The Royal Northern College have released a video about its popular annual Saxophone Day, which takes place next month.
The 15th RNCM Saxophone Day will take place on Sunday 9 November 2014. In the video, co-directors Rob Buckland and Andy Scott talk about the event and how the format has developed over the years. In particular, they explain that the activities are aimed at people of all ages from eight to 80 and of all levels from beginners upwards - what unites everyone is a common love of the saxophone.
Rob and Andy also comment on how the saxophone day removes the barrier between performer and audience. At RNCM, because the event has been running for 14 years, many people know each other and return each year to meet up, giving the day a friendly family feel. Rob and Andy themselves know most of the regular participants and look forward to seeing everyone each year.
Click to view the RNCM Saxophone Day video on YouTube
Click to visit the RNCM website for more details about the Saxophone Day

The 15th RNCM Saxophone Day will take place on Sunday 9 November 2014, just three days after the 200th anniversary of Adolph Sax’ birth.
This year’s event is neatly timed, taking place on the exact day that Sax’ birth was registered 200 years ago, and will feature new works to celebrate the 200th anniversary performed by the RNCM Saxophone Orchestra on the RNCM concourse before the main evening concert. There will also be new pieces to be workshopped in the huge Massed Saxophone Orchestra session, which traditionally starts the day.
The Saxophone Day, directed by RNCM tutors Rob Buckland and Andy Scott, has developed over the years into the largest event of its kind in the UK, attracting over 200 saxophonists of all ages and levels. This year’s event, the first RNCM festival to take place in the conservatoire’s newly refurbished concert hall, promises to be the best ever. There will be a packed programme of workshops, masterclasses and concerts, as well as many trade stands, with a wide range of instruments, accessories and sheet music. 
Special guests include Mark Lockheart's Big Idea and Philippe Geiss. Big Idea will give the main evening performance, and Mark Lockheart will also provide an insight into his successful career in an interview with Rob Buckland. Philippe Geiss, Artistic Director of the World Saxophone Congress 2015 in Strasbourg, will give a performance, a masterclass and a presentation on the Congress. Award winning RNCM alumnus Anthony Brown will also return to give a recital with Leo Nicholson.
Click to visit the RNCM website for more details about the Saxophone Day

Andy Scott received a visit from a flute and harp duo from Germany this month.
The Queens Duo, comprising flautist Verena Schulte and harpist Hanna Rabe, made the journey from Germany to Cheshire to work with Andy on his Sonata for Flute and Harp. The Duo will be performing the popular concert work next spring, and also plan to record it for a CD next year.
The three movement Sonata for Flute and Harp is influenced by Eastern European folk rhythms and jazz harmony. The writing calls for special effects and timbres, including using the harp as a percussion instrument to create rhythmic intensity. It has already been recorded by Clare Southworth and Lauren Scott on The Bad Tempered Flute CD.
The Queens Duo met while studying at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and spent a term in London together, where they were inspired by English music for flute and harp. As well as performing English works, they often play pieces by German and French composers.
Click to view the Sonata for Flute and Harp on the Astute Music website
Click to visit the website for the Queens Duo

Andy Scott will be travelling to the USA for a residency in Minnesota this month.
Andy has been invited to be Artist in Residence at the University of Minnesota, Morris, where he will be based from 28 October to 4 November. While at the university he will work with Professor Simon Tillier and the saxophone, composition and jazz departments, leading workshops and masterclasses for the students. The week will include a performance of Andy’s SaxAssault charts for jazz saxophone ensemble and rhythm section.
Andy Scott has developed a flexible residency package for conservatoires and university music departments, which enables the institution to tailor the residency to its students by selecting from a menu of creative music activities, often using resources from his publisher Astute Music. Previous residencies have taken Andy to Australia and Hong Kong, and this will be his first residency in Minnesota.
The University of Minnesota, Morris is a unique campus, one of only 25 Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. A student-centred educational environment, Morris is devoted to providing an engaging, challenging undergraduate experience that prepares graduates for careers, for advanced degrees, for flexibility in work world of the future, for lifelong learning, and for citizenship in communities throughout the globe. 
Click for more information about Andy Scott’s Flexible Residencies
Click to visit the University of Minnesota, Morris music department website
Click to visit the website for Astute Music

Three Letter Word, Andy Scott’s work for alto saxophone and piano, is proving to be very popular.
Having premiered the virtuosic work in 2010, Royal Over-Seas League prizewinner Huw Wiggin has gone on to perform Three Letter Word all over the UK, most recently with pianist James Sherlock at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and London’s Wigmore Hall. Huw and James will be playing the piece again in a recital at Holmes Chapel on 25 October.
As well as featuring regularly in professional recital programmes, Three Letter Word has proved to be a popular choice with staff and students at conservatoires both in the UK and internationally. The work also featured in a masterclass with leading saxophonist Arno Bornkamp from The Netherlands at the last RNCM Saxophone Day, played by RNCM student Michael Jackson. 
Three Letter Word was inspired by the groundbreaking music of Esbjorn Svensson’s trio EST, and written as a tribute to the gifted Swedish composer and pianist, who died in a tragic accident aged only 44. It features two contrasting sound worlds and includes a short musical quotation from Dolores in a Shoestand from the EST album Tuesday Wonderland. It is a technically challenging piece requiring particular skill of the saxophonist in the altissimo register. 
Three Letter Word was commissioned by the Park Lane Group and was premiered by Huw Wiggin and Timothy Abel at Southbank Centre, London in January 2010. The title of the piece refers to three letter abbreviations, including of Esbjorn Svensson Trio and the words Rest In Peace. A version also exists for flute and piano, which features on The Bad Tempered Flute, the CD of Andy Scott’s works for flute, played by Paul Edmund-Davies and Peter Lawson.
Click to see an extract of the sheet music for Three Letter Word at Astute Music
Click to hear Three Letter Word played by Huw Wiggin and Timothy Abel
Click for details of the Huw Wiggin performance in the Events section of this website

A new commission for solo harp by Andy Scott will be premiered at London’s Southbank Centre this month.
Leading harpist Sioned Williams will give the world premiere of Jukebox at the Purcell Room on Tuesday 14 October at 7.30pm. The work was commissioned by Sioned as part of a larger project to mark her 60th birthday this year, in which she commissioned 10 minute pieces from six different composers. All of the commissioned works will be performed in this Park Lane Group solo recital by Sioned.
Jukebox was inspired by the way that people listened to music 60 years ago. The work is structured in five short unrelated movements in contrasting styles, similar to listening to five singles on a jukebox, and features Andy’s unique jazz influenced musical vocabulary. 
Born in Wales, Sioned Williams is one of the most outstanding harpists of her generation. Sioned combines her work as Principal Harpist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra with solo appearances, recordings and teaching. She has a proactive approach to commissioning, and is responsible for the creation of many new additions to the harp repertoire.
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to view details of the performance on Southbank Centre’s website
Click to visit the website for Sioned Williams

Two commissions by Andy Scott will be performed at London’s Wigmore Hall next month, including a world premiere.
Tempest Flute Trio and saxophonist Huw Wiggin will share the bill at a Monday Platform concert for Royal Over-Seas League competition winners on 13 October at 7.30pm. The Tempest Flute Trio will give the world premiere of Andy’s new version of My Mountain Top for alto flute trio. Huw Wiggin with pianist James Sherlock will perform Andy’s Three Letter Word.
My Mountain Top, originally written for the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, already exists in a number of different instrumental versions, and has proved to be one of Andy’s most popular and enduring works. Inspired by Summer, the world conjures up a magical soundworld evoking the heat of the sun and inviting summer daydreams. It was commissioned by the ISCM World Music Days and premiered at the 1998 ISCM Festival in Manchester.
Three Letter Word is dedicated to and influenced by the music and memory of the Swedish composer and pianist Esbjorn Svensson, who was tragically killed in a diving accident, aged only 44. It was commissioned by the Park Lane Group for performance by Huw Wiggin and Timothy Abel in the PLG Young Artists New Year Series in the Purcell Room in January 2010, and has since received regular performances by Huw.
Andy Scott’s works are published by Astute Music
Click to view details of the concert on the Wigmore Hall website
Click to visit the website for Tempest Flute Trio
Click to visit the website for Huw Wiggin

Andy Scott will be performing in Trio Halata in Middlewich and Macclesfield this month.
Trio Halata will launch the season of Middlewich and District Concerts Society with a concert at Middlewich High School Drama Studio on Saturday 11 October. This will be followed by a performance at St Georges’ Church in Poynton, Macclesfield on Sunday 19 October. Both events start at 7.30pm.
Trio Halata features Paul Mitchell-Davidson on guitar, Geth Griffith on double bass and Andy on saxophone. Originally formed in 2001 to explore folk music in a jazz context, the group has recently re-formed with an exciting programme influenced by folk, jazz, Bossa Nova and more. 
Trio Halata features Paul Mitchell-Davidson on guitar, Geth Griffith on double bass and Andy on saxophone. Originally formed in 2001 to explore folk music in a jazz context, the group has recently re-formed with a programme influenced by folk, jazz, Bossa Nova and more. 
Click to visit the website for Paul Mitchell-Davidson
Click to read a biography of Geth Griffith on the Artist Direct website
Click to view details of the event on the Middlewich and District Concerts Society website
Click to view details of the Macclesfield performance