I am very excited to share with you Quirkâs latest recording: Nine Pieces for Five Players. The album contains nine original compositions by Richard Ingham. The Quirk Saxophone Quartet (soprano Sarah Markham, alto Kenneth Wilkinson, tenor Chris Jolly, baritone Sarah Hind) were joined by Richard on soprano saxophone to record the pieces.
Nine Pieces for Five Players was originally commissioned by and written for the Plume Wind Quintet. When I asked Richard if he would write something for saxophone quintet, he decided to rework these pieces for two sopranos, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone.
Several of the movements were performed in Zagreb at the World Saxophone Congress. We were very excited about the blend of sound created with the quintet of saxophones, which prompted Richard to arrange the rest of the movements. Each movement is very different, and the whole album incorporates many musical styles. Five of the movements feature a member of the ensemble as a soloist with the others accompanying.
There is jazz, latin, funk, folk, as well as contemporary classical influence throughout the album.
View the launch video on the Quirk Music website.
The album is available now at the Quirk Music store, direct from Largo Music, on Apple Music (iTunes), Amazon, and Spotify.
Sarah is a Yamaha and Vandoren performing artist.
Royal College of Music
Leeds Conservatoire
University of York
University of Sheffield
University of Huddersfield
University of Durham
Sarah Markham's teaching practice welcomes students of all ages and abilities. Focuses include preparing students for music college, and helping amateur musicians get the most from their playing. Sarah is a specialist in helping students with performance anxiety issues.
The Quirk Duo is saxophonists Sarah Markham and Kenneth Wilkinson. Between them they have a performing career spanning sixty years, enjoying many genres including solo recitals, opera, orchestral, jazz, pop and chamber music. The Quirk Duo is a distillation of those experiences, an exploration of possibilities.
The.Quirk Saxophone Quartet is made up of like-minded saxophonists:
Sarah Markham - soprano
Kenneth Wilkinson - alto
Chris Jolly - tenor
Sarah Hind - baritone