Sax Appeal at Gordonstoun Gig

Classical

SAXOPHONE quartets might be rare beasts in Scotland, but as Karen Dufour of Sax Ecosse points out, that is not the case everywhere.

"Certainly saxophone quartets in Britain are rarer than most chamber groups," she said.

"There are quite a few in England, but in Scotland, only two. There’s a lot more music written for the saxophone quartet than people realise."

Sax Ecosse further marks itself out by being an all female quartet, formed by Dufour and her fellow Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) graduates Michelle Melvin, Gillian Skingley and Lynsey Payne.

Formed in 2004 while still students at RSAMD, the quartet won all the major chamber music prizes including the Governor’s Recital Prize and the Mary D. Adams Prize for Chamber Music and also reached the final of Saxtet Publication’s Saxophone Quartet Competition leading to a performance at the British Saxophone Congress.

Sax Ecosse have also been recipients of the Enterprise Music Scotland Residency Project 2008/09, and are alumni of the prestigious Live Music Now scheme founded by Yehedi Menuin.

"We all played in chamber quartets with various people as part of our studies, but when we got together, it really worked," Dufour added.

Dufour’s own introduction to the saxophone came while she was at high school.

"I just thought the instrument looked cool and I wanted to play that," she said.

"Getting into (classical) music came later. The saxophone is better known for jazz, but originally it was created to bridge the gap between brass and woodwind in the orchestra."

The members of Sax Ecosse do venture into other musical areas outside of their commitment to the quartet, including one member who plays reggae, and all are very involved in musical education and outreach work.

"As a sax player, you have to be versatile, but you always have a strength and while we enjoy other genres, classical music is our strength," Dufour, who also plays in a saxophone and piano duo, added.

"We are lucky because so many composers are now writing for us. We are also lucky because we play other composers. Because the saxophone is a relatively new instrument in the history of music it did attract people’s attention and a lot of composers starting writing for it."

Among the composers who have written original music for Sax Ecosse are Scottish based John De Simone and Eddie McGuire, best known among the folk music community as founder-member of the Whistlebinkies, but Dufour adds there is nothing to be frightened of in Sax Ecosse’s modern commissions.

"That’s the key," she said.

"When we play new music, it has to be accessible."

• Sax Ecosse appear at St Christopher’s Chapel, as guests of Gordonstoun Concert Society on Thursday 26th January.