The Composer.

ROB BUCKLAND is internationally acclaimed as one of the most distinctive and versatile Saxophonists of his generation. Appearing as concerto and recital soloist, with his Equivox Trio (with pianist Peter Lawson and percussionist Simone Rebello), and with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, Rob performs throughout the UK, Europe and Japan. Recent highlights include the British Premiere of Jacob TV’s Saxophone Concerto in May 2009, a solo performance of John Williams’ Concerto “Escapades” with the RLPO in Feb 09, and CBSO in Oct 09, a performance of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s “Panic” Concerto at the Royal Festival Hall in London, at the invitation of the composer, a gala concerto performance by invitation at the 14th World Saxophone Congress in Slovenia, a performance with the Macau Chamber Orchestra and three performances with the Chinese National Symphony Orchestra in Beijing in the orchestra’s prestigious new-year concerts in Beijing, televised and broadcast to 1.5 million people. Forthcoming Concerto performances include the premiere of the orchestral version of Andy Scott’s Dark Rain (a double concerto written for him and John Harle) in the spring of 2010, and a performance of John William’s escapades with the Orchestra of Opera North in Feb 2010.

Rob has spent a significant proportion of his time over the last 25 years performing with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, a world class ensemble that is widely acknowledged as one of the UK's finest contemporary chamber ensembles.

As a composer, Rob writes and arranges for film, tv and media, with several of his works featured on recent adverts, he has written a highly successful and popular ongoing series of original compositions for young players (solos, duets, quartets and pieces for Saxophone and Piano), many of which are now part of the Associated Board, Trinity and Guildhall syllabuses (published by astute-music.com). Rob has recently also composed works for the RNCM Saxophone Orchestra, Sax Assault, the Equivox Trio, a new CD’s worth of original jazz charts for his new jazz ensemble, and is currently writing a new saxophone study/method book.

Alongside his busy performing schedule, Rob is Professor of Saxophone at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where, since 1997, along with Andy Scott, he has established the UK’s largest and most active Saxophone programme. He was awarded Fellowship of the RNCM in 2008, in recognition of his work with the RNCM saxophone Department, the saxophone in general, and pioneering new music performance. In addition to his teaching commitments, he has conducted the RNCM Saxophone Orchestra in concerts in Berlin, (at the first European Saxophone Orchestras Convention), British Saxophone Congress in Cardiff, and at venues throughout the UK. He runs his own International Saxophone Summer School, and the Harrogate Saxophone Summer Course, is frequently asked to present saxophone weekends and days throughout the UK for saxophonists of all levels, and regularly appears as guest coach on summer schools and course throughout the UK. He is co-Artistic Director (with Andy Scott) of the RNCM Saxophone Day, now the UK’s largest annual saxophone event. Rob is a Henri Selmer Paris artist, and endorsee for Vandoren Reeds.

The Performing Groups.

The Artvark Saxophone Quartet stands for innovative original compositions, strong individual soloists and the adventurous groove of four saxophones. The quartet meanders through musical traditions, sometimes on the intersection of classical and jazz, while always soulful and with blues, and sways across the stage according to an improvised choreography. Artvark thrills, Artvark stinks, growls and sizzles. Rolf Delfos (alto sax), Bart Wirtz (alto sax), Mete Erker (tenor sax) and Peter Broekhuizen (baritone sax) blend their different backgrounds to form a unanimous, creative and unique sound; the sound of Artvark!

Artvark is known for playing at famous Dutch jazz venues such as LantarenVenster Rotterdam and Bimhuis Amsterdam, and also at larger concert venues like De Doelen Rotterdam and TivoliVredenburg Utrecht. The group appeared several times on national television on diverse shows that host the best live classical, jazz and world music. Artvark performed at major international festivals such as North Sea Jazz Festival, Cairo Jazz Festival, Bohemia Jazz Festival Prague, Jazz Bruges in Belgium, Bray Jazz Festival and Steve Reich Festival in Ireland and toured in Ireland, Turkey, Germany, Poland, Egypt, the UK and several times South Africa. The quartet has engaged in special and remarkable collaborations, such as with jazz legend Peter Erskine, Senegalese master drummer Doudou N'Diaye Rose, the Danish indierock band Efterklang and the famous minimal music composer Philip Glass. They recorded the album ‘Sly Meets Callas’ featuring the classical soprano Claron McFadden (USA) and played at numerous prestigious festivals, like ‘Grachtenfestival Amsterdam’, ‘Rotterdamse Opera Dagen’ and toured the theatres extensively. The fifth record 'Blue Stories' was the prelude to a big theatre tour of the project ‘Polder Beast’ with Dutch actor John Buijsman, and the blues as the central theme.

The Apollo Saxophone Quartet has enjoyed over 30 years at the forefront of the UK classical music scene, (the group was established in 1985) it seems appropriate to look both forward and back at a remarkable ensemble that has created its own repertoire, performed worldwide, and recorded its commissions with major and independent labels, in an unprecedented show of long term dedication and creativity.

The group has without doubt made the largest single contribution to the repertoire for saxophone quartet in the UK, commissioning and premiering well over one hundred works, many of which are now considered core repertoire and are performed by saxophone quartets worldwide. This includes significant works from Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Michael Torke, Michael Nyman, Graham Fitkin, Will Gregory, Dominic Muldowney, Keith Tippett, Django Bates, Barbara Thompson & Joby Talbot, to name but a few.

The Piece.

The Sea Between is about a piece of collaboration. It was written as a part of the collaboration album between the Artvark and Apollo Saxophone Quartets. Both have uniquely brilliant styles, one more jazz inspired, the other more classically focused. This piece bridges that gap undulating, palindromic phrases that evoke a deep sense of push and pull. It is for one soprano, three alto, two tenor, and two baritone saxophones. It is, in general, technically moderate and features its greatest difficulty in phrasing and expression.

Professor Buckland himself writes:

On Christmas Eve 2017, I found myself walking along the beach on the north Norfolk coast. It was one of those beautifully clear, cold, windy winter’s mornings and the fine sand was being blown in swirls and eddies that snaked across the surface almost as if they were alive. I was struck by the realisation that, as we neared the first rehearsal period for our new collaboration between my Apollo Quartet and the Artvark Quartet in Holland, our Artvark friends were writing their pieces, and in the UK, we Apollos were writing ours, and that even though we were in different countries, we were all somehow still connected by the sea between us. The undulating currents of the sand in the wind, and the waves of the sea, are echoed in the piece by the slowly evolving interlocking lines in the opening section, and as the piece develops, much as the wind picks up speed, the music picks up energy, whipping up the waves, and rises to a cascading climax as the waves crash against the shore, before gradually calming again as the wind dies away - perhaps some of those grains of sand, and the waves themselves, have crossed the sea between.