Saxophone quartet to offer rich blend of talents, music on March 25

The Bacchus Saxophone Quartet will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 25, in Sheldon Hall ballroom, melding the talents of SUNY Oswego music faculty member Trevor Jorgensen and three other saxophonists from Central New York.

The SUNY Oswego Focus on Faculty concert will highlight Dan Blumenthal (Jamesville-DeWitt school district), Marilee Blumenthal (Fayetteville-Manlius) and Stephen Defren (Oswego), who will join Jorgensen for notable original compositions, including "Allegro De Concert" by Jean-Baptiste Singelée -- a longtime friend of the instrument's inventor, Adolph Sax, and composer of the first work for saxophone quartet -- as well as Aleksandr Glazunov's "Saxophone Quartet."

Other works will include "Sailor’s Hornpipe" by Henry Cowell; "Tango Virtuoso," Thierry Escaich; and arrangements of "Fugue in G minor," by Johann Sebastian Bach, G.P. Telemann's "Overture Baroque" and "The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee" by Jean Berger.

"The Glazunov was commissioned through relentless persistence by historically significant and prolific classical saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr," Jorgensen said. "Raschèr’s regional significance includes teaching at the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester) and his personal collection is housed at SUNY Fredonia."

The saxophone quartet -- soprano, alto, tenor and baritone sax -- features "the range and a similar timbre spectrum to that of the iconic string quartet," Jorgensen said.

The Bacchus Saxophone Quartet, then featuring award-winning instrumentalist Dr. Robert Young of the Crane School of Music, appeared in November 2015 for another SUNY Oswego recital, in the Ke-Nekt Chamber Music Series.

Tickets for the Focus on Faculty performance of the Bacchus Saxophone Quartet are $8 ($5 for students) and are available at the door starting 30 minutes before the concert.

Parking is included in the price of the ticket, and is available in the employee and commuter lots adjacent to and across Washington Boulevard from Sheldon Hall. Patrons needing assistance should call 315-312-2141 in advance of the concert.

For information on other SUNY Oswego fine arts presentations, visit http://oswego.edu/arts.