Saxophone Quartet and Piano
Website(s) : http://www.obsidianquartet.com/
U.S.-based Obsidian Quartet with pianist Yu-Lien The propose a piano quintet project featuring the new works by German composers, Christian Biegai and Christoph Enzel.
Biography
Comprised of passionate performers, teachers and advocates for the arts, the members of the Obsidian Quartet are committed to providing engaging sonic experiences through a mix of diverse repertoire and audience interaction. Officially formed in 2013, the ensemble came together after working with one another for over a decade. Having all completed graduate degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, saxophonists Joyce Griggs, Henning Schröder, Heidi Radtke Siberz and J. Michael Holmes share many musical commonalities, yet each maintain their own unique voice on the instrument. Like-minding in their direction, the Obsidian Quartet looks to foster new audiences for live performance and continue to ignite interest in the saxophone.
More information
The U.S.-based Obsidian Quartet with pianist Yu-Lien The will present two works for saxophone quartet and piano. The ensemble has commissioned Christian Biegai and Christoph Enzel, both saxophonists as well as composers from Germany, who have received wide acclaim for their performances and compositions.
Biegai will compose a new, original work of approximately 12 minutes in length. He has made a name for himself as a film composer, providing scores for popular German TV shows such as “Löwenzahn” and “Tatort” as well as international feature films and documentaries. In 2008 he received the Qantas New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Original Music for the documentary “The Big Picture”. Enzel will arrange a piano quintet by Ukrainian composer Nikolai Kapustin for saxophone quartet and piano. Enzel is a highly prolific arranger for the saxophone in various ensemble settings, notably for the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet and Selmer Saxharmonic among others. His arrangements have been published by Schott and Advance Music.
The proposed project involves collaborating with pianist Yu-Lien The. Ms. The has performed throughout Europe, Southeast-Asia and the US, including appearances as a soloist with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, the Kammerorchester Hannover and the Baroque Orchestra L’Arco. Her collaborative activities include performances at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in 2008 with Lori Sims as well as with the new music ensemble “Opus21” at Carnegie Hall in 2006. Ms. The regularly collaborates with renowned saxophonists, including US saxophonist, Joseph Lulloff.
At the 2014 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, the Obsidian Quartet presented a program, which already included the US premiere of another composition by Christian Biegai, Quartett, as well as an arrangement of Amy Beach’s String Quartet by Obsidian’s very own Heidi Siberz. In their current endeavor, the ensemble seeks to expand the limited repertoire for saxophone quartet and piano. By joining forces with pianist Yu-Lien The, and working with Christian Biegai and Christoph Enzel, the ensemble’s collaborative project will result in the commission and premiere of two new works at the World Saxophone Congress. Our project, Music for 5: Saxophone Quartet and Piano, if selected for the World Congress, will conform to the 20-minute allotment of music for its performance slot.