Sax Circus CD
As many of you will be aware, Saxtet Publications has sponsored the NSC since its inception, and the latest outcome of this fruitful collaboration is the Choir's third and definitely most sizzling CD to date, Sax Circus.
Introduced by one of the world’s most engaging items of musical theatre, the Magic Flute Overture, this fast-moving, sax family show conjures up all the atmosphere of big top thrills in the title track, plus high-energy dance and Boogie, colour from Spain and America and all kinds of spectacle, both awesome (Bolero) and camp (Bohemian Rhapsody). There’s much more, including tears and pathos, and you can even recreate the experience with your own ensemble as 9 of the 12 tracks which will be published by Saxtet Publications.
National Saxophone Choir in distinguished company!
Sunday 21st June saw the NSC in titled company when patron Lord Robert Winston joined players at the opening weekend of Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine's 2009 Music in the Garden season at Wavendon. He played a stunning star role as narrator in Mike Brogan's vivid arrangement of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, raising goosebumps with the drama of his delivery even in the idyllic summer sun. When the spotlight turned to the hot soloing of John Dankworth and Alan Barnes in Karen Street's Carnival, Lord Robert was happy to dust down his sax and join the troops in the back row, re-living his appearance with the Choir in BBC 1's Play It Again.
Clearly relishing the company, the Choir gave one of its best and happiest performances to the families gathered in the Dankworths' pavilion. Much of its programme, in a variety of formats, is available from Saxtet Publications: Mrs Malcolm, Her Reel; Largo al Factotum; Duende; Under the Veil; Nimrod; Carnival; Bolero; Shetland Sequence. This is scarcely the start of the summer for the Choir, which now turns its attention overseas, with performances booked for early July at the World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok, and for August at Klassiek op Locatie in the Netherlands.
NSC Series
Saxtet Publications' relationship with the National Saxophone Choir flourishes with news that Saxtet Publications is soon to publish works composed by members for the National Saxophone Choir and the National Saxophone Ensemble. Titles in this new NSC Series will be published as E-Editions in order to maximize value and accessibility.
SXP already publishes many works written for the NSC by Musical Director Nigel Wood and other composers, but the NSC Series reflects the increasing number of talented composers and arrangers that are emerging from the ranks of the Choir.
The NSC Series acnowledges the growing prominence of their titles in Choir repertoire, but also aims to make their work more widely known, to stimulate more potential writing talent - and to earn them a modest return on the time and talent they invest.
The series is due to launch later this year, when scores will be made available on www.saxtetpublications.com.
E-Scores
