A Conductor’s and Performer’s Guide to Steven Bryant’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone - Chester Jenkins

128 JENKINS: Kind of along with that, the long glissandi with the trombones, that take place over a full bar of time and trying to make that even. How precise were you trying… SEDATOLE: I don’t know if it was super precise. I remember Steven working with our guys on it to get it exactly how he wanted it over the whole bar. Glassandi anyway is a bit ambiguous. So I don’t think it’s a big deal, but it was definitely something we had to match between players and that kind of thing. JENKINS: With the first movement especially, although it certainly exists in the third, you talk about the independence of playing. There are so many staggered entrances that occur a beat apart, a beat and a half apart. Did you find that to be…obviously with the high school groups I would imagine it would definitely be…. SEDATOLE: With the high school groups it was very difficult. With the college students it’s not. They love that challenge, and that’s why the college kids like to play in wind ensemble, because their parts are so individual. The top kids want to be the only person on their part. But the high school kids, much more difficult. So, for instance. When I did it for this Honor Band of America, I did the whole saxophone concerto and then did the last movement of the Mackey Symphony. And the saxophone concerto was much more difficult to put together than the Mackey was. It’s got more tutti playing. The concerto is just so individual, that proved to be challenging. But they pulled it off. I mean, it was great. When you’ve got a soloist like Lulloff and people are so enamored with that. They’ll forgive, or they won’t even be hearing what’s going on behind him. JENKINS: Well, thank you again. I really appreciate your time. SEDATOLE: Yeah, no problem. End of Interview