Three days in May of fun, firsts and music for the whole community
Doylestown, PA (March 5, 2012) – The world-famous Washington Saxophone Quartet (WSAXQ) is coming to Doylestown May 4-6 for three premier cultural events that will support music organizations and students in Bucks County. The weekend brings together the WSAXQ with the Delaware Valley College Concert Band; the Community Conservatory; the Mercer Museum; Maestro Gary Fagin, conductor of the Bucks County Symphony; and Matcor Chairman and jazz aficionado Bill Schutt’s Del Val Saxophone Quartet.
The weekend is underwritten by MATCOR, Inc. Headquartered in Doylestown, MATCOR provides engineering, manufactures and installation of systems to prevent corrosion of infrastructure, pipelines and other structures worldwide.
“We want to bring these important local organizations together and create an awareness and a culture of music that we hope will be the beginning of something much larger for our community,” says Schutt.
Kids Learn from the Masters
First up, on Friday, May 4, the Washington Saxophone Quartet – who has entertained and taught thousands around the world, played at President Clinton’s inauguration and is heard daily on NPR’s “All Things Considered” – will hold a free clinic for music students. This fun, interactive program will teach students about three of the essentials of music: melody, rhythm, and harmony. A small group will perform with the quartet on one selection. A multi-cultural approach incorporates music from Ireland, Brazil, China, and the United States.
“Night of Sax at the Museum”
Next, the Quartet performs at a soiree Saturday, May 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the recently renovated Mercer Museum. Tickets are $75, and all proceeds benefit the Community Conservatory and the Delaware Valley College music programs.
One highlight will be the world premiere of Maestro Gary Fagin’s saxophone quartet arrangements of two Duke Ellington compositions: “Come Sunday” and “Happy Go-Lucky Local.” Fagin has composed, conducted and arranged music for symphonies, ballet, Broadway (notably Three Penny Opera with Sting), NPR and the Yale and American repertory theaters, to name only a few, and received the first doctorate in conducting ever awarded by Yale.
The Delaware Valley Saxophone Quartet will also perform an octet with the Washington Sax Quartet.
The event includes spirits and hors d’oeuvres. Seating is limited. Learn more or RSVP.
Free Concert for the Community
On Sunday, May 6 at 3 p.m., the Quartet will perform Bob Mintzer’s thrilling “Rhythm of the Americas” at a free concert with the 65-member Delaware Valley College Concert Band in the Moumgis Auditorium on the Delaware College campus. The composition was inspired by the composer’s life as a young musician growing up in the New York area, specifically his experience playing with Latin bands, big bands, symphony orchestras, pop and R & B bands.
About Gary Fagin
Music Director of the Bucks County Symphony Orchestra, Gary Fagin has done it all – composed, conducted and arranged music for symphonies, ballet, Broadway and NPR, to name only a few. He is also music director of the newly-formed Knickerbocker Orchestra.
His many theatrical credits include Three Penny Opera with Sting on Broadway. In addition, he served as musical director and conductor of Yale Repertory Theatre and American Repertory Theatre. His work has even premiered before Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Fagin studied conducting at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale School of Music and cello with The Curtis Quarter. He received the first doctorate in conducting ever awarded by Yale.
About the Washington Sax Quartet
The WSaxQ is the most widely-heard saxophone quartet in the United States. Since 1997, recorded arrangements by the Washington Saxophone Quartet have aired daily on National Public Radio’s broadcasts of “All Things Considered.” They even entertained at President Clinton’s inauguration.
For nearly 35 years, WSaxQ has presented recitals, informal concerts, and master classes throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and China, and they have performed on radio and television worldwide. The Quartet’s performances evoke the refined sounds of a string quartet, the rich harmonies of an organ prelude, and the excitement of a jazz sax section.
As past and present players in the elite, “special” military bands in the nation’s capital, WSaxQ’s members have performed thousands of concerts in schools throughout the United States. As a special community service, since 1992 the Quartet has presented an annual benefit recital for Loaves and Fishes, a ministry to feed the homeless in Washington, D.C.
About Delaware Valley College
Delaware Valley (Del Val) College is a small, private, multi-disciplinary college on 571 acres in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1896, it features individualized attention and small class sizes. Del Val supplements its theoretical learning with applied learning, and most students receive 4 credits for working 500 hours in their major field of study. The college, with 1,700 full-time undergraduate students, offers 27 majors and specializes in the life sciences. DelVal tends to attract pre-veterinary students and among its most popular majors are Small Animal Science, Equine Science and Conservation and Wildlife Management. Other science offerings include Chemistry, Environmental Design, Food Science, Microbiology & Biotechnology and Zoology. The college also offers degrees in Business, Criminal Justice, Counseling Psychology and Media & Communications. It has an MBA program, a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and an extensive course offering in Continuing Education, including a curriculum that provides adult learners with teacher certification.
About The Community Conservatory
The Community Conservatory of Music is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization, offering a wide range of high quality arts education and performance programs in music, art, and drama. We provide individual lessons, group classes, recitals, concerts, ensembles, workshops, and community outreach projects. The Conservatory has been in operation since 1988, serving the surrounding communities in Bucks and Montgomery Counties and New Jersey. The Conservatory is a Member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, the Doylestown Business and Community Alliance, and the Arts and Business Council of Greater Philadelphia.
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