Praised by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Grammy-winning composer Augusta Read Thomas for their “nuanced, colorful, and artfully sculpted” interpretations, the Aero Quartet was formed in Ann Arbor, MI in 2020. Aero Quartet is recognized for their versatile and varied performances, which feature traditional and contemporary works for saxophones, along with arrangements spanning centuries of musical tradition. The quartet received the Gold Medal at the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, along with top prizes at the NOLA Chamber Fest, Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition, and Briggs Chamber Music Competitions.
Aero has appeared on chamber music series including the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Chesapeake Music, Valparaiso Concert Association, and the Dame Myra Hess Concerts broadcast on WFMT Chicago. The quartet has also given masterclasses at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and will visit the University of Missouri–Kansas City and the University of Kansas in 2023. Aero also heavily values educational outreach, having performed for students at many middle schools and high schools across the Midwest and East Coast. In the coming year, the ensemble will reach public school music programs in Kansas City, MO, as well as those in Talbot County, MD with support from the Talbot County Arts Council.
In 2021, Aero completed a residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute in Boscawen, NH, where they prepared for performances in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Maryland. Much of this repertoire forms the foundation of their debut album recording made in the historic Prager Auditorium in Easton, MD, recorded and mastered by Abbey Road Studios recording engineer Jonathan Allen. Along with featured artist and jazz saxophonist Arun Luthra, Aero Quartet is excited to share the music of Carlos Simon, Arturo Márquez, Alexander Glazunov, and others on the UK-based label Orchid Classics in the summer of 2023.
www.aero-quartet.com
Planned Performances
Bop (2004) by Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962)
Introduction et Variations sur une Ronde Populaire (1936) by Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)
An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave (2016) by Carlos Simon (b. 1986)
Ambivert (2023) by Karalyn Schubring (b. 1999)
Saxophone Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 109 (1932) by Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Pagine (1998) by Salvatore Sciarrino (b. 1947)
Danzón No. 5 “Portales de Madrugada” (1997) by Arturo Márquez (b. 1950)
Wapango (1993) by Paquito D’Rivera (b. 1948)
Cape Cod Chips (2007) by Hiromi Uehara (b. 1979) arr. Corey Dundee
The Iberia Suite (2004) by Ed Calle (b. 1959)