Robert Young, Saxophone || The Solitude of Stars || Stacy Garrop

Robert Young, saxophone
Polina Khatsko, piano
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Venue: Watson Hall, University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Blake Ellis, Director of Photography
Ben Wester, camera operator
Guy Keplin, audio recording
Robert Young, editing (audio & video)
Amir Young, mixing/mastering

(performance from The Gio Project recital 2/12/2021)

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Published by Theodore Presser Company

In 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful residence at the Ucross Foundation in Clearmont, Wyoming. Ucross is an artist colony that gives writers, composers, and visual artists the gift of time, space, and support to follow their artistic pursuits; we are provided with studio space, housing, and meals so that we can work continuously on our projects. I have been in residence at numerous artist colonies; however, nothing in my previous experiences prepared me for living in such isolated, wild country. Ucross is situated on a 20,000-acre cattle ranch at nearly 4,000 feet in elevation with fewer than 150 people living within the town. But what Clearmont lacks in population, it makes up for abundantly and spectacularly in wilderness and wildlife. I composed the sextet Postcards from Wyoming to offer three glimpses of what I found to be the most striking aspects of my residence. The Solitude of Stars, the third and final movement of the original sextet, was inspired by the stunning nightly display of the heavens above. Without city lights dimming the night sky, countless stars shone brightly over the vast expanse of the prairie.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, I undertook The Solitude of Stars Project, which contains multiple duo and trio arrangements that I made for colleagues and friends.

-Stacy Garrop

[lylecrawford]

Classical baritone sax often reminds me of cello, and to me @ 1:16 has a violin like quality, which ties in nicely with a wind player thinking of the airstream like a string player's bow.
The piano playing is terrific too, but no need for a mask (imho).

[robburtonsax]

Beautiful piece, thanks for sharing!!