Senior saxophone recital

Although not required for my self-defined major, I decided that my saxophone studies at CMU would not be complete without doing a senior recital showcasing four works that I was truly passionate about:

• Sonata for Piano and Alto Saxophone by Phil Woods - I fell in love with this piece because of the way it bridges jazz and classical and was thrilled when Nick Kosarek, an incredibly talented pianist friend I had met my freshman year in jazz band, agreed to play it with me.

• Gradient 2.0 by Baljinder Sekhon - After being asked to perform this incredibly challenging and complex piece for saxophone and five percussionists with the Carnegie Mellon Percussion Ensemble my sophomore year of college, I knew I had to find a way to play it again. This created a particularly special opportunity for me to play the piece with my dad, an alum of the School of Music, and his fellow percussion colleagues. The School of Music was thrilled to have two generations performing together and did a Facebook Live interview with us.

• Braided Sky by Alex Marthaler - I was hoping to play something contemporary and original and was honored when my close friend and Music Spa co-founder Alex Marthaler agreed to write a piece for me to premiere.

• Scaramouche by Darius Milhaud - This had always been one of my favorite pieces for saxophone since I first heard it in high school. I actually used this piece for my audition to CMU, and I wanted to bring it full circle by performing it on my final recital.