Alongside being one half of Goldfrapp, Will Gregory is widely regarded as one of the UK’s electronic music pioneers and record producers. While his career as a musician has also seen him play with everyone from London Sinfonietta to Peter Gabriel to The Cure. His talent and musical credentials therefore make him the ideal person to present and curate our Saxophone Season. We spoke to him about why and how he selected the artists performing.
“When I was first asked to curate a season at Wiltshire Music Centre, I immediately thought of the saxophone” he explains. “It’s an instrument I play and love and seems to be one of those instruments that can cross genres and barriers, whether it’s classical, jazz, pop or world and speaks to us directly, not unlike the human voice. So, as the common theme for our
programme, we have chosen to cover this range by presenting virtuosi of the sax in their various fields.”
To kick off our season, we have a concert of Moondog’s work he wrote for nine saxophones. This is a perfect way to introduce you to the entire family of instruments, from the bass to the soprano, playing together as the group who toured and recorded with Moondog while he was alive: London Saxophonic.
Classical sax maestro Jess Gillam, avant-garde hero Evan Parker, jazz
legends Andy Sheppard, Soweto Kinch and Emma Rawicz, plus many more, come to Wiltshire Music Centre in what has to be the greatest concentration of sax talent ever to grace our special venue in one season. I will be talking to these wonderful artists before the concerts to find out more about their unique journey with the sax and you will have an opportunity to ask them questions at the subsequent Q+A.”
SCROLL THE COMPLETE SAXOPHONE SEASON
