Nebraska’s Ora Paul Haar will present a faculty recital of French classical works written for saxophone at 7:30 p.m. March 7 in Westbrook Music Building, Room 119.
The concert is free and open to the public. It will also be live webcast.
“There are times when a recital program just comes together organically. When that happens, the experience is always special,” said Haar, associate professor of saxophone. “This year marks two milestones in my life. I turned 50, and I lost my mother. I get my musical talent from her, and it was her strength and encouragement that allowed me to be where I am today. This program features works that have held a special place in my heart.”
The recital will begin with a work that Haar has longed to play for more than 30 years, the “Sonatine” by Claude Pascal. He heard this work when he was in high school and has longed for the right time to perform it. It was another work, Claude Debussy’s “Syrinx” that he also discovered in high school.
“I had the pleasure of hearing the great flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal perform this on Nebraska Public Television when I was young,” Haar said. “I was captivated by this piece and found an excellence transcription by noted saxophonist Jean-Marie Londeix.”
The program will also feature Roger Boutry’s “Divertimento.”
“I performed this work as an undergraduate in college and fell in love with Boutry’s use of rhythm, as well as the hauntingly beautiful second movement,” Haar said.
The recital will include two concertos for saxophone and piano. The first half of the program will explore Henri Tomasi’s “Ballade,” and the recital will conclude with Jacques Ibert’s “Concertino de Camera.”
“The Ibert was the concerto I performed when I won my first concerto competition,” Haar said. “It is filled with all of the excitement of the jazz age in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s.”
The final piece has a special place in Haar’s heart.
“I have added Eugene Bozza’s ‘Aria’ for alto saxophone and piano,” he said. “This work will be dedicated to the memory of my mother Dorothy. Not only is the work a beautiful piece of music, it was one of my mother’s favorite saxophone works that I would perform.”
Learn more about Haar’s performance and other Glenn Korff School of Music recitals.
