East End

Jonathan Wintringham, soprano saxophone
Myles Boothroyd, alto saxophone
Matthew Amedio, tenor saxophone
Timothy Harris, baritone saxophone

Formed in 2014 among graduate students at the Eastman School of Music, East End presents concerts described as “deep and powerful, sweet and high, fast and madcap” (SILive). East End is rapidly gaining recognition for its unique approach to programming, which features close collaboration with composers, in-house arrangements, and an eclectic range of their own transcriptions. Collectively, the ensemble has premiered over forty works by prominent composers including Michael Djupstrom, Ken Thomson, Samuel Adler, Ted Goldman, Steven Bryant, Robert Morris, Izumi Matsumoto, and Yukiko Yoshino. Its members have performed in Austria, the Czech Republic, England, France, Italy, Japan, and Mexico, and East End was featured in the award-winning Staten Island chamber music series, Serenade, as well as serving as guest artists for the Central Michigan University Saxophone Day, and at the University of Alabama, where they performed as William Bolcom’s Concerto Grosso with the UA Wind Ensemble.

East End took first prize at the 2015 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Chamber Music Competition. Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, this was the third and final round of a competition that began with over one hundred and twenty ensemble entrants from institutions across the country. Collectively, the members of East End have garnered top prizes from numerous national and international competitions, including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Plowman Chamber Music Competition, the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Collegiate Solo and Chamber Competitions, and the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition. East End Quartet also received the Eastman School of Music’s Celentano Award for Excellence in Chamber Music.

Drawing inspiration from their leadership roles in the groundbreaking Eastman Saxophone Project (ESP), East End performs almost exclusively from memory. Their approach engenders a closer connection to the music they present while facilitating a deeper level of communication with the audience and one another. As firm believers in offering a balanced and diverse concert experience, they work collaboratively to arrange repertoire written for other instruments and, in many instances, before the saxophone was invented. By programming pieces from a variety of historical eras, East End provides concerts that are eclectic, engaging, and representative of diverse musical styles.

Today, the ensemble devotes much of its time to expanding the repertoire available to saxophonists. East End is committed to the beneficial experience of collaborating with living composers, and they are constantly working to commission and premiere new
works as they broaden the saxophone quartet repertoire. Their debut album will feature new works by award-winning composers
Michael Djupstrom and Jon Russell, and is set to release in 2023.

Review

“They can be deep and powerful, sweet and high, fast and madcap…these gifts were especially evident in the “Introduction et Variations” of Gabriel Pierne, and in “Quatuor” of Jun Nagao…The boldface numbers on the program, like Bach’s “Chaconne,” seemed perfectly Bach-like…so ingeniously organized it brought smiles to many faces.”

-Michael Fressola, SILive (full review)