{"id":474,"date":"2018-03-07T20:44:41","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T20:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gerardweber.ca\/?p=474"},"modified":"2018-03-07T20:44:41","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T20:44:41","slug":"north-american-saxophone-alliance-2018-biennial-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gerardweber.ca\/index.php\/2018\/03\/07\/north-american-saxophone-alliance-2018-biennial-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"North American Saxophone Alliance 2018 Biennial Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am\u00a0excited to announce that this weekend I will be performing at the North American Saxophone Alliance 2018 Biennial Conference at the University of Cincinnati! Before I fly out in a couple of hours, I wanted to share my experience preparing for this performance:<\/p>\n

At the beginning of December a few months ago, I received word that my grant application to the Saskatchewan Arts Board Independent Artists Program was accepted. My\u00a0grant application outlined a project to create a suite of pieces for saxophone, live electronics, and recorded environment. The source material for the environment recordings would be locations relevant to my upbringing in Saskatchewan, captured via a recording device. Through blending live and written improvisation, each movement would encourage dialogue between the voice of the saxophone, the soundscape of the electronic effects, and the nuances of the recorded environment.<\/p>\n

This project is the culmination of several ideas that have been floating around my head since I first began my studies at the University of Saskatchewan. I used to play a lot of electric guitar in high school, and I have been fascinated by the idea ever since of playing my saxophone through guitar effects pedals. Another central idea of this project is to converse with my memories:\u00a0my childhood memories\u00a0are strongly linked to sight, smell, and especially sound. Some of my strongest memories are linked to places with distinct natural sounds. My goal is to encourage a tripart dialogue between the saxophone, the electronic effects, and the soundscape of the environments that have made a strong impression in my memories.<\/p>\n

Each movement of the suite would focus on a particular location and a particular time of the year. I have two movements to premiere at the conference in Cincinnati, both of which are winter-oriented. Once I return from the conference, I plan on writing at least three more movements that feature environment recordings during\u00a0spring and summer. I hope to perform my new piece throughout the rest of the year in Saskatoon and various locations throughout Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n

It has been a challenging but rewarding process composing these two movements. This\u00a0was my first time ever composing something on my own for saxophone. I have been waiting for the right time in my career to experiment with composition, and I feel that my most recent musical influences and performances have pushed me in the right direction to make this project work. Some of my favourite recordings these days are from artists who haven’t let themselves be\u00a0constricted by genre expectations, such as Canadian violinist Sarah Neufeld, Canadian pianist David Braid, and saxophonists Colin Stetson and Jan Garbarek. I feel that these artists\u00a0create music that is true to themselves and consequently they are able to speak to audiences with a special kind of clarity and honesty. I am especially interested in their ability to blur the boundary between composition and improvisation. I look forward to seeing where this project takes\u00a0me not only in the next couple of months but in my career as a saxophonist.<\/p>\n

Thank you to the NASA 2018 Biennial Conference\u00a0program\u00a0committee for accepting my proposal, and a big thank you to the Saskatchewan Arts Board for allowing me the freedom to explore this project through the Independent Artists Program!<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for more information on the Saskatchewan Arts Board and their Independent Artists Program<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for more information on my performance at the NASA 2018 Biennial Conference<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Print\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am\u00a0excited to announce that this weekend I will be performing at the North American Saxophone Alliance 2018 Biennial Conference at the University of Cincinnati! Before I fly out in a couple of hours, I wanted to share my experience preparing for this performance: At the beginning of December a few months ago, I received […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/NASA-2018.png?fit=300%2C361","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6jiUH-7E","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":270,"url":"http:\/\/gerardweber.ca\/index.php\/2016\/02\/07\/world-premiere-songs-of-ebb-and-flow\/","url_meta":{"origin":474,"position":0},"title":"World Premiere: Songs of Ebb and Flow","author":"admin","date":"February 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I have some exciting news to share about my latest saxophone project! From March 10-13, I will be attending the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) 2016 Biennial Conference at Texas Tech University in Lubbock to premier a composition titled Songs of Ebb and Flow by Canadian composer Paul Suchan. My\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/NASA-Poster.jpg?fit=612%2C792&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/NASA-Poster.jpg?fit=612%2C792&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/NASA-Poster.jpg?fit=612%2C792&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":712,"url":"http:\/\/gerardweber.ca\/index.php\/2019\/03\/02\/north-american-saxophone-alliance-region-9-conference\/","url_meta":{"origin":474,"position":1},"title":"North American Saxophone Alliance Region 9 Conference","author":"admin","date":"March 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Greetings friends and happy March! Although it doesn't feel like March now, I'm looking forward to some warmer weather coming soon (soon....), as well as a few new projects and concerts. Last month I had the pleasure of attending and performing at the North American Saxophone Alliance Region 9 Conference\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Luther-Seminary.jpg?fit=600%2C382&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Luther-Seminary.jpg?fit=600%2C382&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Luther-Seminary.jpg?fit=600%2C382&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":277,"url":"http:\/\/gerardweber.ca\/index.php\/2016\/03\/03\/gerard-weber-in-concert\/","url_meta":{"origin":474,"position":2},"title":"Gerard Weber in Concert","author":"admin","date":"March 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey friends!\u00a0Here's some further information on my saxophone recital taking place Tuesday, March 8: In August 2015, I commissioned Saskatchewan composer Paul Suchan to write me a piece for alto saxophone and piano to premier at the North American Saxophone Alliance 2016 Biennial Conference in March 2016. This recital will\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Gerard-Poster-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Gerard-Poster-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Gerard-Poster-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Gerard-Poster-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Gerard-Poster-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1508,"url":"http:\/\/gerardweber.ca\/index.php\/2023\/11\/09\/the-saskatoon-symphony-orchestra-and-a-new-saxophone-concerto\/","url_meta":{"origin":474,"position":3},"title":"The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and a New Saxophone Concerto","author":"admin","date":"November 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Greetings and Happy November!It\u2019s been ages since I\u2019ve gotten around to putting up a new post on my website. I can\u2019t say that there\u2019s a great reason for this, other than I have a PhD dissertation to write\u2026 But there\u2019s absolutely no excuse for me to keep silent about the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Rachmaninoff-Dances.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Rachmaninoff-Dances.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Rachmaninoff-Dances.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Rachmaninoff-Dances.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Rachmaninoff-Dances.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39,"url":"http:\/\/gerardweber.ca\/index.php\/2015\/06\/08\/post-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":474,"position":4},"title":"Saskatchewan Celebration","author":"admin","date":"June 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I had the fortunate opportunity to solo with two special musical groups in Saskatchewan this past Fall and Spring \u2013 the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and the Regina Symphony Orchestra. My solo appearance with these groups was the result of winning the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association Shurniak Concerto Competition in February\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/11102924_10153203787419588_3730083585805043210_n-e1436843735979.jpg?fit=640%2C427&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/11102924_10153203787419588_3730083585805043210_n-e1436843735979.jpg?fit=640%2C427&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gerardweber.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/11102924_10153203787419588_3730083585805043210_n-e1436843735979.jpg?fit=640%2C427&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":419,"url":"http:\/\/gerardweber.ca\/index.php\/2017\/06\/08\/strata-festival-of-new-music-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":474,"position":5},"title":"Strata Festival of New Music 2017","author":"admin","date":"June 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Greetings friends! I'm happy to share some information about a great music festival happening this weekend that I will be performing in. The Strata Festival of New Music will take place June 9-11 at Convocation Hall (University of Saskatchewan), PAVED Arts, and the Saskatoon Symphony Office. 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