Alchemy
Magic, process, intuition, and community intersect in this offering of works for saxophone, an exhibition of musical architecture, sculpture, and story.Composed, premiered, and recorded over a ten-year span, the works on Alchemyare the result of a decade-long collaboration between Doug O’Connor and Baljinder Sekhon.
These compositions present the saxophone in a variety of settings, from saxophone quartet with real-time electronics to saxophone ensemble to featuring the saxophonist as a soloist with orchestra (The Offering) and percussion ensemble (Gradient 2.0+). This collection of works explores the intersections of musical elements, ranging from the sounds created by the various instruments involved to the structural parameters of the composition. These works seek to connect pitch and time in various ways while melding sounds together through the employment of alternate and traditional techniques. Sometimes driven by shape and sometimes shaped by narrative, these pieces offer the listener space to explore magical and methodological musical worlds.
The music of Baljinder Sekhon has been presented in over 500 concerts in twenty-six countries. From works for large ensemble to solo works to electronic music, Sekhon’s music demonstrates a wide range of genres and styles. His works have been performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Seoul Arts Center (Korea), and National Recital Hall (Taiwan). Thirteen commercial recordings of his work have been released, with his most recognized output being his contributions to the percussion and saxophone genres. Alchemy is the second full album of Sekhon’s work released on Innova Records, with the first album entitled Places & Times featuring works for percussion.
Sekhon currently serves as Assistant Professor of Composition at Penn State University. He holds the PhD and MA from the Eastman School of Music where he is a three-time recipient of the Howard Hanson Orchestral prize and holds a BM from the University of South Carolina. His numerous appearances as a percussionist include those at the L.A. Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series in Walt Disney Hall, Festival Spazio Musica in Cagliari, Italy, and at the Bang On a Can Marathon in New York City.
Saxophonist Doug O’Connor is passionate about sharing music that challenges audiences to explore, connect, and grow. His performances push the athletic limits of the saxophone and feature music from all eras and in many styles, including classical, contemporary, jazz, and electronic. He strives to champion new works, present adventurous and innovative chamber music, and perform with an improvisatory command of music from Bach to Coltrane.
O’Connor honed his artistic mission while performing on the Astral Artists roster from 2003 to 2013 and completing his training at the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his MM and DMA degrees in 2008 and 2012, and eventually went on to serve as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Saxophone in the fall of 2017. In addition, he served as Associate Lecturer of Saxophone at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire, as a saxophonist with the United States Naval Academy Band, and since 2016 as a saxophonist with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” He is proud to be a co-founder of the Global Premiere Consortium Commissioning Project, an online platform for instigating the composition, dissemination, and performance of new music worldwide.
