Suzy and I are looking forward to an exciting weekend of music and family. I’ve purchased three new sax quartet charts from professor Russ Peterson including his just finished Lil’ Darlin’, ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’, and ‘Georgia On My Mind’. Greg won’t be making it but Tina has agreed to sit in. Life is good.

Nicole Barnes, a professor of music at Western Washington University, is staring in a recital on Sunday. We’ve seen Nicole perform before and she is really a stellar player.

“Nicole Barnes is a recent graduate from the New England Conservatory, where she received her Masters degree in saxophone performance.  In 2005, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Bachelor of Music in Orchestral Instruments degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. 

Ms. Barnes was the first undergraduate in the United States to premiere David Kechley’s “Restless Birds Before the Dark Moon” in 2004.  In 2003, Nicole won first place in the 12th Annual Concerto Competition at the University of Washington.  As an international performer, Ms. Barnes has toured the Netherlands with the Boston-based Thump Saxophone Quartet and in 2004, performed for large audiences with the University of Washington Saxophone Quartet in Japan. 

Nicole has also been a guest performer for many well-known groups, such as the Boston Civic Orchestra, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and the 2006 Tanglewood Contemporary Orchestra.  To further her musical career, Nicole has attended master classes with Harvey Pittel, Eugene Rousseau, Ken Radnofsky, Jean-Marie Londeix and the Rascher Saxophone Quartet.  Her previous instructors include Tracy Knoop, Michael Brockman and Ken Radnofsky.”

We are also attending HMS Pinafore at the Second Story Rep where a number of our friends are playing in the pit orchestra. You might remember that we have played in the Second Story Rep pit orchestra for “Anything Goes” in 2007 and “Chorus Line” in 2008.