Voices From America: Tickets Available at the Door/Pre-concert talk at 645pm

This poignant evening celebrates the music of America featuring a wide range of classical and new music including compositions by renowned African American composer, Florence Price and a world premier of a Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra. Rounding out the evening, celebrating the music of Aaron Copland, we get to the heart of the American musical landscape.

Colonial Dance Florence Price

Commodius Vicus - Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra World Premier by Neil Endicott with Andrew Hosler, saxophone

Prelude to "Oedipus Tyrannus". Op 35 John Knowles Paine

Appalachian Spring Aaron Copland

Hoedown from "Rodeo" Aaron Copland

Neal Endicott (b. 1990) is a composer, educator, scholar, and saxophonist. His music is rooted in his identity, experiences, relationships, personal history, and extramusical passions and is directed outward to the world from that perspective. His work frequently engages with the harmonic and melodic language of jazz, the asymmetric meters of Eastern-European folk music, and makes use of varied orchestral color and texture as principal structural forces. His humor, love of literature, and passions for travel, food, wine, and spirits often inspire his work, as does his engagement with politics and activism.

Neal has written an extensive catalogue of works ranging from solo instrumental works to large- scale band and orchestra compositions. He has had works commissioned and performed by the United States Coast Guard Band, the Michigan Philharmonic, the Five Colleges New Music Festival, Fifth House Ensemble, Michigan State University Concert Orchestra, Lviv Philharmonic, ensembles at East Tennessee State University, the University of Kentucky, Northwestern Michigan College, and many individual performers, including vocalists Sequina DuBose and Sun-Joo Oh, saxophonists Andrew Hosler, Brian Rodesch, Nick May, and Joshua Thomas, oboists Scott Erikson and Heather Killmeyer, pianists Eva Polgar and Jeremy Siskind, percussionist Matthew Geiger, and the Grammy-Nominated duo of bass clarinetist Tasha Warren and cellist Dave Eggar.

Among other accolades, his compositions have been awarded by the American Prize, International Duo Symposium, Sinta Quartet, Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, Michigan State University, and KLK New Music, and been presented frequently at national and international conferences and festivals.

Neal is a graduate of Michigan State University and Western Michigan University, and, prior to his current appointment at East Tennessee State University, he served on the faculty of Saginaw Valley State University.

Andrew Holser

Hailed as “the ideal collaborator for new music” by Brutal New Music Review, and as a “new music virtuoso” by Leslie Tate - saxophonist and new music curator Drew Hosler (he/him/his) is an advocate for contemporary music. Drew’s playing has been praised for its “beautiful tone and technique” by Brutal New Music Review and has been recognized for “his unwavering commitment to bringing fresh, contemporary compositions to the forefront.” by Local 4. Drew has commissioned and premiered over 200 pieces by award-winning composers such as Andrew Mead, Jamie Leigh Sampson, David Heinick, Marilyn Shrude, and Quinn Mason. Hisdebut solo album, delta waves, features thirteen world premiere recordings of 21st century works for the tenor saxophone.

Drew is an avid performer as a soloist. He will be premiering Neal Endicott’s tenor saxophone concerto, Commodius Vicus, with the Michigan Philharmonic during the 2025/26 season. He has given the world premiere of Griffin Candey’s tenor saxophone concerto, Double Aviaries, with the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra and Josh Trentadue’s tenor saxophone concerto, To fly and to fall. He can also be heard performing Robert Gross’ Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Nine Instruments on the album Penumbra. He was a part ofa consortium of 15 saxophonists to commission Emma O’Halloran’s tenor saxophone concerto, Only Moments to Live. Additionally, he has performed concerti by Robert Ward, Walter Mays, and William Albright with the Mercyhurst University Wind Ensemble, Bowling Green Philharmonia and the BGSU Concert Band.

Drew is currently the principal saxophonist of the Cleveland Winds, Cleveland Repertory Orchestra, and saxophonist for The _____ Experiment. He has performed with Canton Symphony Orchestra, Ohio Light Opera Orchestra, Lima Symphony Orchestra, Saginaw Eddy Concert Band, Black Voltron, CUSP Improvisation Orchestra, and the Decho Ensemble. He is also the lead developer for the Tenor Saxophone Index as well as a member of the Professional Development Committee for NASA.

Drew currently serves as an Academy Saxophone Instructor at the Cleveland Institute of Music as well as on Saxophone and Clarinet Faculty for the Music Institute at the University of Akron. Previously he served as a Lecturer at Case Western Reserve University.

Drew holds a MM in Saxophone Performance, MM in Chamber Music, and a Certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship & Leadership from the University of Michigan. He also holds a BM in Saxophone Performance from Bowling Green State University.