The US Navy’s primary musical entity, which has some of the most outstanding performers in the country among its members and performs about 1,700 performances annually, has prepared another year of this saxophone meeting.
Those who come will enjoy two full and intense days of activities: engaging sessions, master classes, and concerts in different formats covering all the possibilities our instrument allows.
In this year’s edition, the legendary Frederick Hemke stands out among the speakers. Also, the invited artists will be Taimur Sullivan, Bob Sheppard, and Jonathan Yanik. Following the tradition of bringing a leading European soloist, this year for the first will be Spaniard: Antonio Felipe Belíjar.
This annual event, held for forty years and a worldwide reference, came from Dale Underwood and Ned Muffley, members of the US Navy Band, who know how to create a place for learning and diffusion saxophone and everything related to it.
Based on other meetings similar to those they had attended at different times, they took advantage of the Commodores Jazz Ensemble to include jazz. They also reduced the number of invited artists to accommodate more masterclasses and lectures, shared equally by jazz and classical speakers.
Since 2003, the College Quartet Series has accommodated chamber music while allowing university students to participate. This opportunity has extended to high school students since 2015 with the High School Honors Recital. All this helped to consolidate the symposium as an opportunity for saxophonists of all ages and levels to have access to hands-on learning, attracting more audiences to the concerts at the same time. These concerts are one of the main attractions. And we cannot forget they also served to premiere works and perform the modern repertoire.
On Friday, the Navy Band performs classical repertoire, accompanying guest soloists over the years, such as Vincent David, Claude Delangle, Masahiro Maeda, Dragan Sremec, Arno Bornkamp, Frederick Hemke, Jean-Yves Fourmeau, Timothy McAllister, Debra Richtmeyer, and Steven Mauk.
On Saturday, the Commodores Jazz Ensemble performs big band and jazz. Some guest soloists they have played with include Eddie Daniels, Branford Marsalis, Dave Liebman, Pete Christlieb, Bob Mintzer, Jim Snidero, Chris Vadala, Donny McCaslin, Chris Potter, and Grover Washington Jr.
From Sax Magazine, we encourage everyone with the opportunity to attend so that you do not miss this obligatory conference in the saxophone world.