HATTIESBURG, Miss– This isn’t your every day birthday party. Southern Miss invites all to celebrate the birthday of Adolphe Sax, the man responsible for the saxophone.
When someone mentions a saxophone, thoughts immediately flutter to Kenny G, to jazz music or to rock-n-roll. Southern Miss plans to celebrate the root of the saxophone itself by honoring its creator, Adolphe Sax. November 2014 marks 200 years since the birth of Adolphe Sax.
The University of Southern Mississippi Sax-Chamber Orchestra (SCO) will be playing classical and modern saxophone music in honor of Sax on November 4th, 7:30pm at the Marsh Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus.
“It is our plan to show how Adolphe Sax’s wish came true with an orchestra that he actually invented,” said Lawrence Gwozdz, professor of saxophone at Southern Miss. “This year’s ensemble is exceptional, with students from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi. Many of them are here because this orchestra exists in the School of Music.”
The concert will feature music of Handel and Mendelssohn, as well as two of the very first pieces that ever used the saxophone, Hector Berlioz’s “Hymne” and Georges Kastner’s “Sextuor.” There’s also a brand new composition dedicated to the SCO called, “The Mountains Call.”
The composer, Michael Young of Post Falls, Idaho said, “I was enthralled by Dr. Gwozdz’s request for a piece for Sax’s 200th birthday. I united the enthusiasm with my love for the majesty of the many mountain ranges I have climbed.” Young will be in attendance for the concert.
But it wouldn’t be a party without food. Immediately following the concert, the party begins next door in the Intermezzo at Woods Gallery with light music, food and drink, all Belgium inspired to celebrate Sax’s heritage.
