On Sunday 8th November 2015 and now in its 16th Year, Co-Artistic Directors Rob Buckland and Andy Scott present another action packed day of events.
Everyone is welcome and the day is relaxed and informal.
As a saxophonist you may choose to go to a workshop or visit Trade Stands or chat with saxophone playing friends over a coffee!
For more info visit the RNCM website for more details about the Saxophone Day and click here to download the PDF poster with more information.

Positive reviews of London premieres of two Andy Scott works appear on the specialist band website 4 Bars Rest.
The recent London premiere of A Child Like You, Andy Scott’s New Music Biennial commission for Foden’s Band, Anna-Clare Monk and Lauren Scott conducted by Michael Fowles at Southbank Centre, received a considered and substantial review by Peter Bale. It painted a clear picture of the work, highlighting aspects of the instrumentation and linking the music with the subject matter. While observing that the work is hard to categorise, the reviewer concludes that it is “an immensely powerful, emotive and very relevant work that reflects attitudes and circumstances of this or any other era”.
Earlier in the year, Andy Scott’s Fujiko was premiered in a new version for flute and wind band by Rachel Smith and the Band of the Coldstream Guards as part of a St George’s Day concert at Cadogan Hall. Peter Bale remarked: “The march Standard of St George was an obvious candidate for inclusion on such an occasion; less so was Andy Scott’s Fujiko, in a first performance in a new arrangement for flute, with Lance Sergeant Rachel Smith as the impressive soloist. With its Japanese influences and unfamiliar sounds, it made for one of the highlights of the evening.” 
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to read the review of A Child Like You on the 4 Bars Rest website
Click to read the review of Fujiko on the 4 Bars Rest website

Andy Scott and his music will feature heavily in SaxOpen, the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, next month.
Andy Scott will feature as both performer and composer in The Tenor Saxophone Collective at a featured SaxOpen Festival evening event entitled The Strasbourg Project on Sunday 12th July at 6pm. Conceived by Andy Scott and Erin Royer, and comprising twelve established tenor saxophonists from across the world, the ensemble will present eight world premieres of music written especially for this exciting event.
Celebrating 30 years at the forefront of the UK music scene, the Apollo Saxophone Quartet will present a programme selected from the ensemble’s 30th anniversary CD Perspectives. The recital will take place at 4.00pm on Friday 10 July.
Under the direction of Rob Buckland and Andy Scott, the RNCM Saxophone Orchestra will give a recital on Saturday 11 July at 12.00 noon. Exploiting the versatility of the saxophone, the ensemble will present a programme taking inspiration from jazz, contemporary classical and folk music. Their programme will include The Golden Horn by Andy Scott as well as other new works commissioned from emerging and established British composers.
As previously reported, Andy Scott’s SaxAssault will give the closing concert on 14 July, with a pop focused programme featuring the original Supertramp saxophonist, John Helliwell. The concert will include the premiere of some brand new charts by Andy Scott for nine saxophones and rhythm section, including a guitar in the line-up for the first time. Andy Scott is grateful to Selmer Paris for supporting this free public event linked to the city's Bastille Day celebrations.
Big Red by Andy Scott will be performed by Yorkshire Saxophone Choir as part of a programme of works by British composers on Monday 13 July at 9.30am.
SaxOpen is the latest incarnation of the triennial World Saxophone Congress, which brings together professional, students and amateur saxophonists from across the globe to perform on the world stage and share their passion for the saxophone. Directed by Philippe Geiss, SaxOpen will be dedicated to research (congress) and festivities (festival). The event will be open to the public and to all styles of music, with the main themes being tradition, research and innovation.
Click to visit the SaxOpen website

Andy Scott is busy preparing for the second Sandbach Saxophone Weekend, which will take place on 4 and 5 July at Sandbach School.
There are still a few places remaining on this tailor made new course, which is suitable for adult saxophonists and young people alike, with a minimum level of Grade 3. As last year, there will be an enjoyable programme of workshop sessions in a friendly, supportive environment, including Andy’s popular SaxAssault workshop, his Access All Areas introduction to improvisation for non-jazz musicians, and a range of small and large saxophone ensemble sessions. Andy will also give an insight into his works for ABRSM and Trinity Guildhall saxophone exams. 
A special feature of this year’s event will be performances by Australian saxophonist Erin Royer and the RNCM and Queensland Conservatorium Saxophone Orchestras. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear these world class players, and to share the stage with them in a massed saxophone spectacular to round off the weekend.
With over 20 years in music education, Andy Scott has earned a reputation as a gifted teacher. As versatile an educator as he is a performer and composer, Andy’s wide ranging music interests and experience enable him to teach across classical, jazz and contemporary styles.
The Sandbach Saxophone Weekend is run in collaboration with the Love Music Trust and sponsored by Selmer Paris, Vandoren and Astute Music. 
Click to view details of the Sandbach Saxophone Weekend on the Love Music Trust website
Click to visit the Educator section on this website for more information about Andy’s education work
Click to visit the websites for Selmer Paris, Vandoren and Astute Music

Andy Scott will be launching an exciting new purpose-designed product for saxophonists this summer. 
Libero is the world’s first and only adjustable saxophone sling spacer, and has been developed by Andy Scott in collaboration with engineer Ian Sanger. By preventing a traditional sling from constricting the sides of the neck, Libero enables players to free up their breathing, thereby achieving a better sound. This can transform a saxophonist’s playing for a relatively small investment.
Libero has the flexibility to be used with any saxophone sling, making it ideal for players who prefer to use different slings for different sizes of saxophone. It can be used with players’ existing favourite sling(s), removing any need to adapt to a different style of sling, and can even be adjusted while playing. Although designed for the saxophone player, Libero is equally suitable for clarinet players who choose to play with a neck sling.
Libero is a stylish high quality accessory, designed to last a lifetime. It is designed to be quickly fitted and removed, and can be adjusted very easily, even while playing. Other benefits include distributing some weight to the chest, enabling fine height adjustment of the mouthpiece and facilitating low note production for beginners. Libero will initially be available in black or silver colour, with solid brass end clamps. Watch this space for future developments!
Libero is currently in production and will be available exclusively from this website from July 2015. 
Click to view the Libero Facebook page from July 2015 (link to follow)

The Apollo Saxophone Quartet will be performing at the official opening event of the new Sax.co.uk London store this month.
The performance will take place on 25 June at 5.00pm. Sax.co.uk London has recently relocated to much larger premises with an even bigger and better range of products and improved customer facilities. Apollo Saxophone Quartet will perform their popular and entertaining music for silent film as part of this event, which will also feature a performance by Gerard McChrystal. There will also be an extra 10% discount for the day as well as free gifts and complimentary refreshments.
Andy Scott is a founder member of the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, which has been at the forefront of the British contemporary music scene for almost 30 years. The ensemble has made the largest single contribution to the saxophone quartet repertoire in the UK, commissioning and premiering over 100 works, ranging from quartets to concerti and film scores, as well as numerous creative collaborations with poet, dancers, multimedia and strings.
Described as The Temple of Sax, Sax.co.uk is the world’s largest saxophone specialist retailer, and has premises in both Sussex and London. The new London store on Hampstead Road is a former furniture showroom with a floor space of 8,600 square feet, making it by far the largest shop of its kind in London. It boasts 11 sound proofed play testing booths and seven practice rooms. The shop features over 300 of the finest new, pre owned and vintage saxophones, plus a wide range of custom necks, mouthpieces and accessories.
Click to visit the Apollo Saxophone Quartet website
Click to visit the Sax.co.uk London website

Following the success of the first Sandbach Saxophone Weekend last year, Andy Scott is finalising plans for the second event in what promises to be a popular annual series.
Andy Scott will lead the second Sandbach Saxophone Weekend on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July at the Maxwell Davies Music Centre at Sandbach School. This course is aimed at both adult saxophonists and young people of Grade 3 level and above, and will include a stimulating and enjoyable mix of workshop sessions in a friendly, supportive environment. 
This year’s event will feature Australian saxophonist Erin Royer and the RNCM and Queensland Conservatorium Saxophone Orchestras. Erin Royer will be playing music from her forthcoming debut album. The RNCM and Queensland ensembles will give a preview of the pieces that they will be performing the following week at the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, before joining the weekend participants for a massed saxophone spectacular to finish.
The weekend will include different levels of groups to enable intermediate and advanced players to improve their skills and be pushed to the best of their ability. Activities will include Andy’s popular SaxAssault workshop, his Access All Areas introduction to improvisation for non-jazz musicians and an insight into his works for ABRSM and Trinity Guildhall saxophone exams, as well as a range of small and large saxophone ensemble sessions. 
With over 20 years in music education, Andy Scott has earned a reputation as a gifted teacher. As versatile an educator as he is a performer and composer, Andy’s wide ranging music interests and experience enable him to teach across classical, jazz and contemporary styles.
The Sandbach Saxophone Weekend is run in collaboration with the Love Music Trust and sponsored by Selmer Paris, Vandoren and Astute Music. 
Click to view details of the Sandbach Saxophone Weekend on the Love Music Trust website
Click to visit the Educator section on this website for more information about Andy’s education work
Click to visit the website for Selmer Paris, Vandoren and Astute Music

Andy Scott will be heavily involved in the Hong Kong Summer Jazz Festival this week as performer, composer and educator.
One of the major highlights of the festival is a concert of music written and performed by Bob Mintzer and Andy Scott with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong Strings plus a rhythm section comprising piano, bass and drums. This will take place on 7 June, with a programme that mixes a classical string orchestra with a traditional rhythm section from the world of jazz, crossing genre boundaries in true Andy Scott style.
Another event not to be missed is a performance on 8 June by Andy Scott's 'SaxAssault Hong Kong!' featuring top saxophone star Bob Mintzer, who was guest artist on the SaxAssault CD Sax of Gold. The Hong Kong incarnation of Andy’s UK based SaxAssault has been brought together for the first time for this event, which will feature Andy’s popular compositions for the unique line-up of nine saxophones from sopranino to bass plus rhythm section.
Prior to these performances, Andy Scott's Saxophone Day on 6 June will feature a wide range of participatory events for saxophonists of all levels and musical interests, including a mass saxophone orchestra for people of all ages.
The festival runs from 3 to 9 June, based at Hong Kong City Hall in the city’s Central District. Andy’s former Apollo Saxophone Quartet colleague Jon Rebbeck is the Artistic Director of the festival, which will also include a final concert by Bob Mintzer with a retrospective programme featuring works from his long and successful career.
Click to visit the Hong Kong Summer Jazz Facebook page for full programme details.

Andy Scott’s new sonata for alto saxophone and piano received its world premiere in London yesterday evening.
Saxophonist Anthony Brown and pianist Leo Nicholson gave the world premiere of Andy Scott's Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano in the Monday Platform series at London's Wigmore Hall. The new sonata has been adapted by the composer from the Sonata for Flute and Piano, a popular work that can be heard on the CD The Bad Tempered Flute.
The event was presented by the Park Lane Group as one of the Park Lane Group Young Artists Concerts. Anthony Brown and Leo Nicholson were among the outstanding artists at the 2014 PLG Young Artists New Year Series, giving performances which transfixed their audiences.
1 June was the night of the saxophone in London. On the same evening, Huw Wiggin and his ensemble the Ferio saxophone quartet performed in the Royal Over-Seas League competion final. The quartet’s debut concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall was as a result of winning the ensembles section of the annual music competition. As a soloist, Huw Wiggin was also the first prize and gold medal winner of the 2014 Royal Overseas League Competition.
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to visit the website for Anthony Brown
Click to visit the website for the Ferio Saxophone Quartet

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Andy Scott’s Paquito featured in the International Trumpet Guild 40th Anniversary Conference in Columbus, Ohio last month.
The popular work was heard for the first time in a brand new arrangement by Andy for this event. It was premiered by the United States Marine Band Brass Ensemble with international trumpet virtuoso Rex Richardson as soloist in a concert on 28 May.
Paquito pays tribute to the brilliant composer, saxophonist and clarinettist Paquito D'Rivera in a fast salsa based around a two-three clave pulse, featuring a fiery solo. Originally composed for the British Clarinet Ensemble, Paquito now exists in a number of different instrumental versions, available from Astute Music. The piece can be heard on Looping the Loop by the British Clarinet Ensemble and The Bad Tempered Flute, played by Andy Findon and Lauren Scott.
Renowned international trumpeter Rex Richardson tours throughout the year as a clinician, recitalist and soloist with orchestras, wind ensembles, big bands and brass bands. The International Trumpet Guild Conference is the leading annual event in the trumpet calendar. Celebrating it’s 40th birthday, the conference took place from 26 to 30 May at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Columbus, Ohio.
Paquito is published by Astute Music
Click to visit the International Trumpet Guild Conference website
Click to visit the website for Rex Richardson
Click to visit the United States Marine Band website

Andy Scott is preparing to travel to France next week for his annual spring saxophone course.
Although numbers have to be limited, the course at La Moreau in South West France has proved to be a popular event in the annual saxophone calendar, attracting many repeat bookings as well as new participants each year. Book early for next year to avoid disappointment!
During the week Andy will coach participants in large and small saxophone ensembles, and1 each player will also receive a half hour individual lesson from Andy. There will also be a jam session one evening. Andy will be covering many genres of music during the week, from classical and traditional pieces to jazz, funk and maybe even some rock and roll.
The one week course is run by Creative Vacances, a small company specialising in boutique creative residential courses in Charente Maritime, combining excellent tuition with some of the best of French food and drink. As well as Andy’s popular saxophone course, they offer a range of other courses in music and art.
Click to visit the Creative Vacances website

Background information to video interview by Andy Scott
As Composer in Residence with the famous Foden’s Brass Band since 2008, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with some wonderful conductors as well as the band itself; Michael Fowles, Garry Cutt, Allan Withington, Howard Snell, and not least Bramwell Tovey (for some reason I want to call him Sir Bram Tovey!).
Bram has a very special connection with Foden’s and Sandbach, which he tells us about towards the end of a very special evening that we had with him in Sandbach on Sunday 25th January 2015.
Briefly, a little background to how these videos and evening came about………
When Lauren (my wife) and I moved to Sandbach in 2007 we decided to give it a couple of years to settle in, then see if we could offer something musically to the town. The most appropriate way it seemed was to create the Sandbach Concert Series (now in its fifth season); eight concerts a year given by world class musicians, with a spotlight concert preceding the featured artist, that to date has seen hundreds of young musicians take to the stage for a solo or ensemble piece). To give credit where credit is due, the idea and concept came from Lauren!
I had often thought, as Artistic Director of the SCS, that it would be great to see if Bram was available to perform (piano) at one of our concerts, however we’re dealing with one of the foremost conductors/pianists/musicians in the world, and he hardly has time to visit a concert series in Sandbach! 
However, this is different because of Bram and the Sandbach connection, and from a practical point of view I thought about chatting with Bram to discuss the possibility of him giving an interview (where he could play piano at any point if he wished to?), and where we gain a valuable insight into his personality and life as a musician.
The interview went ahead, the evening after Bram (along with Mike Fowles) had directed Foden’s at the RNCM Festival of Brass, and after a full day recording with Foden’s Band.
The committee of the Sandbach Concert Series were open to my idea of creating an extra event, fortunate as it happens as there isn’t usually a SCS concert in January.
Whilst coming up with an idea and realising the plan, there was the big question about who was going to interview Bram. I knew that I wasn’t the right person for this, and approached someone who has a great rapport with Bram via Foden’s and tutoring on NYBBGB courses with Bram, chairman of Foden’s Band, John Barber. The chemistry between Bram and John is great, and John expertly steered the conversation in ways that covered various and varied topics that will be of great interest to all.
Bram gave an honest, open and generous interview, talking about (amongst other things) his childhood, the Salvation Army Bands, starting his career as a musician, the brass band movement in the UK, conductors (brass band and orchestral), the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, the New York Philharmonic & Vancouver Orchestras, Leonard Bernstein, Simon Rattle, in addition to equality, fairness, kindness and passion.
These are two very powerful 45 minute interviews that to me are inspiring, and thanks must go to John Barber and Foden’s Band, Sandbach Concert Series and a huge thanks to Bram himself!
I hope that you enjoy watching and listening to the videos, which are being exclusively released by the brass band website and company 4 Bars Rest, in conjunction with Sandbach Concert Series.
Read the news item on the 4 Bars Rest website
Watch the video on the 4 Bars Rest website

Andy Scott’s SaxAssault is to give the closing concert at SaxOpen, the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, this summer.
The celebratory concert will take place at 6.00pm on Tuesday 14 July, bringing to an end a packed six days of saxophone playing of the highest quality. SaxAssault will perform a pop focused programme featuring Supertramp saxophonist John Helliwell. The concert will include the premiere of some brand new charts by Andy Scott for nine saxophones and rhythm section, which sees a guitar added to the line-up for the first time. Andy Scott is grateful to Selmer Paris for supporting this free public event linked to the city's Bastille Day celebrations.
Formed in 1994, Andy Scott's SaxAssault is a large jazz ensemble, consisting of nine saxophones from sopranino through to bass plus rhythm section. Andy’s compositions for SaxAssault are carefully crafted to feature every member of the ensemble, whether an improviser or more classically-trained musician. SaxAssault has been featured on BBC Radio 3 Jazz Notes performing new compositions by Andy, has released two CDs, and performed by invitation at the World Saxophone Congress in Slovenia.
SaxOpen is the latest incarnation of the triennial World Saxophone Congress, which brings together professional, students and amateur saxophonists from across the globe to perform on the world stage and share their passion for the saxophone. Directed by Philippe Geiss, SaxOpen will be dedicated to research (congress) and festivities (festival). The event will be open to the public and to all styles of music, with the main themes being tradition, research and innovation.
Click to visit the SaxAssault page of this website
Click to visit the SaxOpen website

Andy Scott’s double saxophone concerto Dark Rain will be performed in Amsterdam this month.
Soloists Erik-Jan de With and Linda Arnoldus will perform the award-winning work, arranged for fanfare orchestra by Jos Dobbelstein, with the Gelders Fanfare Orkest in an afternoon concert on Sunday 22 March. The event, ‘Blowing in the Beurs’, will take place at 3.00pm at Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.
Dark Rain is one of Andy Scott’s most powerful and moving works. It was inspired by a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where Andy was struck by both the devastation that mankind can inflict on itself and its overwhelming quest for peace. The groundbreaking double concerto won the brass band and wind band category of the prestigious British Composer Awards in 2006.
Dark Rain has often been performed in the UK and internationally, including in Slovenia, Hong Kong, the United States, Australia, Spain, and previously in the Netherlands. The piece was composed for John Harle and Rob Buckland, who can be heard playing it with the RNCM Wind Orchestra on Gameshow, Rob Buckland’s recently released CD, available from Sospiro Records.
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to visit the Beurs van Berlage website
Click to visit the Sospiro Records website

Works by Andy Scott that feature in the Associated Board saxophone syllabus can now be seen and heard in a new series of videos released today.
The collection of 15 videos of exam pieces by Andy Scott and Rob Buckland can be viewed on the Astute Music YouTube channel, performed by students at the Royal Northern College of Music junior department. The pieces by Andy include original works such as Fujiko, And Everything Is Still and Zebra Crossing and arrangements of works by Schubert and Brahms. There is a similar mix of original works and arrangements by Rob Buckland, and all works are published by Astute Music, covering repertoire options from Grades 1 to 7. 
The videos were filmed and edited by Joe Mace with sound recording by Mark White. The performers were saxophonists Jess Gillam, Jess Mitchell, Joey Skinner, Jodie Buckland and James Gordon, and pianist James Orrell. Sponsorship was generously provided by Alphasax, Trevor James and Yanagisawa.
Click to visit Andy’s Blog to hear all about the video recordings in his own words
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to view these works on the Astute Music YouTube channel
Click to view the ABRSM Saxophone syllabus

You know when you come up with an idea, and think it’s great, then there’s the reality of how much work it will take and the temptation is to forget about it…..
Well I’m glad that I followed this particular project through, because although it’s been a huge amount of organizing, time and effort, it has been a real pleasure to work with everyone involved.
The project was to create 15 videos, of saxophone students at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music, performing pieces that are composed by Rob Buckland and myself, published by Astute Music, and which all feature on the ABRSM saxophone syllabus.
I’d just like to share a little background here on my blog, as it’s been quite a journey to reach the point of public release of these videos!
Over the last couple of years I’ve undertaken some teaching at JRNCM, which I’ve now handed over to my colleague Carl Raven, and on Saturday mornings I had an opportunity to witness first hand the great positivity and energy that accompanies hundreds of young musicians coming to somewhere like the RNCM on a weekly basis. The young students have lessons, on their instrument(s), theory, musicianship, play in ensembles such as big band, brass band, orchestras etc., and there is a real buzz around the building. Parents bring their children to Manchester, quite a few of them driving 2+ hours, with parents setting up their laptops in the refectory from 9.30am until 4.30pm! The students and teachers all have huge respect for the lady that coordinates and organizes JRNCM, Karen Humphreys. She does a fantastic job, and her personality is reflected in my opinion on the whole building and everyone in it on Saturdays, a fine balance of professionalism, hard working ethic, enjoyment of music and of other people’s company, and respecting others.
Karen has been fully supportive of the saxophone video project from day one, suggesting that James Orrell played piano for the sax students (himself a JRNCM student at the time), and logistically made sure that everything ran smoothly for the students, as we wanted to provide them with the experience of recording and filming in as non-pressurised an environment as possible.
Then experience and contacts kick in…… I’m fortunate enough to be able to undertake projects of this nature with Joe Mace filming events, and Mark White recording them. We’ve undertaken a number of projects together and they’re both highly skilled at their respective jobs, and great fun to work with!
There were a number of overheads involved in this project and it became apparent that sponsorship was a necessity. The saxophone companies Alphasax, Trevor James & Yanagisawa all came on board, and instruments were sent to the JRNCM a fortnight before recording for the students to get used to (the feel, sound etc.). Recording on an instrument that isn’t yours is quite a tall order for a younger player, and they all just got on with it and did the business!
Parents kindly gave up more time and brought the JRNCM saxophone students that were involved in this project to the college on a Sunday morning, and we gradually worked our way through all fifteen pieces. Then the editing process started, and then proofing, and writing credits.
All of this takes times, and then videos were sent round to sponsors and JRNCM for approval. 
Now they’re all done, and I’d like to publically say a big thank you to the students involved – Jess Gillam, Jess Mitchell, Joey Skinner, Jodie Buckland and James Gordon – you were all great! A massive thank you to James Orrell who was a brilliant accompanist, and to Karen & Louise at JRNCM.
Also thanks to Joe & Mark, Lauren, Astute Music and our sponsors Alphasax, Trevor James and Yanagisawa.
Surely it would have been easier if Rob & I played our pieces? Yes it would, but who wants to see and listen to us when we’ve got such talented young musicians at the JRNCM!
I hope that you enjoy watching and listening to the videos, and that they may be useful to saxophonists worldwide who are wondering which pieces to choose to play for an ABRSM saxophone exam?!
Please click on the link to go to the videos;
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQ-HN5HHaSsEH-vgjqorM3ENZrMIgXYg

Caliente, Andy Scott’s flute, harp and tenor saxophone trio, will be giving two concerts in Cheshire this month.
Caliente will give a performance for Rochdale Music Society in Oldham on 21 March, followed by a concert in the popular Sandbach Concert Series on 25 March. Both programmes will include a carefully selected range of enjoyable, stimulating and accessible music, including works bv Milhaud, Ibert, Fauré, Piazzolla, Telemann and Chick Corea as well as original works and arrangements by Andy Scott made specially for the ensemble.
Caliente is Clare Soutworth (flute), Lauren Scott (harp) and Andy Scott (tenor saxophone). Exploring the dynamic between composer and performer, Caliente performs music specially written by Andy Scott, alongside works by 20th Century composers with a special focus on France.  Three consummate performers and experienced educators present an engaging, stimulating and accessible event, rooted in classical music with jazz influences.
Click to visit the Caliente website
Click to visit the Rochdale Music Society website
Click to visit the Sandbach Concert Series website

Apollo Saxophone Quartet will be giving the opening performance at the Bangor Music Festival this month.
The evening concert will take place on 4 March at the city’s Reichel Hall. The programme will feature a selection of the ensemble’s commissions from their 30 year history, including the very popular music for silent film composed by members of the quartet, past and current. The music by composers such as Django Bates, Keith Tippett, Dinuk Wijeratne, Graham Fitkin and Barbara Thompson, can also be heard on the recent CD release Perspectives.
The groundbreaking Apollo Saxophone Quartet has been at the forefront of the British contemporary music scene for over 25 years. The ensemble has made the largest single contribution to the repertoire for saxophone quartet in the UK, commissioning and premiering well over one hundred works. The ensemble comprises founder members Rob Buckland (soprano) and Andy Scott (tenor), and more recent additions Carl Raven (alto) and Jim Fieldhouse (baritone).
The Bangor Music Festival, now in its 15th year, is Wales’ leading contemporary music festival. It has a strong commitment to presenting artist of the highest musical calibre and to enriching and educating the North Wales community through workshops and concerts. This year’s programme promises to be the most diverse and exciting to date, with events ranging from electroacoustic to jazz, and from progressive rock to experimental contemporary. 
Click to visit the Apollo Saxophone Quartet website
Click to hear the Apollo Saxophone Quartet Perspectives sampler
Click to visit the Bangor Music Festival website

Andy Scott will be leading saxophone days in Shrewsbury and Bedford this month.
The Shrewsbury School Saxophone Day will take place on Sunday 8 March in the lovely surroundings of Shrewsbury School. This annual event offers participants the opportunity to work with Andy Scott and Rob Buckland in workshops, masterclasses and ensemble sessions throughout the day. There is also the chance to share the stage with Apollo Saxophone Quartet in an evening concert on the day.
The Bedford Saxophone Day will follow a week later on Sunday 15 March at Putnoe Primary School. Andy Scott will be leading workshops on this full day event for saxophone enthusiasts, which takes place for the first time this year. Andy will lead participants through some of his music scored for large saxophone choir in the morning, then in the afternoon he will focus on some of his SaxAssault charts with rhythm section.
Click for more information about the Shrewsbury event
Click for more information about the Bedford event

A work by Andy Scott will be used for a dance performance for the first time, when Nemesis, a duo for soprano saxophone and marimba, will be played in London this month.
The performance by saxophonist Simon Haram and Julian Warburton on vibraphone will accompany a specially choreographed dance by Eleesha Drennan, performed by Annabeth Berkeley, Annamarie Keskinen and Kenny Wing Tao Ho at The Place on 27 and 28 February. The programme will also include music by Mark Bowden, Graham Fitkin, John Woolrich and Iannis Xenakis.
Composed between 1996 and 1998, Nemesis is a three movement work in a contemporary classical style with jazz and Latin influences. The second part includes a short improvised section with an alternative notated solo. Nemesis was recorded by Rob Buckland and Simone Rebello on the CD Towards the Light. An alternative version for flute and guitar was recorded by Paul Edmund-Davies and Craig Ogden on The Bad Tempered Flute, a CD of Andy Scott’s works for flute.
Simon Haram is much sought after as a recitalist and ensemble player, appearing with many leading ensembles and orchestras. He was appointed Principal Saxophone of the London Sinfonietta in 1997. As a soloist, Simon has appeared with many of the UK’s top orchestras and has given several world premieres. He is Professor of Saxophone at the Royal Academy of Music. 
Click for more information about the performances
Click to watch a video of the first movement of Nemesis dance
Click to visit the website for Simon Haram

Two works by Andy Scott featured in the winning performance at the UniBrass 2015 Championship this month.
The University of Manchester Brass Band impressed the judges with an entertaining programme of high quality contemporary works to win the prestigious national championship in Warwick on 14 February. In an inspired piece of programming, the band built their choice of pieces around the work of the UniBrass Brass for Africa charity. Opening with Andy Scott’s Madiba, the performance also included My Mountain Top in an arrangement by solo cornet player Illiam Quane, as well as works by Peter Graham and Larsson.
Madiba has become a popular choice with brass bands both in the UK and further afield. Inspired by Nelson Mandela, Madiba is a powerful, uplifting piece that celebrates Mandela’s 46 year fight to end apartheid in South Africa. Featuring infectious melodies and a fiery Afro-Cuban groove, the music is challenging but great fun to play. My Moutain Top, which now exists in a number of different instrumental versions, is one of Andy Scott’s most often performed and recorded works. With a pre-recorded soundtrack featuring poetry by Lemn Sissay, it evokes a feeling of gradually drifting into a semi-conscious state in the heat of a summer’s day.
UniBrass is the world's only inter-university brass band contest. Founded in 2011 by a group of Lancaster University students, the competition has quickly become a firmly established event in the university calendar. Having come second in the last two annual championships, the University of Manchester Brass Band achieved a resounding win for the first time, scoring eight points above their closest rival. They were also awarded prizes for Most Entertaining Band and Best Solo Feature, while their conductor Jonathan Evans was awarded Best Student Conductor.
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to read a full report on the 4 Bars Rest website
Click to visit the UniBrass website

Andy Scott’s double saxophone concerto Dark Rain features in two performances in The Netherlands within two months.
The award-winning work featured in a gala concert entitled Tribute to Adolph Sax, marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Adolphe Sax, at the Westland Saxophone Festival in Naaldwijk on 31 January. Arno Bornkamp and Erik-Jan de With (pictured) were soloists with the Gelders Fanfare Orkest directed by Erik van de Kolk, in this arrangement for fanfare orchestra by Jos Dobbelstein. Andy Scott was delighted to be there in person to hear his music played live by two great performers.
There will be a second opportunity to hear Erik-Jan de With and the Gelders Fanfare Orkest perform Dark Rain in the spring, this time joined by Linda Arnoldus as joint soloist. The afternoon concert, entitled "Blowing in the Beurs", will take place at 3.00pm on Sunday 22 March at Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.
Dark Rain is one of Andy Scott’s most powerful and moving works. It was inspired by a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where Andy was struck by both the devastation mankind can inflict on itself and the overwhelming quest for peace. The groundbreaking double concerto won the brass band and wind band category of the prestigious British Composer Awards in 2006.
Dark Rain has often been performed in the UK and internationally, including in Slovenia, Hong Kong, the United States, Australia, Spain, and previously in the Netherlands. The piece was composed for John Harle and Rob Buckland, who can be heard playing it with the RNCM Wind Orchestra on Gameshow, Rob Buckland’s recently released CD, available from Sospiro Records.
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to visit the Westland Saxofoon Festival website
Click to visit the Beurs van Berlage website
Click to visit the Sospiro Records website

Caliente, Andy Scott’s trio comprising flute, harp and tenor saxophone, will be giving concerts in the South East and North West this spring.
Caliente will give a recital in Berkshire on Sunday 18 January, linked to a workshop for Berkshire Maestros. There will also be performances for Rochdale Music Society and Sandbach Concert Series on 21 and 25 March respectively. The concerts will feature a range of engaging, stimulating and accessible music rooted in classical music with jazz influences, including works bv Milhaud, Ibert, Fauré, Piazzolla, Telemann and Chick Corea as well as original works and arrangements by Andy Scott.
Caliente comprises flautist Clare Soutworth, harpist Lauren Scott and Andy Scott on tenor saxophone. Exploring the dynamic between composer and performer, Caliente performs music specially written by Andy Scott, alongside works by Milhaud, Ibert, Prokofiev and Fauré.  Three consummate performers and experienced educators present an engaging, stimulating and accessible event, rooted in classical music with jazz influences.
Click to visit the Caliente website
Click to visit the Berkshire Maestros website
Click to visit the Rochdale Music Society website
Click to visit the Sandbach Concert Series website

As a freelance musician over the years, quite incredibly, I have been asked the question 'what's your proper job?'. How insulting, thoughtless and quite frankly ignorant. 
I am aware that this type of comment is aimed at a lot of younger musicians, and rather worryingly, I am aware that a lot of young music students are pressurised by family and friends as they consider their options post study with questions such as this. 
Well, let's briefly look at the people asking these questions. 
Their heart is probably in the right place, but they probably don't have a connection with music, in that they don't understand it, they can't really feel a particular emotional connection with it, or maybe because they can strum three chords on a guitar they think of music as a hobby and not a 'proper job'? 
Or maybe it's because they worry for the young musician, thinking that they will be poor for the rest of their lives? 
If you have no knowledge, understanding or appreciation of the subject that you are enquiring about, maybe you should research it and then choose your words more carefully? Please note that I feel no need to justify the music business here, and the incredible diversity of music, I'm so lucky to be a part of it, and if you display your ignorance by asking such an inane question, then I'm not about to waste my time on you. 
I find that music is a world where imagination, creativity, dedication and skill prevail, one that is a lifelong journey and isn't a 'job', one where there is a deep emotional connection, and financial matters become secondary (still important purely from a practical level, but definitely secondary). 
Music teaches us how to communicate. We learn how to work with people, how to be tolerant, how to encourage, and we question ourselves, have battles in our minds with ourselves, want to give up, and then work hard and battle through. 
The hard work and desire pays off as we learn and listen more, listening skills that are on a new level, resulting in new levels of appreciation, opening new doors in our minds that are exciting and keep us spiritually alive (and I'm not a religious person). 
Imagine a person in a suit and tie, who works in an office 9 to 5, Monday to Friday with the same people, someone who only travels when he or she has an annual holiday, someone who has the same monthly salary, and who will do the same job until he or she retires and takes their pension, and then dies. 
Now I have a respect for those people, each to their own, and I understand about the need to have financial security. 
But I don't want to be like you, I don't want that life, but I understand why you want to. 
So please, instead of bringing your insecurities and stress into the lives of young people, students, musicians that have a passion for something, who are thinking and are alive with energy and ideas, who work hard, and who thrive on not knowing what is just around the corner, why not think who has the 'proper job'? 
I have a job for a lifetime, that means until the day that I die, not when someone decides that I retire, because I have no choice, music is my life, and something that I couldn't live without. I strive to do my best at it, and I am in awe of musicians that inspire me. I hope that I may be able to share musical ideas with people of any age and experience that are like-minded. 
And on that note, I will leave my laptop and go and do some practice! Have the faith any of you young musicians that are embarking in this glorious world of music, it's bloody hard work, and if you want it badly enough then music will become your life, sounds good to me. 

Several works by Andy Scott will feature in the Westland Saxofoon Festival in The Netherlands this month.
Arno Bornkamp and Erik-Jan de With will perform Andy Scott's award winning double saxophone concerto Dark Rain in the evening gala concert at the Festival with the Gelders Fanfare Orkest directed by Erik van de Kolk. Dark Rain, originally scored for wind orchestra, was arranged for fanfare orchestra by Jos Dobbelstein. The concert, entitled Tribute to Adolphe Sax, will take place on Saturday 31 January at 8.00pm.
Earlier in the day, the Westland Saxofoon Orkest will perform Andy Scott's SaxAssault charts Sax of Gold and Lip Service, featuring Benjamin Herman and David Kweksilber as soloists, in an afternoon concert at 2.00pm. Lip Service will receive a further performance by the same musicians in a free twilight concert at 4.45pm.
The Westland Saxofoon Festival in Naaldwijk marks the 200th anniversary of Sax’ birth with a day of performances and workshops by leading saxophone soloists and ensembles. The daytime events will take place at Maesemunde, Koningin Julianaweg 158, 2691 GH 's Gravenzande, and the evening gala concert at De Voorhof, Dijkstraat 88 in Honselersdijk.
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to visit the Westland Saxofoon Festival website