Spotlight: Area 9 Quartet

Area 9 Quartet
guest ensemble

The Area 9 Quartet is a Boston-based ensemble dedicated to exploring the rich, diverse and ever growing chamber music repertoire for saxophone. Recent performances have included works by Bach, Debussy, Glazunov and Vaughan Williams, as well as compositions by Sidney Bechet, Paul McCartney, Freddie Mercury and Herbie Hancock. Area 9 is also proud to have commissioned and debuted new works by contemporary composers, including Jun Feng’s “Somehow, Tango”, performed at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA in 2015, and Michael Kosch’s “Castle in the Air”, which Area 9 premiered at the Metropolitan Playhouse in NYC in December of 2016. For more information about upcoming performances, Area 9 invites you to visit its Facebook page, Area 9 Quartet.

Sean Mix (soprano saxophone) is active as a saxophonist and music educator in Boston, Massachusetts. He has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, including appearances at Jordan Hall (Boston), MACM Hall (Bangkok), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), The Stone (New York City), and the United States Military Academy (West Point, NY). He has been featured as soloist with the NEC Bach Ensemble, Boston Turkish Film and Music Festival, and at conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance. Sean is pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Boston University. He also holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music (MM, GD) and the University of Southern California (BM). His teachers have included Kenneth Radnofsky, James Rötter, Tom Bergeron, and Scott Hall. Sean is a member of the music faculty at the Wellesley Public Schools, where he enjoys working with young saxophone and clarinet students.

Area 9 Quartet (l. to r.): Sean Mix (soprano), Seychelle Dunn (alto),
John Rabinowitz (tenor), Kangyi Liu (baritone)

Seychelle Dunn (alto saxophone) is a saxophonist and pianist known for her inclusion of African American artistry in education and performance. Prior to her work in the Greater Boston area, Seychelle worked in education for the Baltimore Public School system and is an alumni member of Morgan State University; a Historical Black College that prides itself on incorporating African American culture through the daily collegiate experience. While attending MSU, Seychelle studied with accomplished composers Dr. James Lee III and Dr. Nkeiru Okoye, as well as, jazz saxophonist Tim Green and pianist Dr. Stephanie Bruning. Upon completing her studies and earning both a B.A. & M.A. degree in music, Seychelle furthered her education at Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Ma earning her graduate performance diploma while studying with classical saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky; in the fall she will continue her studies as a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in woodwind performance. Currently Seychelle performs with her saxophone quartet, as well as various chamber music settings; in addition to serving as piano faculty at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and as a freelance teaching artist. She is also highly involved with the surrounding community having served as board member of the Ashmont Hill Chamber Music Society and currently as the Director of Educational Programming with Castle of our skins; an organization that promotes and celebrates black artistry.

John Rabinowitz (tenor saxophone) studied classical piano and music theory at the Longy School before taking up his saxophone studies at The New England Conservatory with Ken Radnofsky. He has performed in a variety of musical settings in greater Boston, including with the jazz groups Prezzi Bomba and Zox Populi, as well as with Les Messengers de la Nouvelle Alliance, an Haitian reggae-gospel band. When not playing music, John reads Shakespeare aloud with inebriated friends, shops obsessively for the perfect side table on Wayfair, and squanders an enormous amount of time perusing football message boards. He is a contented resident of Arlington, MA, though a part of him will always pine for the fjords of northern New Jersey where he grew up.

Kangyi Liu (baritone saxophone) is native of the southern inland city Changsha in China, born into a family of art and literature, where he started playing saxophone in his childhood. At age 15, he was enrolled at the Central Conservatory of Music High School in Beijing as the first saxophone student where he studied with the principle saxophonist of China Youth Wind Symphony. Before coming to the United States, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Central Conservatory of Music, where he was also awarded during his undergraduate study the “National Scholarship” and “National Determined Scholarship” by the Ministry of Education of P. R. China. He was an instructor at Beijing YAMAHA Music Center, and he taught with the China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe, an organization for UNESCO Artists for Peace. In 2010, Kangyi continued his education at Longy School of Music with saxophonist Ken Radnofsky. Currently Kangyi is pursuing his Doctoral degree at Boston University in addition to teaching saxophone in the North Andover Public schools.