Blog | MulesRasch

Prism Quartet's 25th Anniversary

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:05:27 -0500

Congratulations to the Prism Saxophone Quartet which is celebrating 25 years of performing and commissioning.

They are presently performing several concerts to celebrate this achievement, in Philadelphia, Boston and New york. In addition they have also launched their newest CD: Beneath Breath. They are planning more CD's later this year.

The anniversary has also been noticed by mainstream media. You can read several good write ups in:

"Helping the Sax Find a Classical Home" by Vivien Schweitzer in the New York Times
"A quartet that is so much more than 4 saxophones" by Tom Di Nardo in the Philadelphia Daily News
"Creatively defying sax stereotypes" by David Patrick Steams in The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Opera & Classical - Album Review" by Olivia Giovetti in New York's Time Out
"Prism Quartet celebrates 25th Anniversary at LPR on 1/31" by Christian Carey in Sequenza 21

Several notable composers such as John Adams, William Albright, William Bolcom, Steven Mackey and Bright Sheng were mentioned in these articles.

The present edition of the quartet includes: Tim McAllister (soprano sax), Zachary Shemon (alto sax), Matt Levy (tenor sax) & Taimur Sullivan (baritone sax).

Massenet's Werther Live on the web

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Arte live will be presenting Jules Massenet's opera, Werther, live on the web tomorrow, Jan. 26, 2010 at 2:30PM EST.

-What has this got to do with the saxophone?

Glad you asked. Premiered in 1892, Werther is one of the operas which includes an alto saxophone in the orchestra pit.

Arte TV is broadcasting a live performance of this great work from the Opéra La Bastille in Paris with a live feed to it's web site. (Aren't you glad you live in the 21st Century). If you miss the live performance, it seems Arte TV will have it available on demand afterward.

Tomorrow's performance will be conducted by Michel Plasson with Jonas Kaufmann in the lead role, and Sophie Koch as Charlotte.

Archie Shepp on Arte TV

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:51:22 -0500

Just found this gorgeous video of the incomparable Archie Shepp on the Arte TV web site. Still going strong, he seems to be enjoying himself in this bluesy performance.

Vintage ads

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:31:17 -0500

Fascinating site provides pictures of vintage posters including some with ads for or including saxophones and saxophonists. All this and much more at the Vintage Ad Browser.

Saxophone Competition

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 08:05:10 -0500

Recently received a note from Jean-Louis Petit about the Concours International de Saxophone which will be held in Paris next March 2010.

You can find further information at this site: http://jean_louis.petit.perso.sfr.fr/concours/concours.html

Welcome to 2010

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:23:54 -0500

We finally made it. It's 2010. Happy New Year to everyone.

I haven't posted in quite some time. So busy. Hopefully, I'll be able to talk a little more about some interesting things I've been developing. But that is for another post.

Today, I would just like to start the new year off on the right foot. And what better way to do that than to share a video clip. The New Century Saxophone Quartet have posted some very entertaining clips of themselves in a particular setting. Here's an example of their presentation, a forest performance of Russell Peck's Drastic Measures.