SUNY Oswego music colleagues to solo with Central Winds ensemble

Central Winds, a 50-member Central New York wind ensemble, joins faculty piano and saxophone soloists Robert Auler and Trevor Jorgensen for a concerto at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in Waterman Theatre in SUNY Oswego’s revitalized Tyler Hall.

The performance showcases two 20th-century concertos, as well as a tribute to Fort Drum soldiers and families, and a composition by SUNY Oswego music faculty member Paul Leary. The college’s Ke-nekt Chamber Music and Artswego Performing Arts series co-host the event, featuring music professionals and educators from around Central New York.

While the concerto form, highlighting the skills of a soloist in bold relief against an ensemble, has its earliest roots in the Baroque period, the evening in Oswego features two examples from the twentieth century—Igor Stravinsky’s “Concerto for Piano and Winds” (1924) and Ingolf Dahl’s “Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble” (1949).

While Mozart and Beethoven composed many concertos for the piano, Jorgensen notes that “both of those legendary composers were dead before the saxophone was even invented.” The assistant professor of music, a versatile winds specialist, is happy to give the instrument its due. “To perform Dahl’s concerto with players of this caliber is a rare opportunity,” he says.

Jorgensen and faculty colleague and pianist Auler have performed together at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and Pacific venues from New Zealand to South Korea. Closer to home, they partner as founding members of the popular Oswego Jazz Project.

“I told Trevor that playing the intense and layered Stravinsky concerto reminds me of why I wanted to become a pianist,” says Auler. “Opportunities like this stem from the collaborative environment here at SUNY Oswego.”

Central Winds also performs “Climb to Glory” by Bill Palange, a recent composition dedicated to the soldiers and families of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum.

The program then highlights “Ontario Fanfare,” a new work of Leary’s. “The piece is designed to capture the excitement and experience of our lake in the summertime,” he says. “It’s meant to be fun for everyone—listeners and players alike.”

Central Winds formed in 1984 to expand performance opportunities for music educators and other music professionals from around the region. It has appeared at the Eastman School of Music and the Crane School of Music, and was selected to perform at the 63rd Mid-West Clinic in Chicago.

Tickets to the Central Winds performance cost $15 ($5 for students and youths), available at all SUNY Oswego box offices, online at tickets.oswego.edu or by calling 315-312-2141. Parking is included in the price of a ticket, and is available in the lot in front of Culkin Hall and the employee and commuter lots behind Hart and Funnelle residence halls.

For more information about this and other fine and performing arts programs at SUNY Oswego, visit www.oswego.edu/arts.