I’m all too excited to share a project that I’ve been thinking about for years now – a consortium for a high school-accessible saxophone quartet piece!!

As you might’ve noticed, I love writing for saxophone, but all of my quartets are challenging and only getting more demanding and obnoxious with each subsequent piece. I’ve been incredibly impressed by all the high school ensembles I’ve heard perform these works over the years, but I think it’s about time I write something a little more approachable. I’m thinking grade 4, high school Solo and Ensemble level – something that doesn’t require months of daily rehearsals to prepare.

Not only that, but this piece will take heavy influence from another one of my loves – video games. Specifically, I’m thinking of making this the most epic and exciting final boss theme I can write. I’ve always taken a lot of inspiration from video game soundtracks, whether it be completely unintentional or using an idea I heard recently in a score in my own piece. But after all these years of gaming (which I can now categorize as research!), I’m all too excited at the prospect of writing something taking specific inspiration from the medium.

Saxophonists and music educators, I’d love to work with you on the creation of this piece! I plan to write versions for both SATB and AATB quartet, actually keep key and range in mind for once, and maybe write fewer 13/16 measures this time. Keep this project in mind as we prepare for the upcoming school year, and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions!

Entry Form

Consortium Fee: $100 ($50 due up front, $50 due upon completion of the piece)
Deadline to Join: September 9, 2022
Anticipated Completion: November 1, 2022
Duration: 3-5 minutes
Difficulty: High School (Grade 4)
Benefits to Consortium Members:

• Names of consortium members included on the title page of the score
• Exclusive performance and recording rights from 1/22/2023 to the end of 2023
  • The Assembly Quartet will be giving the world premiere at the Michigan Music Conference on 1/21/2023 as part of their Pedagogy Project
• Input on musical material
• Composer will travel to performances, if able

Feel free to email me at cehass11@gmail.com if you have any questions about the project!