Touching base with you all again as we move further into 2018!
On behalf of the TSI team, we would like to thank all of you that continue to make us aware of new works that have been composed for the tenor saxophone!
A personal thank you to Matt London who regularly updates this website, who is a champion of new music, and a fine saxophonist and composer in his own right, please check out his projects!
The Tenor Saxophone Collective continues to play an important role in the awareness of the ‘contemporary classical’ tenor saxophone, please check out the short update on this website.
Keep the new works coming, encourage composers to write for the saxophone (not just the tenor sax of course :-) , and please let us know about recordings and videos that all increase the awareness of repertoire for our instrument.
Thank you for your support!
Best wishes,
Andy Scott
March 2018
As Tenor Saxophonist with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet (est.1985), occasional Tenor Saxophone soloist, composer, and Tutor of Saxophone at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester UK, I have witnessed
in the last quarter of a century the growing number of works that have been written for the ‘contemporary classical’ tenor saxophone.
The frustration has always been that individual pieces tended to be well kept secrets, written for a specific player, in a specific country, and that it was a problem recommending repertoire to students & finding repertoire for recitals. This frustration is no more, with the creation of the Tenor Saxophone Index, an online resource where performers, teachers & students alike may access information about hundreds of pieces that have been composed for Tenor Saxophone.
In 2011 I was a recipient of a coveted RNCM Teaching Award which has enabled this project to be realised. Since the World Saxophone Congress in Thailand in 2009 the intention was to officially launch the Tenor Saxophone Index at the WSC XVI in St Andrews, Scotland, in July 2012, which happened and was a resounding success. Thank you to all of you that spoke with the TSI team at our trade stand at WSC, for all of the people signing up to the TSI newsletter, and crucially for the on-going repertoire suggestions and additions to the TSI!
The years 2009-2012 saw dialogue between myself, Jenni Watson & Matt London regarding the Tenor Saxophone Index. Both are RNCM graduates and ex-students of mine, both very talented saxophonists and composers who are creating their own musical identities and careers, and both of whom share the passion for the Tenor Saxophone.
As well as releasing their respective CDs on 10th November 2013 at the annual RNCM Saxophone Day with a combined launch concert, they continue to give hours of their time developing the TSI, and the three of us will develop this resource for years to come!
Special thanks goes to Ian Tresman at Knowledge Computing who has created a wonderful user friendly web site for the Tenor Saxophone Index (in conjunction with Matt), and also to the Royal Northern College of Music.
Ideas are the easy part, as we all know, implementing the ideas over a number of years is another matter, and the creation, establishing and development of the Tenor Saxophone Index is very much a team effort between Matt, Jenni, Ian, the RNCM & myself.
We hope that it will prove to be a valuable resource? A resource which also relies on composers and performers updating us with information about new works composed for the Tenor Saxophone.
The Tenor saxophone Index team is delighted to welcome two iconic figures in the saxophone and music world as Patrons;
James Houlik - who has dedicated his life to the contemporary classical Tenor Saxophone, and has had 80 plus works composed for him, and,
Branford Marsalis - the legendary saxophonist that is respected worldwide both for his jazz and classical performances & recordings.
Jenni, Matt, Ian & I welcome your feedback and input, as we strive to provide a resource for tenor saxophonists worldwide. Thank you for your continued support, and please encourage your saxophonist friends and composers to regularly visit this website and to sign up for our quarterly TSI newsletters which Matt superbly designs and collates.
Astute Music