1/6/13

Members of the North American Saxophone Alliance:

I would like to extend my deep appreciation to the NASA executive committee members that have completed their terms of office: Past-President Debra Richtmeyer, Treasurer Frank Bongiorno, and Secretary Eric Lau have concluded their service on the executive committee and deserve a big THANK YOU from all of us!  I would also like to offer my personal gratitude to John Nichol, who has been an exceptionally active and effective President.  John will serve for the next two years as Past-President, remaining on the EC, and I want to personally thank him in advance for his sage counsel during these next two years.

We enthusiastically welcome President-Elect Kenneth Tse, Secretary Robert Young, and Treasurer David Stambler to the executive committee.  We expect the transition to our new officers to be smooth and are excited to begin work on many new ideas and initiatives.  We also have a strong group of NASA members who continue their service to the organization, including our Region Directors who are busy organizing or helping to organize this year’s Conferences.  I offer my heartfelt thanks to all who serve NASA, as our organization continues to grow in many new and exciting ways!

Members of the North American Saxophone Alliance:

I hope you enjoyed the recent NASA 2012 Biennial Conference at Arizona State University.  It was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new ones, hear some terrific saxophone playing, and to take note of exciting new compositions.   I was impressed with the high level of performance that was presented at this conference.   We are moving the saxophone forward as an effective and vibrant vehicle for expressing musical art.  I want to extend another sincere and heartfelt thank you to Tim McAllister and his saxophone studio at ASU for hosting this event.  I also want to thank the many NASA members involved in presenting this conference for investing their time and energy into its organization.

Members of the North American Saxophone Alliance:

A sincere thank you to Thomas Lowry, our NASA Webmanager, for doing a considerable amount of work to create and migrate our information to the new and revised website, version 5. The site now includes a Saxophone Repertoire Entry, Saxophone History Timeline, Upcoming Professional Member Performance Listing, and the ability to upload images.  It is now easier to navigate and find information.  Additionally, members will have the chance to create content on the website by using these new features.

I find the Saxophone Repertoire Entry database to be especially attractive.  NASA members will be able to create a saxophone repertoire list by entering information on pieces that they have performed or recommend.   Besides listing pertinent information (title, composer, publisher), there will be an area for a short abstract that describes each composition and lists its instrumentation. The Saxophone Repertoire Entry database provides the ability to search saxophone literature by title, composer, instrumentation, and a variety of other fields.   This will become a living document, capable of expanding and staying current with our art.  Take a minute out of your day to explore this latest feature, and add new literature to the Saxophone Repertoire Entry database!

Members of the North American Saxophone Alliance:

The NASA Executive Committee was quite busy in late February and March with discussion concerning our performance competitions, the mechanics of the competitions, prize amounts, application fees, and adjudicator compensation. In addition to the three existing competitions (jazz, classical, and quartet), we created three new competitions that will be held at our next Biennial Conference at Arizona State University in March of 2012.