Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The dynamic and creative Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet will present “A Broken Anthology of Western Music” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.
The quartet is an artist-run creative project by bassoonists Brittany Harrington-Smith, Yuki Katayama, Kara LaMoure and Lauren Yu Ziemba. Their repertoire disregards genre, with favorites from the worlds of classical, pop, jazz, soundtrack and folk music adapted for the ensemble by its members, according to Lee Goodhew, assistant professor of bassoon in the SFA School of Music.
“Each member is a well-respected performer and musician in her own right,” Goodhew said, “and besides being a lot of fun, the quartet’s show displays the broad artistic range of the bassoon.”
Known for their stage antics, the quartet uses choreography, accessory instruments, props and skits to add theatrical elements to their performances, Goodhew explained.
According to member LaMoure, Breaking Winds “hijacks chestnuts of the repertoire and restores the bassoon to its rightful place in each.”
“All music in the period between Biber and Bieber is fair game, now presented in arrangements for bassoon quartet with enhancements like kazoo virtuosity, marching band-style choreography, reed squeaks and pop progressions,” LaMoure said. “Over the course of this whirlwind tour, the listener gains a new appreciation for the bassoon and a new view of classical music history. Even better, they may go home with confetti in their hair.”
Among the program selections are “Piece en forme de habanero” by Maurice Ravel, arranged by Lamoure; Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture;” and The Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet’s own medley, “2017 Overture.”
“This medley of recent popular songs is performed ‘BWBQ style,’ with the quartet members performing choreographed dances and getting up close and personal with the audience,” LaMoure said.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.