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British works – ensemble

Yorkshire Saxophone Choir / contemporary

Yorkshire Saxophone Choir (YSC), is a leading saxophone ensemble from the UK, willing to showcase some British writing with works by Martin Ellerby, Andy Scott, Nigel Wood and Roger May.

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Biography

Formed by Harrogate music teachers Debbie Scherer and Sarah Jobson in 2001, Yorkshire Saxophone Choir was the UK’s first saxophone ensemble outside of the education sector, and remains the only independent ensemble of its size in the UK. It features 12 performers from across Yorkshire and 6 sizes of saxophone from sopranino to bass, playing all types of music from Baroque to rock and just about everything in between. With Sarah Markham as Music Director, YSC is going from strength to strength. Its first CD Sax for Twelve was released in 2009, comprising a range of original pieces and arrangements in 12 parts. The group celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2011 with a new commission from Martin Ellerby and a gala concert, and made its first appearance at the World Saxophone Congress in 2012.

More informations

Yorkshire Saxophone Choir performed with a reduced line up of 10 players at the last World Saxophone Congress due to personnel changes within the group at the time, and we are therefore very keen to perform on the global stage with our full complement of 12. As with the last Congress, we would like to showcase the work of UK composers with an all British programme of high quality works for saxophone. Under the title of BritSax we have selected a programme comprising our 10th anniversary commission from Martin Ellerby, which we were unfortunately unable to perform last time due to the numbers, along with important works by leading figures in theh world of saxophone composition Andy Scott, Nigel Wood and Roger May.

Excursions by Martin Ellerby was commissioned by YSC for our 10th anniversary gala concert in 2011. This is a upbeat piece with a joyful, celebratory feel. It explores the various rhythmic patterns within a 5/4 time signature, moving through a range of different moods from tense and ominoso to funky and celebratory, including at one point “with a hint of danger”! Martin Ellerby has written works for orchestra, chorus, concert band, brass band, ballet and various instrumental ensembles. Performances include the BBC Proms, Leipzig Gewandhaus and many international festivals.

Big Red by Andy Scott is an atmospheric piece that explores the blended sounds of the saxophones, allowing the instruments to really breath and sing. Originally composed for the Royal Northern College of Music saxophone ensemble, Big Red was recorded by Yorkshire Saxophone Choir on our CD Sax for Twelve. Andy Scott is an award winning composer, whose works are published by Astute Music. He won a British Composer Award for his double saxophone concerto Dark Rain and was recently awarded a prestigious New Music Biennial commission for Foden’s Band.

Stemming by Nigel Wood was originally composed for saxophone septet, and this version for enlarged forces, entitled Stemming +, was also done at our request by the composer. The music is based around a moto perpetuo figure and melodic motif, giving the piece a flowing, endless quality. Nigel Wood has written a substantial number of works for saxophone ensembles, including many for the National Saxophone Choir and SF8 octet which he founded, published by his company Saxtet Publications.

Introduction and Riffs by Roger May won a national composition competition, which led to him being appointed composer in residence of the National Saxophone Choir. Having previously commissioned a quartet from Roger, YSC founders Debbie Scherer and Sarah Jobson liked his work and suggested he enter the competition. The piece has a slow introduction, which gradually builds to an exciting fast section with a fugal episode that showcases the different saxophones individually. Roger May is an established award winning composer and orchestrator in the fields of concert and media music. His compositions have been performed in the UK and intern

Programming

13/07/2015 09:30 - 10:00

Salle de la Bourse

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Musicians / speakers

  • Anderson Molly / Soprano saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Scherer Debbie / Soprano saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Jobson Sarah / Bass saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Farthing John / Tenor saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Owen -Morley Alison / Baritone saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Aickin Sarah / Alto saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • McGuffie Matthew / Alto saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Ainge Andy / Baritone saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Vaux Jonny / Alto saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Wilkinson Ken / Sopranino saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Moffat Paul / Alto saxophone (United Kingdom)
  • Hardwick Sheila / Tenor saxophone (United Kingdom)

Program

  • Excursions (Martin Ellerby)
  • Big Red (Andy Scott)
  • Stemming (Nigel wood)
  • Introduction and Riffs (Roger May)

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