The June in Buffalo festival of contemporary music was established by Morton Feldman in 1975. Morton Feldman joined the University at Buffalo Music Faculty in 1972. He was the Slee Professor, 1972-1973, Edgar Varèse Professor, 1975-1987, and the Director of the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts, 1976-1980. Feldman established the June in Buffalo festival in 1975 as a counterpart to the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts' successful Evenings for New Music concerts. The new festival was presented 1975-1978, and again in 1980, with a year off in 1979 when Feldman was on sabbatical. The festival was revived in 1986 by composer David Felder.

In addition to presenting concerts, Feldman's festival created a seminar environment in which student composers attended workshops where distinguished composers-in-residence rehearsed their works and gave lectures. Feldman also wanted to create a more intense listening experience by presenting programs that contained multiple works by a single composer. To that end, twelve works by John Cage were presented on the three concerts that opened the first festival in June 1975. Other single-composer programs were devoted to the works of Christian Wolff, Ralph Shapey, George Crumb, Lejaren Hiller, Nils Vigeland, Steve Reich, Charles Wuorinen, Henry Brant, Elliott Carter, Stefan Wolpe, Milton Babbitt, Lou Harrison, Earle Brown, and Aaron Copland. Works by earlier twentieth-century composers, including Ives, Schoenberg, Satie, Cowell, Webern, Berg, and Bártók were also presented on June in Buffalo programs. Three works received their United States premieres and five works received their world premieres at the festival. All concerts but one were held in what was then called Baird Hall (now Allen Hall) on what is now the South Campus. The June 1, 1976 concert was held at the Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.