by Ryan Smith

This year's Region III conference was held the weekend of March 25-27 at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, and hosted by Dr. Dave Camwell. Student saxophonists and professionals from more than fifteen states and as far away as Australia attended the conference, with over seventy performers and speakers presenting master classes, lectures, and concerts.

Daytime performances consisted of a broad sampling of standard saxophone repertoire, recently composed music, world premieres, and jazz tunes. Particularly popular at the conference this year was the music of Jacob ter Veldhuis, whose works for saxophone and tape received five performances over the course of the weekend. While jazz saxophone music was somewhat underrepresented, a handful of jazz standards and one original tune were performed by Matt Olson and Kyle Glavanovits on Saturday afternoon. Kenneth Tse's presentation of Barry Cockcroft's Rock Me for unaccompanied saxophone stood out as one of the most virtuosic and inspiring performances of the conference. [Editor’s note: Video of this performance can be viewed at barrysax.com.] Featured artist performances of full-length recital programs were given by Michael Duke from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia, the Oasis Saxophone Quartet, and the Zzyzx Saxophone Quartet. Attendance at nearly all of the daytime performances was high.

Evening concerts with the Simpson College Jazz Ensemble and Symphonic Band took place on Friday and Saturday nights. The jazz band concert featured three guest tenor saxophone soloists: Chad Eby, Paul Haar, and Matt Olson. Both Olson and Eby performed tunes that they had arranged (Sail Away/Olson and Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend/Eby). A jazz jam at a local Indianola bar and grill followed the concert. Three soloists performed with the symphonic band on Saturday night: Preston Duncan - Bernhard Heiden's Diversion; Dave Camwell - John Williams' Catch Me If You Can; and Kenneth Tse - a transcription of Le ronde des lutins by Antonio Joseph Bazzini. The guest soloists at both concerts gave outstanding performances.

A number of informative lectures were given during the conference. Two presenters spoke about various reed-related topics. Kristen McKeon, Rico clinician and product specialist, discussed the processes involved in reed production—from the growth of the raw material through the entire automation process—and reed maintenance. Blake McGee, Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of Wyoming, gave a class on reed adjustment. Other lecture topics included altissimo practice techniques, advice for students seeking careers in music, and the pedagogical contributions of clarinetist and saxophonist Joseph Allard.

Representatives from Yamaha, Conn-Selmer, Rico, and Tenor Madness exhibited a wide variety of instruments, mouthpieces, and reeds for conference attendees to experiment with and purchase. Rico gave away quite a few boxes of their recently-released Rico Reserve Classic reeds for alto saxophone which many saxophonists have been using with favorable results. Randy Jones of Tenor Madness brought his new TM Custom mouthpieces for tenor saxophone. Released within the last year, the TM Custom mouthpiece is an Early Babbit remake that has received excellent reviews from several prominent jazz saxophonists (Steve Neff posted a review on his website in January this year).

After all was said and done, I think most attendees would agree that this year's Region III conference was highly successful. Many thanks are due to Dr. Camwell for his hard work in organizing the event.