Solo and quartet saxophone repertoire composed by Chinese composers

The final product of this project is a high quality, professionally produced, audio recording featuring saxophone music written by Chinese composers.

The primary purpose of this recording project is to promote classical saxophone music written by Chinese composers, to bring these composers and selected compositions to a higher level of exposure, particularly to other saxophone players and enthusiasts with western cultural backgrounds; the publication of this recording in the future is expected to encourage more Chinese composers to write saxophone music. Because classical saxophone was only introduced into a Chinese conservatory in 1997, it is still developing in China, and to expand Chinese saxophone repertoire is significant for the development of this instrument in this country.

The other main purpose is to demonstrate how the selected composers’ Chinese backgrounds influence the selected pieces and how the composers incorporate Chinese elements and cultures with the saxophone music. The terms “Chinese elements” and “Chinese cultures” are broad; they could be but are not limited to the traditional Chinese compositional method, Chinese narratives, musical materials derived from traditional Chinese music such as Chinese opera, folk songs, history, and the humanities. As a Chinese native who has been studying a western instrument and western music for more than two decades, I hope to learn many of these elements that I was not acquainted with until the beginning of this project.