The Presidio Saxophone Quartet plays with a level of refinement that characterizes the very best chamber ensembles. This seasoned quartet performs with technical fluency, rhythmic exactitude, elegant phrasing, and a broad dynamic palette. The result is an unforgettable musical experience.
Hailing from the beautiful Sonoran Desert surrounding Tucson, Arizona, the Presidio Quartet has delighted international audiences with their “wonderful banter and provocative performances” since 1998. “Their blend, intonation, and musical sensitivity are really world class” (Tucson Citizen) and they possess a “unified sound characterized by a warm vibrato and large dynamic range” (Australian Clarinet and Saxophone Magazine). Presidio formed as the pilot group of the Camerata Career Development Program at the University of Arizona, where each member received advanced degrees in music. Since then, the ensemble has achieved distinction in the concert hall by presenting consistently acclaimed concerts and workshops throughout the United States and Mexico. Presidio has also enjoyed sponsorship from the American Composers Forum and appeared as guest artists at national saxophone and music educator’s conventions.
Presidio is comfortable in every genre of music from classical to jazz, to backing the Temptations in a recent Tucson performance. In addition to their insightful interpretations of standard repertoire, they strive to program music by living composers and have premiered works by James DeMars, Kip Haaheim, Drew Krause, Graham Lynch, Andersen Viana and Jay Vosk, among others. To date PSQ has released two CDs. Their self titled debut album The Presidio Saxophone Quartet and recent release Allegro de Concert have both received positive critical acclaim. They have also been featured on two volumes of the AUR recording label’s series America’s Millennuim Tribute to Adolphe Sax performing standard repertoire as well as two premiere recordings of Kip Haaheim’s The Clinging Fire and Judith Lang Zaimont’s Parallel Play. Most recently, several of Presidio’s recordings have been selected for release on QL Music’s Living with the Classics to be released in Europe in the Fall of 2008.
Presidio Quartet’s overarching goal is simple: to enjoy and perpetuate a distinctive heritage of concert saxophone performance. Lauded for their varied and entertaining programming, Presidio draws from a very unique and imaginative saxophone quartet repertoire. Invariably, a Presidio concert will include dazzling French masterworks, more adventurous contemporary American fare, and numerous fun and familiar works such as a medley from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess or an organ fugue by J. S. Bach. The music of this remarkable combination of soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones is sure to resonate with audiences of diverse tastes and backgrounds.
Soprano Saxophonist Michael Keepe is Instructor of Saxophone and Music Industry at Pima Community College in Tucson. He is an active member in local and national teachers associations and is Immediate Past President of the Tucson Music Teachers Association. Mike’s involvement with public and private schools has led him to serve as clinician, adjudicator, and band director for the Tucson Unified School District and the Arizona Music Educators Association, and he has been an independent instructor of saxophone for over 20 years. In addition to performing and touring with PSQ, Mike performs regularly with the Tucson Symphony, the Tucson Chamber Orchestra, the Arizona Opera and The Rodriguez & Keepe Duo: a classical piano and saxophone duo active since 1992 and has performed and recorded with the University of Arizona Wind Ensemble.
In 2007 Mike created MLKEEPE Publications (ASCAP), a music publishing company dedicated to promoting the finest of today’s concert saxophone repertoire. Focusing solely on saxophone literature allows the company to take a more personal interest in the composer’s works and helps to nurture the connection between composer and performer.
Mr. Keepe received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Education and Saxophone Performance at the University of Arizona. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Saxophone Performance with a minor in Music Business at U of A where he is the Graduate Teaching Assistant for the saxophone studio and the Camerata Career Development Program. He is a Performing Artist and Clinician for the Selmer Company, and can be heard on the Albany and AUR recording labels. Mike lives in Tucson, Arizona with his lovely wife Jessica, and beautiful daughter Temperance. For more information please visit www.mikekeepe.com.
Alto saxophonist Daniel Bell received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Arizona in 2004, where he studied with Elizabeth Zinn Ervin. An example of Dr. Bell’s scholarly work appears in the peer-reviewed journal The Saxophone Symposium (2004) titled “The Saxophone in Germany 1924-1935: A Cultural History.” Dan is currently on the faculty of AmeriSchools College Preparatory Academy, an excelling charter high school in Tucson where he teaches courses in science, history, and the arts. A person with diverse interests, he also spent ten seasons conducting wildlife surveys throughout Southern Arizona and New Mexico. In addition to performing with the Presidio Quartet, Dan was a founding member of the critically acclaimed saxophone quartet SaxMania, winner of two consecutive Downbeat awards. Prior to Arizona, he studied music at the University of Michigan and at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Tenor saxophonist Michael Kuhn was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and has lived and worked in Tucson since 1985. He is a first-call musician, clinician and recording artist throughout southern Arizona, and has an active private teaching studio. In addition to his work with the Presidio Quartet, Mike performs with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Jazz Orchestra and various other groups regionally. He has backed musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Lou Rawls and the Manhattan Transfer, among others. In 1993 Mike released Pride and Prejudice, a jazz CD which features all original compositions.
Mike is a great believer in exposing and educating people to all types of music, and does not like placing labels on musical sounds and styles. He has been an instructor of music at Pima Community College in Tucson since 1990, where he directs the Jazz Studies program, and also teaches theory and history. Mike’s dedication to teaching earned him Pima’s "Outstanding Adjunct Faculty" award in 1997. He is also the Director of Bands at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, AZ.
Mr. Kuhn earned a Bachelor of Music in 1985 at the Crane School of Music, S.U.N.Y. Potsdam, where he studied with James Stoltie. He received his Master of Music degree in 1987 at the University of Arizona, where he studied with Elizabeth Zinn Ervin. There, he also worked as a Graduate Assistant in Jazz Studies and Music Appreciation.
Baritone saxophonist Ryan McCormick maintains a devoted interest in exploring contemporary music and is a frequent performer at both the World Saxophone Congress and North American Saxophone Alliance conferences. He has performed locally as a soloist with the Catalina Chamber Orchestra and internationally with the Arizona Ambassadors of Music. Ryan has also worked with and premiered pieces by composers such as Scott Winshop, Jason Biggs, Alisha Nichols, and Kip Haaheim.
In addition to performing with the Presidio Saxophone Quartet, Ryan has a thriving private instruction studio in Tucson and is an adjunct faculty member in music at Pima Community College. He is also instructor of Saxophone at the Arizona Academy of Music and Dance. Mr. McCormick holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Saxophone Performance from the University of Arizona, where he studied under Dr. Kelland Thomas.
