Dr. Randall Hall at the Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival at Augustana College -- February 25.
Saturday, February 25
Augustana's College's Wallenberg Hall, 3520 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
Boasting performances from Augustana College faculty members, students, and guest artists, the college's Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival will, on February 25, treat music lovers to an exploration of the saxophone's potential through new composition, improvisation, extended performance techniques, microtonality, electronic music, multimedia, and other experimental elements.
Among the day's guests is Jorge Hoyo, a leading performer of contemporary and classical music for saxophone who co-founded EMAC, a Mexico-City-based ensemble devoted to contemporary music. An engaged educator, Mr. Hoyo has taught at the Conservatoire National de Région de Nantes and in municipal schools in France's Brittany area, and has been invited to teach lectures and master classes at Mexico's Escuela Nacional de Música UNAM and University of Puebla, Spain's Conservatorio Superior de Música de Málaga, and the University of Costa Rica. Having studied saxophone with Kenneth Radnofsky and Jean-Michel Goury, Hoyo holds degrees from Spain's University of Grenade (a masters in music education), France's Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt (premier prix de saxophone and perfectionnement) and the Boston Conservatory (bachelor's in music).
In 2019, Hoyo performed a series of concerts with a full program of pieces commissioned by him or dedicated to him, with the repertoire's composers including Joan Tower, Juan Campoverde, Pedro Rivadeneira, Otto Castro, Enrique Mendoza, and Eitan Ciralksy. He has also premiered pieces by such artists as Francine Trester, John McDonald, Howard Frazin, and David Hernández, and has been invited to perform in venues and with events such as the Ars Musica Festival, the World Saxophone Congresses in Bangkok and Strasbourg, Mexico's Encuentro Universitario Internacional de Saxofón organized by UNAM, and the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference in Columbia.
This year's Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival will also feature the premiere of a new work from Germany's Hainbach, an electronic-music composer and performer who creates shifting audio landscapes that The Wire magazine called “One hell of a trip.” Using esoteric synthesizers, test equipment, and magnetic tape, Hainbach's music is both abstract yet very much a corporal experience. He has become known for his immersive live performances and YouTube channel, where he brings experimental music techniques to more than 150,000 subscribers. His music has been released on Seil Records, Opal Tapes, SA Recordings, and miscellaneous works, and the musician and composer regularly performs throughout Europe and beyond.
The schedule for the 2023 Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival is: at 10 a.m., a concert with members of the Augustana Saxophone Studio; an 11 a.m. saxophone masterclass with Jorge Hoyo in which students will perform; a 2:30 p.m. the world premiere of Hainbach's new work with Augustana's Dr. Randall Hall; a 3:30 p.m. guest-artist Q&A featuring Hoyo; and a 7:30 p.m. concert with Hoyo as the festival's featured guest artist.
The Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival takes place on February 25 in Augustana College's Wallenberg Hall, located in the Denkmann Memorial Building. Admission to all of the day's events is free, and more information is available by calling (309)794-7306 and visiting Augustana.edu.
