Sarx Ergon – Martin Iddon
Website(s) : http://www.geoffreydeibel.com
SaxOpen is the occasion to present the European premiere of Sarx Ergon, a solo soprano work, by British composer Martin Iddon. His music is known worldwide and has been performed by many ensembles.
Biography
A Washington, D.C. native, Geoffrey Deibel has appeared at the Darmstadt and Xenakis festivals, and lectured at the Conservatories of Stuttgart, and Cork, Ireland. Recent domestic highlights include performances at Merkin Hall and Zankel Hall (NYC). Member of the h2 quartet, and serves as principal saxophonist with the Wichita Symphony. Appearances with the New World Symphony and the American Soundscapes Orchestra, with David Robertson and Roberto Abbado. Commissions or premieres from Jesse Ronneau, Drew Baker, Nathan Davis, Hans Thomalla, Marc Mellits, Jason Eckardt, and Hiroyuki Itoh. Degrees in history and music from Northwestern University, and a doctoral degree from Michigan State University. Geoff’s teachers include Joseph Lulloff and Frederick Hemke. Yamaha and Vandoren artist.
More information
European premiere of “Sarx Ergon,” a piece for solo soprano saxophone written for Geoffrey Deibel by Martin Iddon. Sarx Ergon uses the saxophone in an inverse manner: the player is asked to hold the instrument with the bell against the leg and all the keys closed. The performer uses extreme manipulations of the embouchure, airstream, and tongue position to operate this “deconstructed” instrument. The keys open in varying combinations to cause intended and unintended sonorities over the course of the mainly graphic score. The piece was composed in the summer of 2013-2014 as a result of experimentations and collaboration between composer and performer in Leeds, UK.
Martin Iddon studied composition and musicology at the Universities of Cambridge and Durham and studied composition privately with Steve Martland, Chaya Czernowin, and Steven Kazuo Takasugi. Iddon was appointed Lecturer in Music at University College Cork in 2005, moving to Lancaster University in 2006, and the University of Leeds in 2009, where he is Professor of Music and Aesthetics. His music has been performed in North America, Europe, and Australasia by Ensemble SurPlus, Distractfold, ekmeles, the Kairos Quartett, Heather Roche, Eva Zöllner, Rei Nakamura, and others. His books New Music at Darmstadt and John Cage and David Tudor are both published by Cambridge University Press.