Happy 200th Birthday, Mr. Sax!

On November 8, 2014, the UGA saxophone studio brought Mr. Adolphe Sax to life to celebrate his 200th birthday and his greatest invention, the saxophone. As part of the UGA Performing Arts Center’s Saturday Morning Club series designed for kids 4-12 years old, the studio created an historical journey of the saxophone, its inventor and its music.  This project was above and beyond the typical music studio requirements and demanded a lot of time and creativity.

Music selection, story creation, and script writing were placed into the hands and imaginations of the saxophone studio members.  At the beginning of the school year, students began brainstorming in small groups about various concert themes.  It was decided to throw Mr. Sax a birthday party, and what better way to celebrate than with balloons, streamers, party hats, and cake.  But a party for Mr. Sax wouldn’t be complete without one special gift – music played on his own invention.

Many different scripts and saxophone pieces were submitted and pulled from to create the final on-stage dialogue between Dr. Frigo and Mr. Sax, played by D.M.A. student Stan Flanders, that told the musical story of the saxophone. In addition to the script and programming, students also created original arrangements of much of the music, along with choreography.

The show was performed by memory in order to create as much flexibility as possible for staging and choreography.  Unlike most other large music ensembles, the UGA Saxophone Ensemble has no conductor.  This makes rehearsals more of a team building activity with greater individual accountability, and enhances critical listening, communication, and leadership skills.

It’s not often that Mr. Sax appears at North American Saxophone Alliance events, but the studio performed and discussed the project at the Region VI conference hosted by Georgia State University in April 2015.  It was a good way to share a successful model of a creative student-led project.  Happy 200th birthday, Mr. Sax!