Ouachita Stories

Dr. Caroline Taylor, Ouachita Baptist University professor of music, will present a faculty saxophone recital at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

The recital will be held in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall on Ouachita’s campus. Taylor will be joined by Heather Bynum, OBU instructor of clarinet, on clarinet; Kristin Grant, OBU instructor of music, on flute; Cai Lei, OBU assistant professor of music, on piano; and Dr. Ryan Lewis, OBU assistant professor of music, on marimba.

“This is one of the most fun recital programs I have worked on because of the opportunity to rehearse and perform with so many of my colleagues here on campus,” Taylor said. “I will be playing a variety of chamber works composed for saxophone and piano, saxophone and clarinet, saxophone and marimba and even a trio for saxophone, flute and clarinet.”

The recital will open with Ronald Binge’s “Concerto for Alto Saxophone,” which was composed for and made its debut at the BBC’s International Festival of Light Music in London. Its three movements include “Allegro Spiritoso,” “Romance” and “Rondo.”

The program will continue with David Maslanka’s “Song Book for Alto Saxophone & Marimba,” a piece heavily influenced by the composer’s study of Bach four-part chorales. The piece’s four movements include: “Song for Davy,” a reworking of Bach’s “Das alte Jahr vergangen ist (The Old Year is Past)”; “Hymn Tune with Four Variations,” which borrows the melody from Bach’s “Werde Munte, mein Gemute (Be strong, my heart)”; “Summer Song”; and “Song for Alison,” a tune dedicated to the composer’s wife.

Third, Taylor will perform “Concert Piece No. 1, Op. 113” by Felix Mendelssohn, transposed by Elaine Zajac. This piece came about as part of an exchange between Mendelssohn and his friend Heinrich Joseph Baermann, a German clarinetist. Mendelssohn offered Baermann and his son the composition in exchange for their famous homemade dumplings. The piece’s three movements include “Allegro con Fuoco,” “Andante” and “Presto.”

Taylor will then perform Catherine McMichael’s “Eclectic Trio: A Short Dance Suite.” Its three movements originated in various parts of the Americas: “Sarabande” in Mexico, “Tango Languido” in Argentina and “Jitterbug” in the U.S.

To conclude the recital, Taylor will play Brent Olstad’s arrangement of William Bradberry’s “Jesus Loves Me” in dedication to her daughters.

Dr. Taylor has been a member of Ouachita Baptist University’s music faculty since 1998 and has been active as both a performer and clinician. She has premiered works for the saxophone throughout the U.S. and Europe and has performed or given presentations at symposiums and conferences nationally and internationally, including performances in Ireland, Spain, Puerto Rico and Canada. A recording artist as a part of LYNX Duo, she has released the album “The LYNX Duo: Music for Saxophone & Percussion” through mark Custom Recordings. Taylor earned a Master of Music in Woodwinds Performance degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance degree from the University of Georgia. She is a performing artist for the Yamaha Corporation of America and is a founding member of the Arkansas Saxophone Quartet. She resides in Arkadelphia with her husband, Doug, and her two children, McKenna and Madeline.

The recital is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Caroline Taylor at [email protected] or (870) 245-5139.

By Brooke Zimny