Members: Matt London [Artistic director UK], Henrique Portovedo [Portugal], Gilly Blair [UK], Kyle Hutchins [USA], Alfonso Padilla [Spain], Jenni Watson [planning team UK], Nathan Mertens [USA], Luis Ribeiro [Portugal], Erin Royer [Australia], Nathan Henshaw [planning team AU], Nicki Roman [USA] and João Pedro Silva [Portugal].
Music: Rob Buckland [UK], Maltida Grieve [AU], Nathan James Dearden [UK], Lino Guerreiro [PT], Andy Scott [UK], Jennifer Watson, Erin Royer & Matt London.
Message from Matt London: With the fine help of Jenni Watson and Nathan Henshaw I am delighted to be leading this third edition of the Tenor Saxophone Collective at the World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia!
Over the past few months I have been gathering a stella lineup of international saxophonists and constructing a new programme for our upcoming performance. It is always fantastic to add new voices to the ensemble so I am delighted to welcome four new members; Kyle Hutchins, Nathan Mertens, Nicki Roman and Alfonso Padilla to the fold.
I have sought to curate a diverse programme of music for Zagreb with composers writing original music for the occasion from the UK, Portugal and Australia. Presenting new compositional voices to the saxophone community is very important to me and I am excited to include world premieres by Welsh composer Nathan James Dearden and Maltida Grieve from Australia.
I have also tried to add a greater chamber element to the programme so that fellow saxophonists can take the pieces they enjoy from the concert to perform them at home with friends, students and colleagues. We have a quartet for you, a duo by our own Erin Royer & Jenni plus a solo work by TSi director Andy Scott.
With a nod to the tradition of saxophonic writing I look forward to a Lino Guerreiro premiere and a second performance of Rob Buckland’s Tenacity. Both often use that post minimal approach we think we know in their writing but with a real added depth. Listen out for subtle and intricate shifting layers of rhythm, line and groove that transform from within.
My offering is something different... bringing my love for free improvisation to the programme with the second performance of The Shaman dedicated to and inspired by the music of my favourite saxophonist Paul Dunmall. I try to create music that has the emotive freedom and intensity of free improvisation - I love it’s energy, focus and agility. With no time signatures or barlines in-sight the TSC has open hybrid notations and a number of graphics to navigate!
Bringing together and performing with this international group of saxophonists is a truly rewarding and exhilarating experience and I look forward to July! Feel free to chat to anyone of us you might see at the congress, and do look out for practice videos and interviews that will start to appear on our twitter and facebook feeds to give you a taste of what to expect in Zagreb! Right, time to practice!
Astute Music