GCSU Saxophonists present at prestigious conference

The music and music therapy majors of Georgia College & State University’s saxophone studio can often be heard on campus, performing in the Wind Symphony, Jazz Band, saxophone quartets, combos and as soloists. From Friday, March 14ththrough Sunday, March 16th, however, they were many miles away from Milledgeville representing the Bobcats at the North American Saxophone Alliance’s Region 7 Conference at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The Saxophone Alliance was founded nearly 50 years ago as a professional organization for performers and teachers of the saxophone. It serves as a network that facilitates the sharing of best practices in pedagogy, promotes new music and aids students in their development as musicians. Biannually, the organization hosts regional conferences at universities throughout the country. This year’s Region 7 gathering saw students and teachers from throughout the Southeast coming together to share performances, new music and new ideas. GCSU was well-represented with accepted recital presentations by undergraduate saxophone chamber groups the Geecee Quartet (Wesley Harper, Jenna Nelson, Preston Raburn and Autumn Taylor) and Eclectet (Jacob Bryson, Kelsey Carpenter, Cole Flowers and Savannah McDowell), as well as the 10-member GCSU Saxophone Choir. The groups were the only student ensembles featured at the conference from Georgia. 

“It’s a result of the hard work, talent and dedication of these students,” said GCSU associate professor of music Andrew J. Allen, the university’s saxophone instructor (who also serves as national president of the Saxophone Alliance). “It’s a pleasure to work with them every day. The fact that they’re playing at this prestigious event with students from some of the most lauded music schools in the country is a testament to the quality of student that Georgia College & State University attracts.”

The conference performances were made possible by support from GCSU’s Mentored Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors initiative, a division of GC Journeys. “Without the support of Dr. Kevin Bucholtz, associate provost of Student Engagement and Academic Excellence; Dr. Tsu-Ming Chiang, MURACE director; and the rest of the team, this wouldn’t have been possible. The support that our students receive in the form of travel grants is invaluable to their growth. Many of my colleagues around the country are quite jealous of what we have here,” said Allen.

The saxophone choir consists of 10 students: Jacob Bryson (junior, BA in Music), Amber Bussey (sophomore, Bachelor of Music Therapy), Austin Butts (senior, Bachelor of Music Therapy), Kelsey Carpenter (junior, Bachelor of Music Therapy), Conner Dickey (sophomore, BA in Music), Wesley Harper (sophomore, BA in Music), Savannah McDowell (junior, BA in Music), Jenna Nelson (freshman, BA in Music), Preston Raburn (senior, BA in Music) and Autumn Taylor (sophomore, BA in Music). Both the choir and the student quartets are academic courses.

“Chamber music helps prepare the music educators and music therapists of tomorrow by providing them with real-world musical problem-solving opportunities with their peers,” said Allen. “With weekly coaching from me, they then rehearse on their own, where they must hone their abilities to find and fix technical problems, as well as nurture their interpretive skills. They also develop their ability to communicate their artistic ideas to others in a way that will lead to a high-quality performance. These are real-world skills for any musician, music educator, or music therapist that we work on every day.” 

He added that the addition of regular high-profile, off-campus conference performances has helped refine student skill sets. 

“It’s one thing to perform for a local audience of friends and family: It’s quite another to present in this specialized environment where everyone else is also a high-level saxophonist" Allen said. “It brings an added level of intensity and seriousness to the students’ preparations.”

The GCSU Saxophone Choir was formed in the fall of 2022, but it has made an impression in its short life. Spring 2023 saw performances at the Georgia Music Educators Association Conference in Athens, the national 2023 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and an appearance at the 2024 United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium. The Region 7 Conference marked the first such out-of-state performance for the GCSU saxophone quartets. 

As to the future, Allen says, “These students are already ready for the next musical challenge!”