Dear Readers,

Welcome to our Duo homepage!
Growing up listening to saxophonists play some of the most engaging melodies in jazz and popular music, I became so fascinated by this instrument that, despite my hectic piano practice schedule, I managed to set aside some time to practice the tenor sax in the jazz idiom while in high school. However, it was not until a few years ago that I was introduced to the world of "classical" saxophone. I was terribly embarrassed at the fact that, after all these years studying music, my very first classical saxophone recital I ever attended came about while completing my DMA. I was enthralled with the palette of colours, sounds, and textures I heard. I subsequently discovered a plethora of challenging and intriguing contemporary repertoire for saxophone and piano, and found myself on a musical journey of discovery. I would have never imagined performing the music of Bach and Schubert with a saxophonist - an instrument with a history of only about 160 years!

So my journey continued, and I recently created a very exciting and fruitful partnership with my best friend, saxophonist Daniel Powell, who also happens to be my husband! His musical understanding and impressive technique reveals an admirable degree of creativity and endurance and our collaborations have been enormously rewarding. This previous concert season saw us performing throughout Florida, and at the University of Iowa to perform a world premiere of a work by American composer Daniel Herbert. This summer brings us to the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, DC for the National Endowment for the Arts Symposium (40th Anniversary), Florida, Arkansas, Texas, and Kansas for a series of performances, and onwards to Michigan where we spend our summers teaching at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. We are very excited to embark on a concert tour of the southern United States in October ... stay tuned for upcoming performances and audio clips from our recent concerts!

American saxophonist Daniel Powell has established himself as one of the most versatile artists on the stage today. As a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, he has appeared in many venues throughout North America. Most recently, Mr. Powell has made appearances at the 2006 North America Saxophone Alliance convention as a soloist, the National Endowment for the Arts convention as a Fellow, and is a finalist for the United States “Pershing’s Own” Band in Washington D.C. An advocate of new music, he has given premiere performances of numerous compositions for the saxophone. He has been invited to jointly co-commission a new work by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Lewis Spratlan, with a world premiere scheduled later this year. His performances have been broadcast on television and radio including NPR's Performance Today, and can be heard on the Titanic label.

Having received a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from West Texas A&M University, Mr. Powell began his teaching career in the Texas public schools. He then received a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from Arizona State University, where he also served on faculty as a teaching assistant. Currently, he is a candidate for the Doctor of Music degree in saxophone performance where he was a teaching assistant at Florida State University. Additionally, he is Assistant Professor of Music at Chipola College, and serves on faculty at various camps and festivals including Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. His principal saxophone teachers are Donald Lefevre, Patrick Meighan, and Joseph Wytko.

In addition to his concert activities, Mr. Powell is also heavily involved in Arts Administration. He was the first ever to receive the prestigious Certificate in Arts Administration from Florida State University and has worked in Grant Management at the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs.

BIOGRAPHY:
Christine Yoshikawa