The New Hudson Saxophone Quartet (NHQ) is a rare combination: an ensemble dedicated to presenting American music with a string quartet approach and a beautiful, blending saxophone sound. Their repertoire can range from newly commissioned works by Robert Sirota and Robert Kyr to classic original repertoire by 19th-century American composers Caryl Florio and the 20th century Alec Wilder. The members of the Quartet all are veteran concert musicians and accomplished soloists, with credits that include the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, The Absolute Ensemble, and the Kirov and Juilliard Orchestras, as well as jazz musicians Clark Terry, James Moody, Muhal Richard Abrams and Milt Hinton. They bring their widely varied experiences toward a dedication to beautiful ensemble, a pure tone, and the ability to effortlessly and authentically play in varying musical styles. The NHQ has appeared with the Charleston Symphony and Long Island Philharmonic, and Greenwich (CT) Orchestra. In 1997, they collaborated with conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith in the New York premiere of Nicolas Flagello’s Concerto Sinfonico for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra and subsequently recorded the work for Naxos. They have performed Calvin Hampton’s Saxophone Quartet Concerto with the Metamorphosis Orchestra, and gave the world premiere of the wind ensemble version of Flagello’s Concerto Sinfonico. The NHQ is active in expanding the saxophone quartet repertoire, and has commissioned, premiered or performed exciting, accessible new works by such composers as Elias Tannenbaum, Robert Sirota, David Noon, Dexter Morrill, Robert Kyr, Alan Brings, Steve Cohen and Barbara Jazwinski. Also an active recording ensemble, The NHQ has recorded as soloists with the Manhattan Philharmonia, and has recorded premieres with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra led by Richard Auldon Clark, and the Rutgers University Orchestra under the baton of Kynon Johns. They were featured on the widely recognized Arizona University Recordings CD America’s Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax. The American Muse, originally released in 2001, garnered wonderful reviews. Their CD, Quartet at the Crossroads, was released in August 2010 (Capstone), and their newest Naxos CD Breathing Lessons was released in 2011. The American Muse highlights over a century of saxophone quartet music by American Composers. Caryl Florio wrote his Quartette in 1879, and is a remarkable original work with a decidedly Menelsoshnian flair. It is one of several works he wrote for saxophone in the 1870s, including Introduction, Theme and Variations, the first saxophone concerto (scored for orchestra) and a work for piano and saxophone quartet. Michael Torke's July is his first saxophone quartet, and has become a late 20th century classic for saxophones. Aaron Copland expressed admiration for the saxophone quartet as well as hearing his music adapted for saxophones after inviting the New York Saxophone Quartet to his Peekskill NY home. The Copland estate approved this adaptation of Four Piano Blues for saxophone quartet by Paul Cohen, and it is published by Boosey and Hawkes. Calvin Hampton was a revered organist and composer. His works for saxophone include Fugue, Bach's Fireworks Music, and the amazing Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra. Fugue is a brilliant, tightly knit and highly contrapuntal work charged with energy and emotion. Alec Wilder's Saxophone Quartet is a beautiful blend of classical, jazz and popular styles expertly interwoven into a four movement quartet suite. It's Americana evocations from the mid 20th century have made this a classic of the quartet repertoire. Steve Cohen's Saxophone Quartet #2 is a late 20th century masterpiece for saxophone quartet. With movements that range from tranquil soul searching to spirited and ingenious dance, it encapsulates a wide range of expression with a particularly American perspective. This is one of the most beautiful saxophone quartets in the last 50 years. Elliot Carter's "Canonic Suite for Quartet of Alto Saxophones" is his only original work for saxophone. Originally written and published in the 1940s, he revised and modernized it in the 1980s into a form and sound more like his compositions of that decade. An original and engaging work by one of the giants of American composers.