JEAN-MARIE LONDEIX, PRESIDENT OF THE JURY

Concert saxophonist, professor and concert producer, born into a family of musicians, 20 September 1932, in Arveyres, France in the region of Gironde. He was imbued very early in the pedagogical heritage of the piano and violin. At the age of fourteen he obtained a First Prize in saxophone from the Bordeaux Conservatory. His father formed, with his five children, an ensemble that performed regularly in and around Libourne. In 1948 he began studying with Marcel MULE. In order to have a trade before exclusively devoting his life to music, he entered a school for watch-making, while still taking classes at the Bordeaux Conservatory, followed by brilliant musical studies at the Paris Conservatory where he obtained the highest marks and awards.

As a concert soloist, recitalist; or conductor he performed more than 600 concerts with an excess of 250 works dedicated to him. 

As a teacher, 135 foreign students from 15 different countries have studied with him at the Bordeaux Conservatory (notably 48 Americans, 22 Canadians, 13 Spanish, 10 Japanese, 11 Germans and 9 Italians). He has presented master-classes in Europe, North America, Scandinavia, Japan, etc. Jean-Marie LONDEIX has authored a number of teaching methods making him an expert authority in the pedagogy of the saxophone. He was an initiator and founder of several professional organizations, ensembles and associations.

"An example of courage, hope and passion" (Keiji Munesada). His peers consider him "without question one of the world's greatest saxophonists and teachers. His influence has been strongly felt throughout the international saxophone community" (Gérald DONOVITCH), "One of the greatest musicians of our time" (Edison DENISOV), "Dean of French saxophonists who has made Bordeaux the world's leading center of saxophone studies" (Washington Post), "A model for classical saxophone" (Ramon RICKER), "Perhaps, after Adolphe SAX and his teacher Marcel MULE, the most important 'inventor' of the classical saxophone" (Francesco SALIME), "Master of the modern saxophone" (James UMBLE), "There is no one like you in France, or anywhere for that matter, in terms of your contributions to traditional and contemporary saxophone literature and pedagogy" (Frederick HEMKE), "The master of the masters" (Theodore KERKEZOS), "Jean-Marie LONDEIX deserves the deepest admiration for the quality of his work, but even more importantly for his very 'modern' position concerning all that touches the saxophone, both near and far" (Walter BOUDREAU), "His extensive output is known far and wide; not only for the quality of his amazing musical performances, but also for his teaching and his profound insight and thought" (François ROSSÉ).

DR. WILLIAM STREET, COORDINATOR

The winner of many awards including the "Certificat d'Aptitude de Saxophone", France's highest recognition of excellence in music performance and pedagogy, William Street has earned worldwide respect as one of North America's finest instrumentalists. He holds degrees from Northwestern University, the Conservatoire National de Bordeaux, France and the Catholic University of America. His teachers have includedGeorge Etheridge, Frederick L. Hemke, Jean-Marie Londeix, Frederick Ockwell and John P. Paynter. 

Dr. Street, a member of the Bro-Street Duo and the Ensemble International de Saxophones de Bordeaux, was also a member of the Chicago Saxophone Quartet, Washington, D.C. Saxophone Quartet and Frederick Hemke Saxophone Quartet prior to joining the University of Alberta Department of Music in 1988, where he teaches as saxophone instructor, chamber music coach and Director of the University Concert Band.
William Street has appeared as recitalist, conductor and soloist with orchestras and bands throughout Europe, Central and North America and Asia. He can be heard on compact disc recordings Sunthesis: "Les Septs Iles" (QM6901, Paris), "L'Ensemble International de Saxophones" (ACD0086, Tokyo), "At Your Service - Légende by Florent Schmitt" (Arktos 94005) with pianist Sylvia Taylor and the Centaur recording ofEvolution V for five saxophonists by Marilyn Shrude, recorded with the Chicago Saxophone Quartet. His recent compact disc recording of Tre Vie, Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra by Malcolm Forsyth with Grzegorz Nowak and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra was nominated for a 1999 Juno award. He has also recorded "héliosaxo" (Arktos - SRI- CD97018), a compact disc recording of twentieth century music for saxophone and piano with pianist Roger Admiral, featuring the music of composers Harbison, Karlins, Lauba, d'Indy, Rolin, Houkom. His recitals and concerts are frequently broadcast on programs of the CBC radio stations.
He served as President of the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) from 1992-1994 and has represented Canada at music conferences in France, Japan, Italy, Spain and the United States. He is the former Secretary of the World Saxophone Congress International Committee, and was instrumental in preparation for the XI World Congress held in Spain in October 1997. He has written articles and reviews published in the NASA Journal as well as the Bulletin de l'Association des Saxophonistes de France (ASAFRA).
His published work includes the English translation of Hello! Mr. Sax, ou les Parametres du Saxophone (Leduc) by Jean-Marie Londeix, "Elise Boyer Hall," and "The Life of Elise Boyer Hall" in Les États Généraux Mondiaux du Saxophone. He and Anna Street recently translated into English the Méthode d'Etude de Saxophone, by Jean-Marie Londeixpublished by Éditions Henry Lemoine in Paris.

Dr. Street is a Selmer clinician, He has a strong interest in music education and appears frequently as recitalist, adjudicator and conductor throughout North America and Europe.

JAMES J. OGBURN

James J. Ogburn (b. 1974) began his career as a jazz and rock guitarist. After six years working in residential treatment with severely emotionally disturbed children, he returned to university, receiving degrees in Composition and Theory from Central Washington University (B.M.), and the University of Pittsburgh (M.A. & Ph.D.). Currently, Dr. Ogburn is Chair of Composition and Theory at Mahidol University College of Music (Bangkok, Thailand), where he is also Artistic Director/ Conductor of Contemporary Enclave, Program Manager for the Thailand International Composition Festival, and Project Manager of the Siam Cement Group – Young Thai Artist Award. His primary teachers include: Mark Polishook, David Asplin, Woiciek Widlak, Marek Choloniewski, Eric Flesher, Roger Zahab, Amy Williams, Eric Moe, and Matthew Rosenblum.

Dr. Ogburn’s compositions have been featured at the Beijing Modern Music Festival (2013), World Saxophone Congress XVI (2012), the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Thailand International Composition Festivals (2011, 2012, and 2013), the Inaugural Asian Double Reed Association Conference (2011), the Fifth Thailand International Brass and Percussion Festival (2011), ACO/ Penn Presents New Music (2009), June in Buffalo (2007), the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Readings (2007), the National Student Conference of SCI (2004), and the Krakow Academy SME 30-Year Anniversary Gala (2003). His music has been performed and commissioned(*) by American Composers Orchestra (NYC, Cliff Colnot, cond.), Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra* (Bangkok, TPO – Gudni Emilsson, Chris Hughes, cond.), Karol Vary Symphony Orchestra (CZ, Gudni Emilsson, cond.), Mahidol Wind Symphony* (Bangkok, Chris Hughes, and Gregg Gausline, cond.), Boston Modern Orchestra Project (Boston, Gil Rose, cond.), Ensemble Mozaik* (Berlin, Erno Poppe, cond.), Flux Quartet (NYC), red fish blue fish percussion (San Diego), Siam Saxophone Quartet* (Bangkok), Central Washington University Orchestra* (Ellensburg, WA), IonSound Project* (Pittsburgh), Krakow Academy Quartet (PL), ALIA MUSICA Pittsburgh* (Pittsburgh, Federico Garcia, cond.), Contemporary Enclave (Bangkok), Old Pros Trombone Choir* (Bangkok), BurnNation Quartet* (Ellensburg, WA), Alvin Wong (cello)*, Shyen Lee (saxophone)*, Hrolfur Vagnsson (Accordion)*, Amy Galbraith (oboe)*, Julieta Ugartamendia (clarinet)*, Matthew Gillespie (piano)*, Luisa Sello (flute)*, and more. Dr. Ogburn has recently been named Composer-in-Residence for Season 9 (2013-14) of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, for which he will compose five new works. 

In performance, he has conducted programs with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Central Washington University Orchestra, the University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the University of Pittsburgh String Orchestra, The Central Washington University Chorale, IonSound Project, ALIA MUSICA Pittsburgh, the Mahidol University Contemporary Music Ensemble, Old Pros Trombone Choir, Contemporary Enclave and numerous student and non-professional ensembles. An outspoken advocate for contemporary music, he has conducted regional and world premiere performances of works by Joan Tower, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Zygmunt Krauze, Nancy Galbraith, Eric Moe, Roger W. Petersen, Eric Ewazen, Houston Dunleavy, Oscar Escudero, Ioannis Angelakis, Tetsuya Yamamoto, Mihyun Woo, Gregory van der Struik, Federico Garcia, Roger Zahab, Ivan Jimenez, Kerrith Livengood, Erica Kudisch, Benjamin Harris, Mark Fromm, John Durham, and others.

JEFFREY E. VICKERS

One of his generation's greatest proponents of modern music in the USA, Jeffrey E. Vickers is renowned for his interpretation and promotion of contemporary music. He has commissioned and premiered music in a variety of settings, including collaborations with international composers such as Robert Lemay, Christian Lauba, Ida Gotkovsky, Claudio Gabriele, Camille Kerger and Carlos Michans. He is an artist and clinician for Selmer Paris Saxophones and Rico Reeds, and a member of the Mid-American Arts Alliance Touring Roster (USA). 

A frequent recitalist and clinician, he is regularly invited to present recitals and masterclasses throughout the United States. He has given performances in over two dozen states and Europe (Portugal, Spain, Scotland, France), as well as numerous regional, national, and international conferences. He has performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra (Indiana), and the Bloomington Community Orchestra (Indiana). Vickers completed the Doctor of Music degree in Music Literature and Performance from Indiana University, with minors in music education and jazz studies. He also obtained his Master of Music (performance) from Indiana University with a minor in jazz studies. Vickers completed his Bachelor of Music in education at the University of Mississippi. His teachers include Wade Irvin, John Sampen, and Otis Murphy. Jeffrey E. Vickers recommends and plays Selmer saxophones and Rico reeds exclusively. 

He has held appointments on the faculties of Southern Arkansas University, Alcorn State University, the University of Louisville, and Vincennes University. His final Doctoral Document, Slap-Tonguing for Saxophone: Historical Foundations, Pedagogical Approaches and an Annotated Bibliography, represents the most comprehensive study ever produced on the topic. He continues research in contemporary saxophone techniques, with current interest in the production of an encyclopedia of tempered multiphonics for saxophones. He is also the owner of Resolute Music Publications, a publishing house which specializes in modern music.

MARIE-BERNADETTE CHARRIER

Marie-Bernadette Charrier studied music (saxophone but also faggot, chamber music, musical theory, analysis, history of the music, harmony and counterpoint) at the Conservatories of Nantes (with JP Magnac for saxophone) and Bordeaux (with JM Londeix). 

Curious and impassioned by all the musical currents of today, she carries out an international career (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Slovenia, Estonia, Switzerland, Ireland, Australia, Canada, the USA, Japan, China, Peru, Mexico, Thailand, Chile, Mexico) of soloist and in chamber music with the ensemble Proxima Centauri of which she is the artistic Director. She is regularly invited to perform in many international Events or Festivals (SIMC, Ars Musica, Sonorities festival, Suona Francese, 38ème Rugissants, Novelum, Radio France, festival "Les Musiques", Sintese, 5 Penny New Music, festival Música Contemporánea de Santiago, IV Ciclo de Música Contemporánea de Badajoz …). She has taken part in various emissions and radio recordings in Germany, Ireland, France, Switzerland and Australia. She has played with the Orchestra of the Theatre of Nantes, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Pays de Loire, the International Ensemble of Saxophones, the Ensemble New Music, the National Ensemble of Saxophones, the International Orchestral Ensemble of Italy, the National Orchestra Bordeaux Aquitaine, the ensemble ARCEMA, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bangkok, the New Modern Ensemble of Montreal and l’ECM 

Marie Bernadette Charrier has given conferences and concerts on the current musical aesthetics at the « Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux » and master-classes in the Conservatories in France, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Peru, Austria, Mexico, China, in the Hochschule of Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Francfurt, Münster, Hanover and in several Australian Universities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart… Marie-Bernadette Charrier is dedicatee and created more than hundred original works for saxophone from composers as T. Alla, J. Arroyo, JL. Campana, L. De Pablo, C. Havel, HJ. Hespos, P. Jodlowski, R. Lazkano, C. Lenners, M. Levinas, M. Lindberg, C. Maïda, I. Malec, H. Œhring, H. Parra, G. Racot, F. Rossé, N. Tzortzis and recorded ten CDs. 

Currently professor of saxophone and chamber music at the PESMD Bordeaux Aquitaine and the Conservatory of Bordeaux where she created in 1993 a class of interpretation of the contemporary music for all the instruments, she forms generations of interpreters to the open practice of the music of today.

MARCUS WEISS

Marcus Weiss is one of the leading international saxophone players. His repertoire includes all epochs of his instrument’s short history, from the beginnings in impressionistic France to the present. He is passionate about establishing the saxophone as a solo instrument in today’s classical music world. He regularly plays the great – and unfortunately often neglected – saxophone concertos and has played a crucial role in increasing the repertoire for the saxophone with numerous premieres of new works. Besides many others, the following contemporary composers have written solo and chamber works for him: Georges Aperghis, Vykintas Baltakas, John Cage, Aldo Clementi, Beat Furrer, Stefano Gervasoni, Vinko Globokar, Erhard Grosskopf, Manuel Hidalgo, Toshio Hosokawa, Michael Jarrell, Thomas Kessler, Hanspeter Kyburz, Jô Kôndô, Helmut Lachenmann, Detlev Müller-Siemens, Giorgio Netti, Brice Pauset, Salvatore Sciarrino, Elliott Sharp, Mauricio Sotelo, Johannes Maria Staud, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Walter Zimmermann... 

As a soloist, Marcus Weiss worked with many European orchestras, including Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Ensemble Modern, Muisk-Fabrik, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Contrechamps, ensemble recherche and others. He was been invited to festivals such as Wien Modern, Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik, Donaueschinger Tage für Neue Musik, Festival d’Automne de Paris, Märzmusik Berlin, Biennale Munich, Tage für Neue Musik Zürich, Salzburger Festspiele, Edinburgh Festival, Eclat in Stuttgart, Darmstädter Ferienkurse, Warschauer Herbst and to festivals in Austria, France, Italy, Spain, England, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, USA and Japan. 

In chamber music, Marcus Weiss is primarily working with his two ensembles, the TRIO ACCANTO with Nicolas Hodges, piano, and Christian Dierstein, percussion and the saxophone ensemble XASAX in Paris. Their repertoire includes not only contemporary music, but also early renaissance works and music from other epochs. In this connection, cooperating with composer Salvatore Sciarrino has proved extremely inspiring for XASAX. 

Marcus Weiss is teaching saxophone and chamber music at the University of Music Basel (Hochschule), where he also directs a Masters Program for contemporary music. He is regularly giving masterclasses at various international universities including Royal Academy of Music London, Universidad de Alcala Madrid, Universität der Künste in Berlin, Universität für Musik in Wien, a number of universities in the USA, including in Boston, New York, Chicago, and at the Takefu International Composition Workshop in Japan. He is a regular teacher at the Darmstädter Ferienkursen für neue Musik as well as at IMPULS (ensemble academy) in Graz (Austria). 

Marcus Weiss was born in 1961 in Basel, Switzerland. He studied with Iwan Roth at the Hochschule für Musik Basel and Frederick L. Hemke at Northwestern University Chicago. In 1989, he was awarded the soloist’s prize of the Swiss Tonkünstlerverein.

RODRIGO VILA

Rodrigo Vila trained at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux Jacques Thibaud, where he studied with Jean-Marie Londeix and Marie-Bernadette Charrier. In 2011, unanimously and with special mention, he obtained the Médaille d'honneur of the city of Bordeaux. Since 2004 he is professor of saxophone at the Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. 

He has given master classes at conservatories in Basel, Cologne, Frankfurt, Osnabrück, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Lima, Havana, La Paz, Vigo, Alicante, Oviedo, Bilbao, Burgos and Santiago de Compostela. He has collaborated with ensembles such as the Orchestre National Bordeaux-Aquitaine, the National Orchestra of Spain, the Madrid Symphony Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Balearic Islands, the Spanish Radio Television Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Community of Madrid and Plural Ensemble. 

Vila has chaired or been part of juries at international competitions such as the 5th Concours International de Saxophone in Nantes and the 4th Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition in Bangkok. He has given recitals of both solo and chamber music at the most prestigious festivals in Spain as well as others in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Canada, Sweden, Estonia, Austria, Cuba, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina.