Blogs

Variations (On several lines by Amy Clampitt) (1995) – Sidney Corbett (b. 1960)
Alto and baritone saxophone.
Berline Verlag Neue Musik, published 1996
14’

Members of the Rascher Saxophone Quartet (RSQ) premier a handful of duos and trios. They do not limit their repertoire to only quartets. Variations (On several lines by Amy Clampitt) is composed for alto and baritone saxophone duo.

Saxophone Quartet (1992) – Charles Wuorinen (b. 1938)
SATB
C.F. Peters, published 1997
14’

Concerto for Saxophone Quartet (1995) – Philip Glass (b.1937)
SATB and orchestra
Version for saxophone quartet alone, 1995
SATB
Chester Music, published 2003
23’

Windup (1997) – Wayne Peterson (b. 1927)
SATB
C.F. Peters, published 2010
11’

Wayne Peterson studied composition at the University of Minnesota. He taught at San Francisco State for three decades. Through the course of his career he was a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fulbright Scholar, and received a commission from the Koussevitzky Foundation. In 1992 he won the Pulitzer Prize for The Face of the Night, The Heart of the Dark.

Möbius Loop (2000) – Mathew Rosenblum (b.1954)
SATB and Orchestra
Version for saxophone quartet alone, 2001
SATB
C.F. Peters
18’

Ashur Square (2010) – Rob Deemer (b. 1970)
SATB
Self-published
22’

Rob Deemer teaches composition at SUNY – Fredonia and the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp. He has composed for all varieties of performance forces including music for theatre, dance, and film. He credits Dan Welcher, Donald Grantham, and Jan Bach as his primary teachers. He has written columns for the New York Times, New Music Box, and Sequenza 21/.

Voicing will be referred to differently depending on the saxophonist you ask. Many wholly embrace voicing and a few will refute it. Nonetheless, we all voice, no matter what we happen to call it. Voicing is an essential element of saxophone technique. Playing through the entire range, the saxophonist should not have to alter his embouchure, but instead compensate with the oral cavity to produce an even and consistent tone. Building this skill takes a lot of persistent practice. Some exercises may be mastered in hours and other may take several weeks.

One of the biggest challenges as a musician is maintaining a balanced life. Balance is vital to maintain happiness, and maintain success in the practice room and on stage. We have all experienced burnout, and weeks with no free time, but a little break will go a long way.