The Ethos of Saxes
16 Miniatures for Solo Saxophone (SATB) | ~20’ | 2021
Program Notes: The Ethos of Saxes was composed for 16 individuals who are spread around the world. As a composer, my Ethos is one of people and collaboration. While composing this project, I came up with this short description: “calm down, you aren’t important, and neither am I, so let’s be friends and eat cookies.” This project reflects the joy and friendship that arises from this type of collaboration, with four new short pieces (between 45” – 3’) written for each of the SATB saxophones that explore a myriad of techniques and styles. These pieces reflect the individual commissioner’s aesthetic voices to share that voice with the wider contemporary saxophone community. In this book, you can expect groovy, noisy, ambient, melodic, beautiful, campy, gay, high, low, soft, loud, nostalgic, and new with a mix of fully notated, graphic scores, text- scores, and somewhere in between. This book has was designed to celebrate our aesthetic individuality and show that while we aren’t all important, we all still matter.
Commissioners and Recordings:
Soprano
Wilson Poffenberger - What does a community
Alto
Don-Paul Kahl - the mask I wear
Sean R. Garde - Gathering Storm
Connor James Mikula - Catharsis
Lois Hicks-Wozniak - I’m still here
Tenor
Andrew Hosler - no one is important, but everyone is special
Drew Whiting - Down the Rabbit Hole
Soren Hamm - the Space Between Us
Bari
Andy Hall - the week before the end
Grace Gelpi, Commissioned by Betsy Hanlon
