Friday, February 21, 2025

Spotlight: Area 9 Saxophone Quartet

Area 9 Saxophone Quartet

Area 9 to Perform at Concord Band Winter Concert

7pm March 8th at 51 Walden Performing Arts Center

The Area 9 Saxophone 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. This is Area 9's second appearance as guest artists with the Concord Band.

Venezuelan-born Aldemaro Romero is credited with creating a new musical genre, the Ondo Nuevo, a combination of Venezuelan fandango and Brazilian bossa nova. In his composition, Saxophone Quartet, the exuberant Fandango movement features kaleidoscopic harmonies over a driving rhythmic pulse, while in the joyous and virtuosic Choro Y Tango, each horn gets a chance to shine.

Bennett Parsons (soprano) is a sought-after saxophonist and multi-woodwind artist based in the Boston area. He is the saxophonist of the Kalliope Reed Quintet, which has commissioned and premiered over 20 new works since 2019. He regularly plays with other leading Boston area chamber groups including the Jamaica Plain Saxophone Quartet and Improbable Beasts bass clarinet choir. He has appeared on saxophones, clarinets and oboe with local orchestras including the Phoenix Orchestra, Cape Ann Symphony, New Bedford Symphony and Glens Falls Symphony. As a soloist, Bennett has won concerto competitions at Harvard in 2016 and New England Conservatory in 2019. Bennett serves on the Board of the Boston Woodwind Society and works a day job as a software engineer at Microsoft.

Cara Hachten (alto) is an active soloist, chamber musician, and woodwind teacher. Cara is passionate about curating connections, collaborating with other musicians, and inspiring audiences. Cara also performs with the Firebird Pops Orchestra, Opus One Big Band, and Timberlane Community Jazz Band. She has performed in recordings as a member of the Fredonia Saxophone Ensemble and the Boston University Wind Ensemble. Originally from Maine, Cara completed her undergraduate work at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia, where she double-majored, earning a BM in music performance and BS in communication. Cara received her master's degree in saxophone performance from Boston University. She is a faculty member at the Nashua Community Music School and the Timberlane Regional School District. 

John Rabinowitz (tenor) is a frequent guest artist with the New England Conservatory Saxophone Ensemble, and is a soloist with Les Messengers de la Nouvelle Alliance, a Boston based Haitian reggae gospel band that performs throughout eastern Massachusetts. In addition to being a founding member of Area 9, John is also a member and soloist with The Concord Band. John currently serves on the Band’s Board of Trustees. John earned a bachelor of arts in American History from Harvard, then studied classical piano at the Longy School, classical saxophone with Ken Radnofsky at the New England Conservatory, and jazz performance with Mark Phaneuf at the New School of Music in Cambridge, MA. He currently resides in Arlington, MA.

Seychelle Dunn-Corbin (baritone) is a Boston-based saxophonist known for advocacy of works by black, indigenous, people of color, and womxn composers. Seychelle worked in education for the Baltimore Public Schools and is an alumna of Morgan State University, earning both a BA and MA degrees in music, Seychelle continued 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. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in saxophone performance from Boston University. In addition to her work with Area 9 Saxophone Quartet, Seychelle performs with NorthStar Duo, The Concord Band, and The North Shore Concert Band. She is faculty at Bunker Hill Community College, Salem State University, and Longy School of Music of Bard College, and is the Associate Director of the Community Music School at the Community Music Center of Boston.