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Biography of the group
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The Sax-Ensemble group was created in 1987 with the objective of promoting the creation and dissemination of contemporary music. It consists of a flexible chamber group including, as a base, the saxophone quartet, piano and percussion, but which relies, when necessary, on the participation of other wind, string or electroacoustic instruments. In its wide repertoire, together with traditional pieces, we can mainly find pieces by contemporary authors, both Spanish and foreign.
Its first public performance took place in the Salón Azul in the City Hall of Alicante, in the presentation concert for the 2nd European Meetings for Saxophone, in the framework of the 3rd Contemporary Music Festival of Alicante, held in 1987. Since then, we must highlight, among their performances, the ones at the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Auditorio Nacional de Música, Teatro Monumental in Madrid, Teatro de la Zarzuela, 5th Contemporary Music Festival in Alicante, 20th Century Music Festival in Salamanca, Spanish Music Festival in León, Contemporary Music Meetings in Granada, International Festival for Music and Dance in Granada, Palau de la Música in Valencia, Festivals in Segovia, Málaga, Ávila, Cádiz... In France: “Saxophonies d’Angers”, University of Gap, Paris Conservatory, Georges Pompidou Centre and André Malraux Centre in Bordeaux. In Belgium: European Meetings for Saxophone in Dinant.... In Italy, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, Celano, Ortona, Pesaro... In England, Contemporary Art Institute in London and University of Surrey... In Canada, University of Quebec, Montreal…
The creation and promotion of the music of our times, for our original group formation (saxophone quartet, piano and percussion), which is unique in the world, as well as different formations with other instruments, electroacoustic music and orchestral groups, has been the driving force for the continuity of the group for the last twenty years. In 1997, the Sax-Ensemble received the National Music Award for Interpretation, mainly because of its contribution to Spanish music and in recognition of its ten years of existence at that time. Numerous authors have dedicated works to the Sax-Ensemble, and the group has performed more than a hundred world premieres from European and American composers.
Currently, the Sax-Ensemble group is made up by: Francisco Martínez, Francisco Herrero, Rafael Fernández, Luis Miguel Castellanos and José Manuel Zaragoza (saxophones), Alberto Román and Antonio Domingo (percussion) and Kayoko Morimoto (piano). José Luis Temes is the musical director and Francisco Martínez is the artistic director.
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