DUC Chamber Music Series: Renegade Saxophone Quartet

High Life (2005) by Will Gregory 

 

Adagio (1937) by Samuel Barber     

 

Quatuor pour Saxophones (1949) by Maurice Jeanjean 

     I. Gaiete Villageoise

     II. Doux Paysage

     III. Papillons

     IV. Concert sur la Place

 

Intermission

 

Tango Virtuoso (1991) by Thierry Escaich  

 

Tango Trilogy by Astor Piazzolla         

     I. Close Your Eyes and Listen 

     II. Fuga y Mysterio          

     III. Resurreccion del Angel        

 

Aaron is Director of Bands at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, where he has taught since 2002. Aaron earned his Master’s and Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Performance and Music Education from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. 

Aaron has toured with numerous nationally and locally known acts including the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Manhattan Transfer, Maynard Ferguson, Frankie Valli, Bernadette Peters, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Wayne Newton, Idina Menzel, Debby Boone (yes, that Debby Boone), Jay Leno and Bob Newhart. 

 

Dr. Joel Vanderheyden is a versatile saxophonist, composer, and educator with tremendous passion for the unifying power of music. As a performer, he draws upon his study of jazz (M.M. with Chris Vadala) and classical saxophone (D.M.A. with Kenneth Tse), immersing himself in a variety of musical situations, ranging from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to the cinematic electro-jazz group, Koplant No. He has performed on stages in the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Scotland, and across the United States, spanning large festivals, intimate jazz clubs, rock venues, live radio performances, and some of the world’s finest concert halls. Currently, Dr. Vanderheyden serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, MO, and is a faculty member at Washington University and the University of Missouri - St. Louis. He is a performing artist/clinician for D'Addario Woodwinds and Selmer Saxophones.

 

Dr. Christopher Bartz grew up in Kirkwood, Missouri and is a Kirkwood High School alumnus.  While in high school he was a student of Jeffrey Collins and made his orchestral debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.  Later he earned music degrees from Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, OH), the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) and the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA).  Chris recently moved back to the St. Louis area after spending the last few years living and working in Los Angeles as the classical saxophone instructor at the University of Southern California.  He simultaneously enjoyed a performing career in Los Angeles and frequently concertized with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was featured as a concerto soloist with numerous ensembles and presented solo recitals at some of the premier performance venues on the West Coast.  Prior to his appointment at the University of Southern California, Chris was on the school of music faculty at California State University, Fullerton, where he taught jazz and classical saxophone.

 

With degrees in clarinet and saxophone, Jeffrey Collins enjoys an exciting career as a freelance musician and educator.  For over twenty years he has performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under conductors David Robertson, Hans Vonk, Marin Alsop, Robert Spano, and Leonard Slatkin.  He has toured nationally with the Jimmy Dorsey Big Band in the lead alto chair and has performed with stars like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls, Al Jarreau, Art Garfunkel, and Bernadette Peters, to name just a few.  Jeffrey is a winner of the prestigious Coleman Chamber Music Competition, the Artist Presentation Society Award, and was a finalist in the Geneva Concours.  Jeffrey was named a D'Addario Woodwind  Clinician in 2015.