New album features musicians and scholars
The Assembly Saxophone Quartet. Photo by Kevin Bain/The University of Mississippi Marketing Communications
OCTOBER 17, 2023 BY STAFF REPORT
Assembly Quartet founding member Adam Estes is associate professor at the University of Mississippi Department of Music where he teaches saxophone, bassoon, woodwinds methods courses, and coaches woodwind chamber ensembles.
The Assembly Quartet’s new (Re)Mix album.
His quartet’s (Re)Mix album was released by Amp Recordings in September.
“Dr. Estes is a stellar teaching artist, and the work of the Assembly Quartet is impressive. UM Music has had the pleasure of hosting the group on campus and experience their brilliant artistry in person,” said Nancy Maria Balach, department chair. “This album will allow a broader audience to enjoy the Assembly Quartet and become a great addition to any music collection.”
Formed in 2003 as a graduate student ensemble, the group is celebrating its 20th anniversary with Jeffrey Heisler, an associate professor at Oakland University, on soprano saxophone; Ian Jeffress, an associate professor at Western Carolina University, on alto saxophone; Matthew Younglove, an assistant professor at Tennessee Technological University, on tenor saxophone; and Estes on baritone saxophone.
Assembly Quartet engages with public schools and communities—audiences that often have limited experience with chamber music or with the music of our time, Estes said.
“This album came about because we were looking to explore possibilities of repertoire for the saxophone quartet + genre that includes soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone plus other instruments that can include piano, percussion, both, or other instruments,” he said of the quartet whose residencies include schools in North Dakota, South Carolina, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The album title has two meanings: “The first comes from one of the works recorded by Avner Dorman, titled Jerusalem Mix. Because we took this work and arranged it to fit our group, we call the arrangement Jerusalem (Re)Mix.,” Estes said. “The other meaning refers to the fact that all three works on this album are reimagined arrangements from their original instrumentation.”
The recorded pieces are Dorman’s Jerusalem (Re)Mix Quintet for Saxophone Quartet and Piano, Quintet for Saxophone Quintet and Piano by Alfred Schnittke, and Original Blend by Bill Ryan. Guest artists are I-Chen Yeh, an internationally celebrated performer, on piano and Colin Hill, director of Tennessee Tech University’s School of Music, on drum set.
“We’ve been touring this repertoire for the past four years, and most recently in featured performances at the 2023 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference as well as in a residency hosted by the University of Mississippi,” Estes said.
They have also performed with the Florence Symphony Orchestra, Motor City Symphony Orchestra, Lafayette-Oxford-University Orchestra, Oxford and University Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and Minot Symphony Orchestra.
This is Estes’ fifth published album, the third with Assembly Quartet, and his second on the AMP Recordings label.
“Publishing albums on recording labels is significant creative activity for performance faculty at academic institutions,” said Estes, who maintains an active schedule as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra musician at venues in Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, and other places.
Funding for the (Re)Mix project came from a College of Liberal Arts Research and Creative Activity Grant, the Department of Music, and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of Mississippi with additional support from Oakland University and Tennessee Tech University.