The rich sound of the saxophone will fill the air of the Snow Recital Hall in the BYU-Idaho Saxophone Ensemble Concert this week.
With two quartets and a soloist, the students will perform pieces written or arranged for saxophone quartet like Argentine tangos, Irish suites and four movement works.
“One thing that is interesting to most people is the fact that it's classical saxophone and not jazz,” said ensemble director Dr. Mark Watkins. “People associate jazz with saxophone or saxophone with jazz and don't realize that it was invented as a classical instrument 80 years before it was ever used in jazz, and it has a vast repertoire of music.”
Since the beginning of the semester, the students have worked hard to develop new playing techniques required for their pieces. The pieces are difficult, but Watkins says the students have grown musically during their preparation.
“They're doing a technique in the last movement called slap tonguing,” Watkins said. “You put your tongue up against the reed, a lot of it, and seal it and then pop it off, and it creates a pretty cool popping sound through the instrument. It's very hard to do. So, they've had to learn a few things.”
The free concert is on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Snow Recital Hall on campus.
“Students need support. They always play better when there's an audience to play for and that interaction between the audience and the performer is really an amazing thing to feel. We live in an area that doesn't have vast resources for the arts, and we have an opportunity to hear fine art,” Watkins said.
You can find more information and the livestream link at byui.edu/music.