Wayne Leechford – baritone saxophone
Lanette Lind – piano
Casey Perley – harp
Scott Pollard – marimba
About the CD
The baritone saxophone is the “underdog” of the saxophone family. I chose this instrument because of its rich sound, power, and low register. Unfortunately, as a classical musician, I have had very little solo repertoire to play. As a baritone saxophone major at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, I was forced to play transcriptions of music for bassoon, cello, and bass clarinet. Very little quality classical music has been written for, as it is lovingly called, the bari sax. I was inspired by my former teacher, James Houlik, to commission composers of classical music to write for my instrument. He personally has commissioned over 80 new works for his instrument, the tenor saxophone. I commissioned six composers from the US and Canada to write new solo chamber works for the baritone sax. Lanette Lind, Richard Faith, J. Mark Scearce, Thomas Massella, Adrienne Albert, and Elizabeth Raum.