Georgia College & State University students are creating unique music and sharing it with the world.

Student chamber ensemble, the Imposter Trio, and saxophonist Savannah McDowell represented Georgia College in performances at the American Single Reed Summit (ASRS) this month in Columbia, South Carolina.

The American Single Reed Summit is a national conference focusing on clarinet and saxophone. The summit brings professional and student musicians together to develop connections between performers that result in meaningful musical experiences for current and future generations.

The summit also focuses, in part, on pedagogy and scholarship. McDowell is a first-year student working simultaneously toward bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. She performed in a saxophone masterclass during the conference.

Georgia College Saxophone Professor Andrew J. Allen said it’s unique to have a freshman performer presenting at a national conference. The chance to collaborate with and learn from fellow musicians can have a lasting impact.

Senior music major Mary Mead is the reed player in the Imposter Trio, a chamber ensemble featuring saxophone, piano and percussion. The Imposter Trio’s instrumentation offers audiences a new sound palette. But that novelty results in the challenge of finding appropriate music to feature that tonal blend.

“An ensemble with unique instrumentation like ours doesn’t have the benefit of hundreds of years of repertoire already written for it,” she said. “We have the opportunity to go out and show composers and educators that this instrumentation works, this ensemble works, these colors work together and we should write for it more. That’s really exciting for me.”

The trio selected composer Jason Rebello’s “Integration” as one of the pieces for their conference performance. Mead said it showcases the ensemble’s dynamisms, offering each performer feature opportunities and the chance to slide back and support the others. But the real deciding factor was that it’s one of the few pieces arranged expressly for their instrumentation.

Senior percussionist Jacob Hammock said he hopes the ASRS performance opens doors for the Imposter Trio, helping members meet like-minded musicians who can help them achieve their vision for the ensemble.

“Going to these conferences and performing gives us the opportunity to network with other performers who may like what we’re doing and would want to work with us and give us support,” Hammock said. “So, I think it's a great opportunity, not only just for us and other performers who seek this instrumentation, but for composers as well, to seek a new field—a new area that hasn't been discovered yet.”

Senior pianist Ellie Deener said she hoped the chance to perform for, and receive feedback from, peers and potential collaborators helps address the imposter syndrome implied in the ensemble’s name.

“Once we get past the challenge of finding what we want to play, it is very, very exciting to just get to play and hear how these sounds mesh together, how we can build off of each other and make really beautiful music,” Deener said.

Organizers of the American Single Reed Summit selected the Imposter Trio to perform during their 2022 conference in Columbia, South Carolina. You can hear the trio perform during the Department of Music’s Chamber Ensembles Fall Concert at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 7 in Max Noah Recital Hall.

For information about majoring in music at Georgia College & State University, visit the Department of Music’s website.