A multinational saxophone quartet recently performed at the Stellenbosch University (SU) Conservatorium for the first time.
This is according to Adam Campbell, who plays the baritone saxophone in the quartet, Quatuor Avena, which played at the SU Conservatorium’s Endler Hall on 11 April. SMF News was in attendance.
Quatuor Avena’s performance was part of the Endler Prestige Concert Series, said Vicky Davis, the artistic manager at the SU department of music.
The quartet consists of Campbell, who is from South Africa, Sumika Tsujimoto from Japan, Nicolas Allard from France, and Fabio Cesare from Italy, according to their programme.
Quatuor Avena, a saxophone quartet with members from South Africa, Italy, France and Japan, performed at the Endler Hall in the Stellenbosch University (SU) Conservatorium for the first time on 11 April. Adam Campbell, the South African member of the quartet, said that after meeting in Strasbourg, France, in 2016, they initially had trouble communicating with each other, but that “music was our way of communicating”. PHOTO: Lienke Norval
Quatuor Avena performed a show titled ‘Around the World in 80 Minutes’, which included music by composers from Germany, Hungary, Japan, Argentina, Ireland, and France. Throughout the performance, each new region was introduced by members of the band.
“The whole idea is to try and replicate this traditional music from different parts of the world using only our saxophones,” said Campbell. “We’re often inspired by trips that we’ve done together […]. It took us maybe two years to kind of get the whole show up and going.”
The multinational saxophone quartet, Quatuor Avena, performed at the Endler Hall in the Stellenbosch University (SU) Conservatorium on 11 April. From left to right: Adam Campbell from South Africa, Nicolas Allard from France, Sumika Tsujimoto from Japan, and Fabio Cesare from Italy. PHOTO: Lienke Norval
The show forms part of the quartet’s 2025 South African tour, which marks their first time returning to South Africa in six years, according to an Instagram post by Quatuor Avena.
“The last time we were here was in 2019 and we had a three-week tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe,” said Campbell. “We’d spoken about coming back […] beforehand, and the places we played at before had invited us back. It was just delayed because of Covid, otherwise we would have been back earlier.”
Audience members gathered at the Stellenbosch University (SU) Conservatorium on 11 April to attend a concert by Quatuor Avena, a multinational saxophone quartet. The quartet performed a show called ‘Around the World in 80 Minutes’, which featured compositions by composers from Germany, Hungary, Japan, Argentina, Ireland, and France. SMF News attended the concert. PHOTO: Lienke Norval
Student and community enrichment
“We can’t always travel abroad, so it’s fantastic [that] we can get some international talent here and we can expose our students and our community to that caliber and international artists,” said Davis.
‘Around the World in 80 Minutes’ features a variety of works by international composers, as well as an element of choreography, according to Campbell.
“I liked the choreography a lot because it adds to everything,” said Peter Clarke, a second-year BMus (Piano) student at SU. “Usually with chamber works, we’re used to seeing people standing behind their music stands. I was actually blown away by the range of extended techniques in saxophones.”
A multinational saxophone quartet performed at the Endler Hall in the Stellenbosch University (SU) Conservatorium for the first time on 11 April, where they received a standing ovation from the audience. SMF News attended the concert. PHOTO: Lienke Norval