Saxophone Weekend at Studio Z
Featuring Rova & Ancia Saxophone Quartets
|
Studio Z is pleased to host two of the nation's most accomplished saxophone quartets in one weekend! Local powerhouse Ancia Quartet will perform on Saturday, Oct. 8, and San Francisco-based avant-jazz legends Rova Quartet will perform on Sunday, Oct. 9.
Ancia Quartet's concert will feature several pieces written for the group, including The Forest Cathedral (composed for Ancia in 2022) by North Carolina-based composer/pianist Robin McLaughlin and The Center Does Not Hold (written for Ancia in 2016) by Israeli-American composer Yehuda Yannay. The program also includes John Anthony Lennon’s Elysian Bridges and Marc Mellits’ minimalist/funk inspired Ex Machina.
Stopping along their U.S. tour, Rova Saxophone Quartet will bring their signature blend of composition and collective improvisation that creates exciting, genre-bending music. With a 40th anniversary in 2018, Rova is one of the longest-standing groups in the music movement that has its roots in post-bop, free jazz, avant-rock, and 20th century new music. As a precaution we suggest that audience members wear masks at the concerts. We hope this will help people feel comfortable attending. 
About Ancia Saxophone Quartet
Hailed by Chamber Music America as an ensemble which “approaches the commissioning and performing of new works as a special mission,” the Ancia Saxophone Quartet has been dedicated to expanding the saxophone repertoire for over thirty years. The quartet has shared its passion for new music with a diverse range of audiences around the world through performances filled with “energy, precision, and huge dynamic range” (Eugene Rousseau). The group’s unique ability to “create exquisite musical interpretations” have drawn commissions from an impressive array of contemporary composers, including such luminaries as Libby Larsen, Jennifer Higdon, and Lei Liang. Although the quartet’s mission privileges the creation and dissemination of new music, Ancia enjoys transporting audiences across time and genre. The group expertly performs repertoire spanning centuries, with programs as likely to include 12th-century German mystic Hildegard von Bingen as those of jazz legend Duke Ellington. Group members are: Matthew Sintchak (soprano saxophone), Joan Hutton (alto saxophone), Benjamin Cold (tenor saxophone), and Angela Wyatt (baritone saxophone). 
About Rova Saxophone Quartet
Think of the human voice in music. The most primal of instruments, it can melt you or move you to tears on the spot. Then it’s the saxophone, one-step removed from the human voice, and the next most powerful messenger in music. Johnny Hodges, Albert Ayler, Steve Lacy, Pharoah Sanders, Oliver Lake, King Curtis, Tim Berne, John Butcher - to name only a few of the many singular voices on the instrument who, with one short phrase or even one sound, can take your breath away, or excite and inspire you to great heights. Multiply that power, that capability, times 4, and you have a saxophone quartet. Rova Sax Quartet: a group that can move you the way an Eastern European choir of voices can move you, but also a group with force, a force that can feel as if it's tearing the walls of the listening space down, or that can simulate the complex sound of a machine, or one of nature’s wild phenomena, or conversely, the almost-silent overlapping sound patterns heard with eyes closed in a field in the wilderness. Rova Sax Quartet's musical goal has always been, since 1978, to instigate, to challenge, and to inspire. The group explores the synthesis of composition and collective improvisation, creating exciting, genre-bending music. Rova:Arts, formed in 1986, acts as the umbrella organization for the musicians, facilitating the goals and productions and tours, the collaborations and special projects. With a 40th anniversary on Feb 4, 2018, Rova is one of the longest-standing groups in the music movement that has its roots in post-bop, free jazz, avant-rock, and 20th century new music; Rova draws inspiration from the visual arts, contemporary poetry, contemporary dance. We listen closely and deeply appreciate both the traditional and the pop music styles of Africa and Asia. And then there is the blues; always a key. Bruce Ackley – soprano saxophone / Steve Adams – alto saxophone / Larry Ochs – tenor saxophone / Jon Raskin – baritone saxophone Tickets can be securely purchased by credit card or through your PayPal account in advance, or by cash or credit card at the door. Tickets purchased online will be held at the door.
Please consider adding a $5 donation to Studio Z with your ticket purchase. Your donation supports the operation of Studio Z and keeps it an affordable venue for artists and presenters in the Twin Cities. Studio Z is owned and operated by Zeitgeist, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the music of our time. |
