Saxophilia

Saxophilia (Colin MacDonald – baritone saxophone; Julia Nolan – soprano saxophone; David Branter – tenor saxophone; Kris Covlin – alto saxophone)

Vancouver based saxophone quartet Saxophilia performs Canadian works by Colin MacDonald, Peter Hannan, John Burke, Dorothy Chang, and Derek Charke.

TRACKS
1-5. Peter Hannan – Fast Truck Bop
6. Derek Charke – Last Call
7-8. Dorothy Chang – Obsess
9. John Burke – Gyaling
10-12. Colin MacDonald – Triple Sax Quartet

“This is brand-spanking new music, 21st century composition, fluid and exhilarating sound worlds — all packaged into an album that’s as cutting edge as the latest Apple iPhone release.” – Neil Crossley, Clarinet & Saxophone Magazine

Since its formation, the saxophone quartet has embodied the traditions of chamber music performance while providing a medium for innovation. Modelled after the string quartet, the French-style saxophone quartet (with soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone voices) has a timbral uniformity that is almost choral in nature, yet is flexible enough to sound at home in a multitude of styles and genres.

Always a maverick instrument, the saxophone has been closely associated with moments of musical revolution, from its appearance during the 19th Century orchestral expansion, to its adoption by the pioneers of jazz, to the rich pluralism and genre crossover experiments we enjoy today.

Recorded September 29th & 30th, 2017 at Monarch Studios in Vancouver
Production & editing by Giorgio Magnanensi
Engineering & mastering by Don Harder
Engineering on Triple Sax Quartet by Will Howie
Alto sax on Triple Sax Quartet by Christopher Ward

Saxophilia is available from:

Saxophilia

Formed in 1996, the Vancouver-based saxophone quartet Saxophilia has been committed to giving the highest quality performances of classical saxophone repertoire. Its members include Julia Nolan on soprano saxophone, Kris Covlin on alto saxophone, David Branter on tenor saxophone, and Colin MacDonald on baritone saxophone. All of the quartet members are active performers in Vancouver’s music community, as soloists and as band members in a wide variety of styles from classical to jazz to popular music. This appreciation of a diversity of music informs the group’s choice of repertoire, which ranges from the standard repertoire of classical saxophone quartet, to contemporary music, to jazz arrangements and lighter fare.

The quartet has been active in the new music community, appearing in the Vancouver New Music Festival 2004 and the Sonic Boom Festivals of 1999, 2000, and 2006. Outside of Vancouver, the group has presented programs at regional conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance held in Victoria and Saskatoon, and has performed at the 12^th World Saxophone Congress in Montreal.

Saxophilia successfully commissioned John Burke in 2004 for his piece Gyaling, assisted in the creation of Last Call by Derek Charke, and gave the Western Canada premiere of Peter Hannan’s Fast Truck Bop. The group has also given the Canadian premiere of works by international composers such as Graham Fitkin, Erki-Sven Tüür, Helena Tulva, David Kechley, and Michael Torke.