Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Fun and exciting works for saxophone and piano will be featured in a recital presented by Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music faculty member Dr. Nathan Nabb at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
Nabb, professor of saxophone, will be joined by Hyun Ji Oh, collaborative pianist, for a program of established works for saxophone and piano that Nabb describes as “excellent chamber pieces in which the technical and musical characteristics of the saxophone and piano are both featured.”
“I am very pleased to be performing with one of our new pianists, Hyun Ji Oh,” Nabb said. “She is a fantastic pianist and a really compelling musician. We have had a great time putting this program together, and I know it will be a fun and engaging performance!”
Opening the program is Ida Gotkovsky’s “Variations Pathetiques.”
“We chose the first piece because it is a thrilling work and is a standard in our repertoire,” Nabb said. “It is a highly rhythmic and technical work, but is at the same time very audience-friendly and a powerful piece.”
Paul Creston’s Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano is often studied by advanced high-school players and college students, so it is often considered a student work, Nabb said.
“But this is an amazing piece of music, and one that deserves to be heard,” he said. “In particular, I find the second movement to be so rewarding to study and perform, as it has such lush harmonies and beautiful, lyrical lines.”
The final piece on the program is actually originally for flute, but has found its place in the saxophone repertoire, Nabb explained. François Borne’s “Carmen Fantasy” features all of the familiar tunes from George Bizet’s famous opera, “and then explores them in a virtuosic contest for the soloist and pianist.”
The recital is part of the School of Music’s Calliope Concert Series. 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.