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UI saxophone students achieve unprecedented success in competitions

The University of Iowa Saxophone Studio has good reason to celebrate. And it's not just the end of classes. This year, UI saxophone students achieved unprecedented success at three different competitions throughout the U.S.
Most recently, the Axius Quartet, a student saxophone ensemble in the University of Iowa School of Music, won the silver medal in the Senior Wind Division of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, America's most prestigious competition for chamber music ensembles. The final competition was May 9 at Notre Dame University.

The members of the quartet -- Stephen Page, Colin Young, Ryan Smith and Nathan Bogert -- are students of Kenneth Tse, a faculty member in the School of Music and vice president of the Comite International de Saxophone.
Founded in 1973, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition has grown to become the largest chamber music competition in the world, and one of the most prestigious classical music prizes.

Axius, one of 48 ensembles from around the world invited to the Fischoff Competition, was also the national winner at the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition, and second-prize winner in the Quartet Competition of the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference.Also at the NASA conference, UI doctoral student Stephen Page won first prize and master's student Nathan Bogert won second prize in the classical solo competition. Tse's students won three of the top four awards in the conference's classical competition, a first in the history of the conference.

The North American Saxophone Alliance is composed of performers, teachers, students, scholars and enthusiasts of the saxophone. Its mission is to provide resources for saxophonists at all levels of skill, of all ages and backgrounds, and of varied musical styles by disseminating information about saxophone performance and pedagogy, by providing opportunities for music making, by fostering and facilitating the creation of new repertoire, by providing a communication network and by promoting the musical activities of its members.

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UI Saxophone Ensemble has been invited to perform at the 2010 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. December 15-18, 2010.