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Vim and Vigor: Striking Music for Saxes and Percussion

  • NOVA Alexandria 5000 Dawes Avenue Alexandria, VA, 22311 United States (map)
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Vim and Vigor: Striking Music for Saxes and Percussion

Saturday, February 10, 2024

Reception begins at 7:00pm
Concert begins at 7:30pm

NOVA Alexandria

5000 Dawes Ave,
Alexandria, VA 22311

EVENT DETAILS

Join us for a musical celebration of youthful vitality in our first-ever concert at Northern Virginia Community College’s exciting new recital hall. The award-winning saxophone quartet Project Fusion will combine forces with Jeff Stern, percussion and marimbist of the iconic icarus Quartet, in a program of dynamic works for saxophones and marimba created by classical composers all under the age of 45. Audiences get to experience a reimagined traditional piano quintet, with works written since 2010 that are rhythmically infectious, harmonically curious, playfully melodic, and vibrantly colorful, all written since 2010. Much of this music explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our artistic heritage, observing the growth, perspective, fortitude, personal reflection, and shared experience of this tumultuous period.

PROGRAM

Tyler Kline (b.1991) - Selections from Orchard (2018, rev. 2023)

Project Fusion Sax Quartet
Jeff Stern, marimba

Michael Frazier (b. 1991) - World Premiere of guacamayas for saxophone quartet

Project Fusion Sax Quartet

Michael Laurello (b. 1981) - I always visit the same imaginary city when I dream (2021, rev. 2023) for solo percussion and stereo playback

Jeff Stern, percussion

Michael Laurello (b. 1981) - Unity Synonym (2019, rev. 2023) for alto saxophone and marimba

Azimuth
Doug O’Connor, alto saxophone
Jeff Stern, marimba

Carlos Simon (b. 1986) - Catch On Fire (2019) for saxophone quartet

Project Fusion Sax Quartet

John Psathas (b. 1966) - “Farewell to the Flesh” from Connectome (2019) for saxophone quartet and percussion

Project Fusion Sax Quartet
Jeff Stern, vibraphone

FEATURED ARTISTS
Featured
Project Fusion Sax Quartet
Project Fusion Sax Quartet

Project Fusion strives to connect and inspire audiences through kinetic performances, adventurous programming, artistic kinship, and shenanigans. The quartet is a Laureate of Astral Artists, “...elevating the saxophone to its rightful throne” (Splash Magazine), and they have captured top prizes in the nation’s most prestigious chamber music competitions, including the Fischoff, Coleman, Plowman, Chesapeake, and Music Teachers National Association chamber competitions. They are passionate, witty, daring, and devoted musicians who seek to share their bond with others through the excitement and intimacy of chamber music. Project Fusion’s name is derived from the philosophy that music is an infinite, ongoing “project” guided by a sense of adventure and creativity, and that the collaboration of diverse perspectives can result in dynamic, surprising, meaningful and enjoyable artistic creations. In upcoming seasons, Fusion will explore the music of video games, perform as orchestral soloists, and present world premieres of works written by diverse composers in performances across the USA.

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Jeff Stern, percussion
Jeff Stern, percussion

Known for performing “with precision and an impressive attention to timbral detail” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), percussionist Jeff Stern has developed a voice to listen for in today’s contemporary music scene. He has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has collaborated with and championed the work of a number of the world’s preeminent composers. Recent premieres include Alejandro Viñao’s Stress and Flow with The Percussion Collective, James Wood’s Secret Dialogues for solo marimba, and John Luther Adams’ Sila at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival. As a proponent for the music of our time, Stern also actively commissions works by composers of his generation, such as Thomas Kotcheff, Emma O’Halloran, Robert Honstein, and Juri Seo.

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SOLD OUT | Violin Virtuosity: Stella Chen, violin, and Natalia Kazaryan, piano