by Elizabeth Connolly
Hometown Weekly Reporter
You could say the crowd that gathered on Thursday, April 25th were prepared to get down to brass tacks - that is, the brass tacks of listening to the Boston Saxophone Quartet (BSQ) play at the Walpole Public Library (WPL). This popular event was sponsored by the Friends of WPL and partly supported by a grant from the Walpole Cultural Council. The community room at WPL created comfortable, intimate venue to hear the beautifully raw brass instruments come to life in the hands of the talented group.
The evening kicked off promptly at 7:30. After introducing themselves - Lou Stamas on alto sax, Jim Repa on soprano, Peter Cokkinias on tenor sax and Bob Chadwick on baritone - the foursome kicked off the hour-long performance titled “Seniors and Young People: Linking Generations Through Music.” The diverse program featured songs from Indiana Jones, Aladdin, The Jackson 5, Glenn Miller, Pink Panther, Encanto, and more. The multi-generational crowd seemed to really enjoy the variety, with folks listening attentively, clapping enthusiastically, and some even singing along.
The saxophone has the distinction of being the only modern widely used instrument that was created by one person, Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax. Though they are popular and well-known instruments today, they were not widely well received when Sax first designed them in the early 1840s. In fact, they were not taken seriously as an instrument until about the 1920s, after spending the first couple of decades in the twentieth century as the go-to accompaniment of American vaudeville. Interestingly, it is also the only woodwind instrument that is made out of brass, and cannot be made out of anything other than metal.
The four members of the BSQ are accomplished on all woodwind instruments, and their various individual accolades include playing with the Boston Pops, Boston Ballet, and the Capital Jazz Orchestra, conducting the Metrowest Symphony Orchestra, directing a local high school band, and playing with the Thayer Philharmonic Orchestra. Further details on this talented group can be found at www.bostonsaxquartet.com.
For more information on the Friends of WPL, or to view a list of upcoming events, please visit www.walpolelibrary.org.
