Stephen Page
Described by noted American composer Libby Larsen as "fearless on stage," saxophonist Stephen Page has garnered international prominence as one of today’s leading saxophonists. Dr. Page has concertized across five continents, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Australia, the Canary Islands, and throughout the United States.
Well known for his interpretations of new and emerging repertoire for the instrument, Stephen has also gained acclaim for his innovative arrangements and performances of the violin repertoire, including works by Strauss, Grieg, Franck, Prokofiev, and Bach. He continues to further the advancement of the saxophone repertoire through the commissioning of new works from composers such as Viet Cuong, John Mackey, Ida Gotkovsky, David Lang, Alexandra Gardner, Gala Flagello, David Maslanka, Marc Mellits, and Martin Bresnick.
Stephen has earned prizes in more than ten international and national competitions, including the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist and Chamber Music Competitions, the North American Saxophone Alliance Solo and Quartet Competitions, the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition, and the AUREC Saxophone Competition, among many others.
As the Alto Saxophone chair of the critically acclaimed Zzyzx Quartet, Stephen has appeared internationally in venues both public and academic. Zzyzx has been featured in concert at meetings of the North American Saxophone Alliance, and the World Saxophone Congress, along with extensive touring throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Zzyzx Quartet was selected to serve on the panel of the Barlow Endowment and was the dedicatee of the winner, Ben Hjertmann’s new work for saxophone quartet, "Awake, Alive, Amok, Ajar."
Dr. Page has released more than fifteen recordings as a soloist and chamber musician which can be heard on the Enharmonic, Teal Creek, Crystal Music, and AUR Labels. His recent recording of John Mackey’s Concerto will soon be released with PARMA, and a current project of works by Fazil Say, Miriama Young, and Yusef Lateef, will feature a dual release of both digital audio and cinematic video.
He has enjoyed significant collaboration as a Musicians Advisory Board member with D’Addario, serving as Artist and Consultant for JodyJazz/E.Rousseau Mouthpieces, and he has served as Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician for nearly twenty years. Dr. Page also serves as a board member for the Elise Hall Competition for Emerging Saxophonists and has been elected to the North American Saxophone Alliance Executive Committee.
Stephen Page currently serves as Associate Professor of Saxophone and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Butler School of Music within The University of Texas at Austin, where he has received the Teaching Excellence Award, the Foxworth Centennial Fellowship, and was one of twelve nominees campus-wide for the Blunk Memorial Professorship, the University’s most prestigious award for teaching and mentorship.
Nathan Nabb - Alto Saxophone
Nathan received his Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees in saxophone performance from Northwestern University, where he studied with Dr. Frederick Hemke and was a two-time winner of the Northwestern University Chamber Music competition. His bachelor’s degree is from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with Professor Debra Richtmeyer.
As an orchestral musician, Nathan regularly performs with the St. Louis Symphony and the Houston Symphony and has also performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, New World Symphony, IRIS Chamber Orchestra, and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Recent orchestral performance highlights include concerto performances with St. Louis and Houston Symphonies, as well as a 2012 European tour with St. Louis Symphony, featuring concerts at the BBC Proms, Berlin Musikfest, and Salle Pleyel.
Dr. Nabb makes regular appearances as a soloist and guest clinician. Recent invited solo recitals include performances in the summer of 2015 in the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan and at the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China. He was featured as a concerto soloist at the Region IV North American Saxophone Alliance conference in 2015 and has performed solos at the World Saxophone Congress, North American Saxophone Alliance, Navy Band Saxophone Symposium, as well as prominent schools of music and saxophone studios throughout the United States, France, Taiwan, Japan, Spain, Greece, Norway, Canada, and China. He can be heard on the BIS, Innova, Teal Creek, and AMP record labels.
Nathan is the soprano saxophonist in Oasis Quartet, an ensemble that enjoys an international performance agenda as recitalists, concerto soloists, and clinicians. Oasis Quartet has performed with numerous orchestras and bands in the United States, and given performances and clinics throughout North America, Asia, and Europe. Their self-titled album was released in 2009 and features the music of Glass, Gotkovsky, and Escaich. As a supporter of contemporary music, Oasis has been a part of numerous commissions and premieres in addition to performing staples of the repertoire and artistic adaptations from other chamber music genres.
Dr. Nabb holds teaching positions at Stephen F. Austin State University, where he is Professor of Saxophone, and at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he is Guest Master Teacher of Saxophone. Dr. Nabb’s students have won many competitions both in solo and chamber music settings and have been featured in performances and master classes at North American Saxophone Alliance regional and national conferences, as well as other local and regional clinics.
Hyun Ji Oh Jeon - Piano
Korean pianist Jihyun Oh was born in Seoul, the Republic of Korea. As a concert pianist, she was the First Prize winner of the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition and the Korea-Germany Music Competition, the Second Prize winner of the Busan Music Competition, and a finalist at Internationaler Jugend Pianisten Wettbewerb. She has been featured in several live performances on KPR (Kansas) and is a recipient of the Joanne Baker Piano Scholarship at UMKC.
Mrs. Oh has been invited to play in numerous venues including Teatro Petrarca, Palazzo Ducale di Lucca, Solitaer, Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic Concert Hall, Youngsan Yangjae Hall, Yongsan Grace Hall, and Seoul National University Concert Hall. She has also performed with the Bad Reichenhall Orchestra in Germany and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in Seoul. With a passion for studying further, she has performed in masterclasses with Emmanuel Ax, Boris Berman, Eguchi Fumico, Jonathan Feldman, and Margo Garrett.
With a passion for collaborative piano, she was a recipient of a Collaborative piano Graduate Assistantship at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a participant in the Puerto Rico Center Collaborative Piano Festival, and a fellow at the Music Academy of the West.
She loves to read with a cup of fruit tea and chat with dearest people.