Notice Board

Art NOW Series: Daniel Kientzy and William Street
Today's Music and the Saxophone
Musique contemporaine et saxophone (qui sera inaugurée pour le meeting de la NASA)
12 pm, February 15, 2019
University Recital Hall
Free admission, everyone welcome!
Presented by the Department of Art in collaboration with the North American Saxophone Alliance Region 9 Conference.

Daniel Kientzy is considered as the hero of the contemporary saxophone. Winning First Prize unanimously in saxophone and chamber music at the Paris Conservatory (CNSM) was not enough to satisfy his need to augment the repertoire and alter the stereotyped image of the saxophone at the time. He continuously researches and discovers new playing techniques as well as new forms of musical expression that have revolutionized both the saxophone and the world of contemporary music.  He is the only saxophonist who regularly plays all members of the saxophone family, from the minnow sopranino to the behemoth contrabass saxophone. Continuously, he encourages the composing of new works, as of 2014 they number over 650. They come from all geographic and aesthetic horizons. They also illustrate all kinds of international musical creativity, from solo concertos through theater music and electroacoustic music. Many of these compositions implement unique instrumental combinations or even use instruments unheard of in contemporary music. More than half of these works have been recorded or are in the process of being recorded by Daniel Kientzy.

William Street has performed and lectured in Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Federation of Russia, France, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine and the USA. He tours with pianists Roger Admiral, I-An Chen and Viktoria Reiswich-Dapp and the Quatuor International de Saxophones emphasizing the importance of both solo and chamber music making. Recent chamber performances took place in Alberta, in the US mid-west in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Champaign, Illinois, as well as in Taiwan, Thailand, Croatia and China. Other solo performances and lectures took place in San Jose, California, Bordeaux and Strasbourg, France. For four years, from 2009-2013, Bill served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta and from 2013-2015 he was Associate Dean of Humanities and the Arts at San Jose State University. Since 2015, Street is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Alberta.