invited her to join the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, where she played in the first violin section for 50 years. She is warmly remembered at BCMS alongside her late husband, BPO violist Bernard Fleshler.
“Clementina, or Clem as she was known in junior high school Orchestra, where we fought over, who should be concertmaster has been a dear friend of mine all of these years. She has worn many hats, an excellent violinist, a lovely marriage to her, dear Bernie, and for many many years, the distinguished artistic head of the revered, buffalo chamber music society. You have had an exceptional life, Clem, and now we celebrate you for the excellent job you’ve done all these past decades in the service of chamber music.
Much love,
Arnold”
Ansie Baird
President, Emeritus1977-2026As its longtime president, Ansie helped guide the Society into its second century. Her father, University at Buffalo English professor Oscar Silverman, came up with the idea behind the Society’s celebrated partnership with the Budapest String Quartet. BCMS’s Silverman Scholarships, which helps young Erie County string players attend leading music schools, are named in memory of Clare and Oscar Silverman.
Ansie is also a poet with deep roots in Buffalo’s literary life. Her three collections include In Advance of All Parting, which won the White Pine Press Poetry Prize. Her poems have appeared in The Paris Review and The Southern Review. She taught at The Buffalo Seminary for 40 years, many of them as poet-in-residence. She holds degrees from Vassar College and the University at Buffalo.
With deep gratitude, BCMS thanks Ansie for her generous leadership, her devotion to chamber music and all she has given to make our concerts a treasured part of Buffalo’s cultural life.