About the Artists
Duo Montagnard was formed in 2002 and has performed over 300
concerts in all 50 states, and 20 countries on six continents. Festival
performances include the Chautauqua Institution, Scandinavian Saxophone
Festival, and North-West University New Music Week (South Africa) The duo has
commissioned, premiered, and recorded more than 40 works.
Joseph Murphy has been the saxophone professor at Mansfield
University of Pennsylvania since 1987, where he has also served as department
dhair and director of bands. He received the bachelor’s degree from Bowling
Green State University (OH), and master’s and doctoral of musical arts degrees
from Northwestern University. He received a Fulbright Award for a year of study
in Bordeaux, France, where he received a Premier Prix. He is a clinician for the Selmer Corporation.
Murphy has been involved in commissioning and premiering more than fifty new
works for the saxophone, including pieces by Libby Larsen, Michael Colgrass,
John Harbison, Bernard Rands, and Gunther Schuller.
Matthew Slotkin is an acclaimed performer, teacher, and
scholar, and has appeared in venues on six continents. A commitment to
contemporary music has resulted in premieres of works by composers Linda
Buckley, John Anthony Lennon, Scott Lindroth, and John Orfe. Festival
performances include Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the Walled City Music Festival,
Monadnock Music Festival, Chautauqua Institution, the Guitar Foundation of
America, and World Saxophone Congresses in Scotland, Thailand, and Slovenia. He
has performed on classical guitar society concert series in New Zealand (Guitar
Association of New Zealand), Philadelphia, Cleveland, Iowa, northeastern
Pennsylvania, and the Great Lakes. He has given performances with chamber
ensembles, including the Metropolis Ensemble, the Mallarmé Chamber Players, and
Dez Cordas. Recordings on Summit, Centaur, and Liscio labels have been praised
as “wonderful…a very enjoyable disc” (Soundboard), and “a magnificent
achievement…the concept of this program is brilliant” (American Record Guide).
Soundboard magazine called him an “exceptional” player, and a concert review
from the Classical Voice of North Carolina states that “Slotkin performed
brilliantly.” Slotkin directs the guitar program at Bloomsburg University (PA).
To learn more about the artists, please visit www.duomontagnard.com
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Program