12:00 - 4:00 PM (Eastern)
Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel
Free – open to the public (no livestream)
ABOUT THE EVENT
View/download the full program on this page.
PERFORMED BY
- Greg Banaszak, director (Mixed Chamber Music) Saxophone Faculty, Joint Music Program
- Saxophone Students (soloists and combos)
- Mixed Chamber Ensembles
- Steve Kortyka, featured artist
- Chika Inoue, guest artist
FEATURED ARTIST
Steve Kortyka
Growing up in Ohio, Steve Kortyka began playing the Saxophone at a young age and after hearing the music of Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown and John Coltrane found jazz and improvised music as his vocation in life. Starting out strictly as a classical player, the move to Jazz was challenging but informative.
As a career musician, he got his start as a sideman in Cincinnati, Ohio performing with Ray’s Music Exchange and as a part of the Brian Newman Quintet. From there, he became a Musical Director, Band Leader and Arranger on Carnival and Princess Cruise lines for 4 years. Since Moving to NYC in 2011 he has been featured in hundreds of bands as a sideman and recorded 4 albums as a leader.
As a performer in both Lady Gaga’s Grammy Award Winning jazz ensemble and a member of the Brian Newman Quintet he has had the unique opportunity to be a featured soloist and arranger on both ‘Cheek to Cheek’ and ‘Love For Sale’. In addition to performing, he is always perfecting his craft and teaches improvised music to the masses through his online Improvisation studio. As an avid student of improvised music he can be found on all social media platforms sharing his playing and knowledge about this beautiful and transformative tradition.
GUEST ARTIST
Chika Inoue
井上 知香
Concert saxophonist, Chika Inoue has been praised by The Los Angeles Times with "beautiful tone, acute sensitivity and virtuosic technique." Al Schmitt, 20-time GRAMMY winning recording engineer and producer applauded with “Most delicate tone I have heard throughout my career.” James Conlon, music director of LA Opera has congratulated with “beautiful sound.” She appears regularly as a saxophonist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She has received numerous performance awards in competitions, lavishing praise as a soloist and chamber musician. Chika has extensive concert touring in North America, Europe, and Asia with admiration and performed at soloist at Granada Music Festival in Spain, Faenza International Saxophone Festival in Italy, Astoria Music Festival, Yamaha Saxophone Festival in Japan, International China Clarinet, and Saxophone Music Festival in China and many more. Additional performances include appearances with the Pacific Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, Santa Monica Symphony, Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, Culver City Chamber Orchestra, California Opera, and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
Her recent projects include Chika & Scott, a classical guitar and saxophone duo with guitar virtuoso Scott Morris. The duo made its debut recording album, “Unfettered” (2020) under Samek Music Label, recorded at the legendary Capital Records “Studio A” in Hollywood with producer Niko Bolas and recording engineer Al Schmitt. She was also part of the Louis Andriessen’s album “The Only One” (2021) which was nomitated for the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards- Best Contemporary Classical Composition. In 2022, Chika released a single, Nikolai Kapustin’s Saxophone Concerto, Op. 50, commemorating the composer’s passing two years prior, which received a considerable acclaim. For many years Chika has been also dividing her time in Japan as well, concertizing duo recitals with master pianist Mikiko Yamaguchi. They have received grants, to name a few, Osaka Cultural Art Grant, Kakehashi-Roland Foundation, and Okayama Cultural Artists Creation Foundation to perform creative concerts and various venues in Japan. In 2023, Chika has started a rare Saxophone and Bandoneon duo with Ville Hiltula from Finland. They received sponsorship from the Embassy of Argentina and toured Tokyo, Kyoto and Kobe.
A native of Osaka, Japan, Chika spent most of her youth in Frankfurt, Germany and San Diego, California. Chika received her Bachelors degree in Saxophone and Music Education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Masters degree from California State University, Fresno, and completed her academic education with a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Southern California. In much demand as a master teacher, she is lecturing internationally at schools, colleges, and universities. She is currently on faculty at the California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Chika is Conn-Selmer Performing Artist endorsed by Henri Selmer Paris saxophones, as well as Vandoren, Key Leaves and lefreQue performing artists. She is committed to sharing classical saxophone music and its diverse capabilities across the spectrum of music with audiences worldwide. She is based in both Los Angeles, California, U.S.A and Kyoto, Japan. https://chikainoue.com/
LOCATION
The CWRU Music Concert Series and special events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Livestream is not available for this event. Visit our Upcoming Events schedule to enjoy future concerts, student recitals, and more!
CONTRIBUTORS
Safety Protocols: University Health and Counseling Services is committed to protecting the health and well-being of our campus community. Find the most current guidelines and resources on the (UH&CS) COVID Information page.