Russell Peck Missing

Even though this happened Sunday, I only was made aware of it today. Composer Russell Peck has been missing for 5 days. The worst is feared as the weather has been extremely bad in the area. Russell Peck has written for the Saxophone including Drastic Measures for Saxophone Quartet, and The Upward Stream for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra.

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UPDATE:

According to Cliff Leaman on the NASA Forums Russell Peck body has found. I for one mourn his loss.

UPDATE:

Still not officially confirmed but its is strongly believed to be Russell Peck who was found.

News Link

UPDATE:

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Buescher Promotional Ad featuring Sigurd Rascher

While poking around YouTube I ran across this recently posted promotional film from the Buescher Saxophone company. According to the info on the video page it dates from the 1950's. In addition to Sigurd Rascher, it would appear to feature a very, very young Carina Rasher! It's like seeing his method books come to life. I'm pretty blown away with his quality of tone, and mastery of the altissimo register. The video is broken into 3 parts and totals about 27 minutes. Unfortunately embedding was disabled by the poster so you will just have to click through.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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NASA in Albuquerque

Right now I'm getting ready for day two of the North American Saxophone Alliance, Region II Conference at the University of New Mexico. I'll keep this short since I need to head down to the lobby to grab some of the free breakfast. So far this has been a very successful conference, while the attendance seem a bit low, those who came are attending all the events. Arizona State University is making a very strong showing, and I really enjoyed Tom Lileys lecture on Larry Teal and Cecil Leeson. I'll report back on the rest (and in more detail) when I get back home and have some time. You can find the full schedule and program on this page.

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Something for Sunday

This is one of my favorite YouTube saxophone videos. The more times I watch it the more I realize this is what more "Classical" Saxophonists need to incorporate into their repertoire. Enjoy!

Nobuya Sugawa plays Beauty and the Beast medley.

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Get your free Ricos

I haven't seen any accurate polls of what brand of reeds are used most often, but I would have to guess that by a gigantic margin, Vandoren is the number one brand. Apparently Rico (aka D'ddario) trying to do something to change that by giving away a free box for some of your old reeds. They say that they will take "new or used" reeds, but really... who in their right mind is going to send brand new reeds? I've tried different brands of reeds over the years and nothing comes close to a Vandoren in my opinion. There is just something about the cane that isn't matched by others. That being said I've already headed over to maketheswitch.com and printed out the form to get my free Box! You have to print out your code before April 6, and mail it in before April 16th so get movin!

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Follow, follow, follow

I just want to direct peoples attention over to the right side of the screen.....

yep, follow the blog!

subscribe to the RSS feed!

and while your at it, follow me on Twitter!

my handle is lbcsax

Make some comments! I'd love to get some feedback.

NOTE: there is something wrong with Blogger's follow feature, so I'll follow you back when it comes back up.

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Saxophone Dominates MTNA Nationals

The finalists for the 2008-2009 MTNA National Competition finalists have been announced and it's a big win for the Saxophone. In the Young Artist National Finals, 5 out of 7 finalists are Saxophonists. In the Chamber Music National Finals 4 out of 7 are Saxophone Quartets. In the Senior and Junior divisions the Flute is King (or Queen), with 5 of 7 finalists in each competition. In my opinion this speaks to the excellent Middle School, and High School education that many flutists receive. Perhaps it is that young Saxophonists don't start to focus on solo competition repertoire until college. Whatever the reason there is a lot of ground to make up for the saxophone to catch up to the flute in grade 6-12. The National Competition will be held March 28 - April 1 2009 in Atlanta Georgia. Good Luck to all!



CHAMBER MUSIC NATIONAL FINALISTS 2008-2009

Hi-Def Saxophone Quartet
Univeristy of Illinois, Debra Richtmeyer - Coach
Noa Even, Soprano Saxophone
Dave Tribley, Alto Saxophone
Collin Wilson, Tenor Saxophone
Phil Pierick, Baritone Saxophone


Red line Saxophone Quartet
Eastman School of Music, Chien-Kwan Lin - Coach
Doug O’Connor, Soprano Saxophone
Brandon Kies, Alto Saxophone
Gai Qun, Tenor Saxophone
Quinn Lewis, Baritone Saxophone


Sinombre Piano Trio
University of Oregon, Claire Wachter/Dean Kramer - Coaches
Ben Corbin, Piano
Han Jun Lee, Violin
Talia Lindsley, Cello


North Texas Saxophone Quartet
University of North Texas, Eric Nestler - Coach
Joey Resendez, Soprano Saxophone
Chris Dickhaus, Alto Saxophone
Doug Stone, Tenor Saxophone
Sarah Roberts, Baritone Saxophone


Krang Quartet
University of Southern Mississippi, Lawrence Gwozdz- Coach
Ryan Raziano, Soprano Saxophone
Thomas Giles, Alto Saxophone
David Wozniak, Tenor Saxophone
Noah Madison, Baritone Saxophone


Arizona Graduate Winds
University of Arizona, William Dietz - Coach
Erica Schiller, Flute
Devin Gardner, Oboe
Lisa Kachouee, Clarinet
Jason Souliere, Bassoon
J. Miller, Horn


Honors Fetter
Washburn University, Larisa Elisha - Coach
William Darst, Violin
Carlos Cabezas, Violin
Manuel Tabora, Viola
Samuel Cho, Cello




YOUNG ARTIST NATIONAL FINALISTS 2008-2009 - WOODWIND

Noa Even - Saxophone - Debra Richtmeyer - Teacher

Quinn Elliott Lewis - Saxophone - Chien-Kwan Lin - Teacher

Daniel M. Goodrich - Saxophone - Fred Winkler - Teacher

Won Lee - Flute - Marianne Gedigian - Teacher

Wonkak Kim - Clarinet - Frank Kowalsky - Teacher

Derek Granger - Saxophone - Timothy McAllister - Teacher

John Cummins - Saxophone - Eugene Rousseau - Teacher

Full Results




SENIOR NATIONAL FINALISTS 2008-2009 - WOODWIND

Jennifer Zhou - Flute - Beth Owen - Teacher

Christi Rajnes - Flute - Beverly Rajnes - Teacher

Emily K. Potter - Flute - Sandy Duffy Norman - Teacher

Alicia Mielke - Flute - Marianne Gedigian - Teacher

James Moon - Clarinet - Kenneth Lee - Teacher

Marley Eder - Flute - Jim Walker - Teacher

Charlie Fiorillo - Saxophone - Jean Lansing - Teacher

Full Results




JUNIOR NATIONAL FINALISTS 2008-2009- WOODWIND

Christine Murphy - Flute - Hideko Amano - Teacher

David Kim - Clarinet - Ju Young Lee - Teacher

Zachary Kellogg - Flute - Bonnie Blanchard - Teacher

Grace Choe - Flute - Monica Song - Teacher

Edward Cai - Clarinet - Kenneth Lee - Teacher

Catherine Winters - Flute - Elizabeth Weissman - Teacher

Kathryn Woodward - Flute - Margaret Peterson - Teacher

Full Results

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Thoughts on NAMM 2009

For those who aren't from Southern California, the NAMM show is a gigantic music trade show held every year in Anaheim. This was my first trip in a few years and I walked away very impressed with the so called "third tier" saxophones. I don't know what percentage of the market Selmer (Paris), and Yamaha represent but it is my anecdotal experience that it's huge. As much as I love my Yamaha saxes, I am a strong believer in competition and it's great that serious attempts are being made to produce great horns. I was particuraly impressed with the curved Sopranos that International Woodwind had. With an even and round tone, and most importantly, modern keywork they are a great option for someone looking for a unique look and sound, without breaking the bank. Other highlights were the new Phoenix Custom Z from Yamaha, the Selmer "Bird Editions" Flamingo, etc, P. Mauriat Saxophones, and a Kenny G branded horn. Please enjoy the video of myself trying to get a sound on the tiny, tiny, Soprillo Saxophone, as well as the G-man himself.

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North American Saxophone Alliance Region II Conference

The schedule for the NASA Region II conference was released today. It looks like a nice mix of student groups, professional performances, lectures, and masterclasses. Admission is included with membership to NASA so head over and sign up! More information about the conference can be found here, including hotel information.

North American Saxophone Alliance Region II 2009

Sunday, February 22:

	B-117	B-120	Keller Hall	Popejoy Hall
8:00-8:50			Tech Time Set Up
9:00-9:50	Fort Lewis Saxophone Quartet UNC Symphonic Band Quartet CSU Saxophone Quartet	Exhibits open	Todd Rewoldt Paul Farus Mark Malpezzi
10:00-10:50	Ophiclide Saxophone Quartet Flatiron Saxophone Quartet John Thomas		Jackie Christiano Nathan Wilson Shane Kealy Grady Castle
11:00-11:50	David Wegehaupt Javier Ocampo-Cardona Adam Briggs		Eric Lau-Masterclass
12:00-12:50	Break		Break
1:00-1:50	Elizabeth Bunt- Lecture The Saxophone Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen		Eric Roberts Johan Eriksson Kevin Baldwin
2:00-2:50	Ryan Janus- Lecture Teaching Jazz for Dummies		Derek Granger Marcos Colón Amy Oakes Daniel Gomez Jon Swann
3:00-3:50	Thomas Liley- Lecture Cecil Leeson and Larry Teal: America’s Saxophone Pioneers		Timothy McAllister- Masterclass
4:00-4:50	Doug Lawrence- Jazz Clinic		Adam Camey Leah Concialdi Max Schwimmer Ryan Janus
5:00-5:50		Exhibits Close	West Wing Saxophone Quartet Ohrwürm
6:00-6:50	Break	Break	Break	Break
7:30-10:00				UNM Jazz Band with Doug Lawrence, Greg Fishman, Thrasher, Chris Beaty, and Peter Sommer.

North American Saxophone Alliance Region II 2009

Monday, February 23:

	B-117	B-120	Keller Hall	Popejoy Hall
8:00-8:50	Tech Time Set Up		Tech Time Set Up
9:00-9:50	John Thomas- Lecture Learning Tunes: A Practical Approach to an Essential Skill	Exhibits Open	XYZ Saxophone Quartet Christopher Rorke Ryan Van Scoyk
10:00-10:50	Greg Fishman- Jazz Clinic		Orion Saxophone Quartet UNC Saxophone Quartet Morris/ Zuniga
11:00-11:50	David Henderson- Lecture The Saxophone Music of Jascha Gurewich		Andrew Dahlke- Masterclass
12:00-12:50	Break		Break
1:00-1:50	Celerity Saxophone Quartet UNM Saxophone Quartet Moreno Saxophone Quartet		Michael Keepe Kendra Emery Meyer/ Zuniga/ Stonerock Kevin Feeken
2:00-2:50	Medera WInds		Rippe/ Beaty Barrera/ Charbonneau Briggs/ Puccio Dees/ McAllister
3:00-3:50			Andrew Dahlke Patrick Murphy Rhonda Taylor
4:00-4:50			David Dees Allen Rippe Peter Sommer
5:00-5:50		Exhibits Close	Doug Owens Thomas Liley Andrew Stonerock
6:00-6:50	Break	Break	Break	Break
7:30-10:00				UNM Wind Symphony with Timothy McAllister and Eric Lau

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New Posts Coming!

It's New Years Resolution time and now that I have a few weeks of down time till the semester starts I have no excuse to not make a few posts.

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