The National Saxophone Ensemble's debut gig

Birmingham ArtsFest, 13th and 14th September 2008

It was September the 13th, the day of the NSE's debut performance at the Birmingham ArtsFest. Chris Gumbley took the helm, signalled the up beat to the Lone Arranger goes Sax Mad, a collective breath was drawn and the plunge was taken.

Not only did the NSE have to perform convincingly to a potentially unforgiving audience, they had to withstand all the dangers playing al fresco has to offer, ranging from the usual weather issues and unfamiliar acoustics to the combined hazards of drunkards, the emergency services, bin lorries, bus horns and wedding processions.

Each performance attempted to showcase a different aspect of the diverse performance styles that the NSE is developing. The classical, more serious arrangements of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances and Handel's Hallelujah Chorus were offset by the more upbeat and energetic rhythms of the Hall of the Mountain King and Sabre Dance, and of course Dowd's (and also the Ensemble's) Favourite. Energetic applause and whooping drew more audience in and the scores of pigeons away.

The Ensemble's performance was accompanied by a quick tour around the saxophone family demonstrating the delicate tones of the soprano sax through to the more beefy baritone sax, not forgetting the Pink Panther on tenor.

The weekend was a great success and the NSE was very well received by festival-goers. It was the players' right of passage out of which they emerged a fully fledged Ensemble, having vanquished all the aforementioned dangers of street performance.

The NSE are now looking forward to their next performances in Beverley Minster and Selby on the 15th and 16th of November.

IL

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