The University of Florida School of Music will celebrate the 195 birthday of the inventor of the saxophone, Adolphe Sax, with a concert of saxophone music Friday, Nov. 6at 12:50 p.m. in the University Auditorium.

Adolphe Sax Birthday Concert
Friday, Nov. 6 at 12:50 p.m.
University Auditorium
Free admission

Adolphe Sax, the son of a Belgian musical instrument maker, was born on November 6, 1814. His inventions included widespread improvements to many orchestral instruments. He is best known as the inventor of the family of instruments that bears his name.

Friday’s concert will feature a variety of music performed by the saxophone class at the University of Florida, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Helton, Professor of Music. The many faces of the saxophone will be showcased at this concert, from nineteenth-century classical works to Latin jazz. Composers represented on the program include French contemporary artist Ida Gotkovsky, Pulitzer prize-winner Karel Husa, jazz great Paquito D’Rivera, and the great Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. The concert will culminate in a performance by the University of Florida All-Saxophone Festival Orchestra—a grand ensemble of 22 saxophones. This ensemble includes six sizes of saxophones from sopranino to bass. The ensemble will conclude the concert performing excerpts from an arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky’s masterpiece, Pictures at an Exhibition.

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