Adam Estes - François Rossé- Métissage - Music for Saxophone and Piano (2021)

The saxophone music of French composer François Rossé (b.1945) breaks with traditional styles by embracing a contemporary musical language heavily reliant upon extended techniques for the instrument. Rossé is one of a number of compelling avant-garde composers writing music that demands both contemporary knowledge and training. I have devoted much of my creative energy to exploring Rossé's music; interviewing the composer and collaborating closely with him on a number of compositions, as well as developing pedagogy so that I can better assist musicians to perform this dramatic and demanding music with fluency, clarity, and understanding. I hope that as this music becomes more fully integrated into the saxophone repertoire, familiarity will allow audiences to experience the expressive power of these unique compositions.

Adam Estes is assistant professor of music at the University of Mississippi, where he teaches saxophone and bassoon, coaches woodwind chamber ensembles and teaches woodwinds methods courses. Most recently, he was assistant professor at Minot State University. Formerly a band director in the public schools in Mason, Texas, Estes has also held posts as visiting professor of saxophone at Furman University and the University of South Carolina, as well as instructorships at Presbyterian College and the South Carolina Governors School for the Arts and Humanities. Estes is a founding member of the Assembly Saxophone Quartet, and maintains an active performance schedule as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician. He has been the principal bassoonist with the Western Plains Opera Company and the Minot Symphony Orchestra, and has been a regular substitute bassoonist and saxophonist with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, South Carolina Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Augusta Symphony Orchestra. His performing career has taken him to venues in Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, France and Belgium. Estes holds graduate degrees from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Tarleton State University. His primary teachers were Clifford Leaman, Greg Ball, Peter Kolkay, Carol Lowe and Douglas Graham. Dr. Estes is a Yamaha Performing Artist, performing exclusively on Yamaha saxophones. He has previously released recordings on Albany Records and AMP Recordings.

Stacy Rodgers is professor of music at the University of Mississippi where he is head of keyboard studies and collaborative piano. He earned a Bachelor's degree in piano performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and a Master's degree in piano pedagogy and literature at the University of Texas in Austin. Rodgers teaches piano performance, piano literature, private lesson and group piano pedagogy, accompanying, chamber music, theory and history. He performs frequently with his wife, Diane Wang, as a piano duo and four-hand team, and with faculty colleagues from all performance areas.

Collaborative pianist Amanda Johnston maintains an active performance schedule in the United States, Canada and Europe, and has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for her work in the field. Currently associate professor of music at the University of Mississippi, she is music director and vocal coach for the Opera Theatre, teaches courses in advanced diction and collaborative piano, and coaches at the undergraduate and graduate level. Johnston is also on faculty at Musiktheater Bavaria and Druid City Opera Workshop in Alabama. Johnston has also given master classes in voice and collaborative piano at the University of South Dakota, Harding University and University of Nevada, and in Canada at Queen s University and the Royal Conservatory of Music.