West Virginia University saxophone professor Michael Ibrahim and piano professor Peter Amstutz have released a new CD titled “Distances Within Me” featuring a program of American works for alto saxophone and piano.

The CD explores three pillars of American concert saxophone music—Sonatas by William Albright and Paul Creston, and the single-movement work, “Distances Within Me,” by John Anthony Lennon. Each composition shares a sonorous approach to harmony and expansive melodic material. Gestures are revealed through a blend of virtuosity and introspection.

Recently, Ibrahim and Amstutz performed at St. Martins-in-the-Field in London, where they played a program of the music featured on their new CD.

They have also played the program at Rutgers University, Marshall University and WVU. The recording sessions for the CD took place at the Creative Arts Center last summer with the assistance of WVU Recording Engineer Mark Benincosa.

Ibrahim previously released CDs entitled “J.S. Bach: For Saxophone” in 2005, “French Music for Alto Saxophone” in 2012 and “Solo,” an album of contemporary works, also in 2012. At WVU he teaches the course The Saxophone in Paris, which allows students to travel to Paris to observe French professionals and learn the history of the saxophone. Ibrahim studied at the Manhattan School of Music, Bowling Green State University, the Universit� Europ�enne de Saxophone in France, the University of Calgary and the University of Regina. He has won numerous competitions, including the North American Saxophone Alliance Classical Artist Competition, the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition for Woodwinds, the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, the MTNA Woodwind Collegiate Artist and Chamber Music Competitions, and a Darmstadt Performance Prize for Contemporary Music. He has performed solo and chamber music concerts in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Miller Theater, Symphony Space and the Kitchen. See Ibrahim’s website: Michael Ibrahim website.

Peter Amstutz is professor of piano and coordinator of Keyboard Studies at WVU. A prizewinner in the Maryland International Piano Competition (subsequently renamed in honor of William Kapell) and medalist in the Casagrande International Piano Competition in Italy, Amstutz has performed throughout Europe and the United States. In recent years, he has also made frequent tours of Asia, presenting recitals and master classes in major cities of Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Peoples Republic of China. He has also served as judge for the National Piano Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and for the William S. Boyd International Piano Competition. During his student days at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Amstutz earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees as a student of Leon Fleisher and his Bachelor of Music degree with Walter Hautzig. As a Fulbright Scholar, he also studied in Austria for two years with Dieter Weber and Noel Flores at the Vienna Academy of Music.

For more information about “Distances Within Me,” see the following link: Teal Creek Music website.

-WVU-

cl/09/25/13

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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