FARMINGTON – On Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m., at the University of Maine at Farmington’s Nordica Auditorium, The Arts Institute of Western Maine is pleased to present The Asylum Saxophone Quartet.
From lush classical works to minimalism, modernism, indie rock, world music, and klezmer, this group of four saxophones can do it all. The youthful and classically-trained performers graduated from The Hartt School (Hartford, Conn.) and have subsequently performed worldwide, earning praise and awards in national chamber music competitions. They received the Grand Prize in the 2014 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition in Boston, Mass., becoming the first saxophone quartet to receive this honor.
Asylum Hill, from which the group takes its name, is a storied neighborhood in Hartford. In the mid-19th century the district was an important commercial, political and cultural capital; home to literary figures such as Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Today, the quartet has committed to captivating diverse audiences and contributing to the vibrancy of its home city with outreach performances and residencies engaging youth in the Connecticut/Massachussetts area; we are fortunate to experience their enthusiasm here in Maine.
Recent highlights of their tours include a concert at the Boston Athenaeum, performances before film screenings at the 2014 Traverse City Film Festival, a two-concert debut at the Newport Music Festival, a two-week residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute (N.H.) and a mainstage concert at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas (Conn.). The group performs music selected for its audience, and performs arrangements of Franck, Grieg, Gershwin, Appalachian, electric, and popular kid-focused music such as “Groove Machine” by Mellits. As enthusiastic performers of new music, the quartet has also collaborated closely with young and fresh composers including among a large list, Ryan Jesperson. Asylum’s 2014-2015 season features an original arrangement of Philip Glass’s String Quartet No. 5.
This group brings energy and optimism, and as Jesperson said: “One can’t help but smile and be pulled into their sonic world.”
The members of the Asylum Quartet are Joseph Abad, Tony Speranza, Max Schwimmer, Andrew Barnhart on soprano, alto, tenor, baritone sa, respectively.
For more information please see their website, www.asylumquartet.com and please visit the Arts Institute (AIWM) at www.artsinstitute.org, and subscribe to us on Facebook (“artsinstitute.”) Phone 860-2674.
