Upcoming Events:

Three Reeds will host the 2024 INTERNATIONAL DUO (IDS) SYMPOSIUM at Northwestern State University!

• On April 5-7, 2024, Three Reeds will host the IDS Symposium, a gathering of portable chamber duos from around the world. As part of the Symposium, Three Reeds has commissioned O‘neal Douglas and we will perform the World Premiere at the Symposium. Other headliners will be Duo Zuniga-Guandique and composer Marcus Maroney. For more information regarding the Symposium, click here: IDS Symposium.

DEREK BROWN WROTE US A PIECE!

• Three Reeds commissioned Derek Brown to write a piece in his unique, exciting voice. The World Premiere of Steadfast was at the 2023 NASA Biennial Conference at the University of Southern Mississippi! Check out Facebook or YouTube for a recording of the performance.

Three Reeds has two albums available for purchase/download, signals cross and Metamorphosis

• Three Reeds has recorded two albums: signals cross - our debut recording comprised solely of commissions from the Three Reeds Duo, and Metamorphosis. This album features new and old music as well as a couple of works with piano. The albums can be ordered via our facebook page, through Blue Griffin, or downloaded via ITunes, etc. The list of our commissions is below.

  
  

Bio

With co-founders Leah and Paul Forsyth, the Three Reeds Duo is a unique chamber ensemble that has performed for audiences on three different continents.   This oboe/saxophone duo, formed in 2005, has built a repertoire ranging from baroque and classical transcriptions to contemporary concert literature. Three Reeds has performed in a variety of venues all over the world, ranging from World Saxophone Congresses to International Double Reed Society Conventions to chamber music series to collegiate concert halls.  

In 2015 and 2018, Three Reeds was the winner of the Alford Professorships at Northwestern State University, where they are both professors on their respective instruments. These professorships allowed them to record their debut CD, signals cross, as well as their second album, Metamorphosis. Released in the summer of 2016, signals cross was the first CD ever recorded of oboe/saxophone duos.  The Three Reeds Duo has commissioned works from such composers as Derek Brown, Joshua Burel, Peter Lieuwen, Marcus Maroney, Alyssa Morris, and Gregory Wanamaker.  signals cross and Metamorphosis are available for purchase by clicking HERE and sending us an email, Blue Griffin, or by download through iTunes.  

For samples and more details regarding our commissions, click here: http://www.leahforsythmusic.com/commissions

Three Reeds has commissioned works from the following composers:

• Kyle Blaha (signals cross, recorded on the album of the same name) is currently the director of Making Score, an award-winning composers workshop through the New York Youth Symphony, and is on faculty at the Julliard School. Dr. Blaha is a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory and of the Julliard School.

• NEW* Jenni Brandon (Places We Are From, yet to be recorded) writes music that is beautiful and lyrical, telling stories through memorable musical lines often influenced by the collaborator’s story, nature, and poetry. Her music appears on over 20 albums, and has been awarded the Sorel Medallion, American Prize, Paderewski Cycle, Women Composers Festival of Hartford International Composition Competition, and Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition among others.

• NEW* Derek Brown (Steadfast, yet to be recorded) - From his 30+ million views across social media to his appearance on international television and NPR’s Weekend Edition, Billboard-charting saxophonist/innovator Derek Brown and his one-of-a-kind solo “BEATBoX SAX” project has been exploding across the world music scene. And now he is delving into the world of composition!

• NEW* Joshua Burel (Gaunlet, yet to be recorded) is the recipient of several awards for his work with underrepresented composers and social justice issues. Joshua’s compositions are regularly performed in venues throughout the United States including Carnegie Hall, the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival in Washington, and the Bowling Green State University New Music Festival. Dr. Burel is currently on the faculty of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

• Thomas Hundemer (Three Reed Suite, recorded on signals cross) is currently Principal Horn in the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and Lecturer of Music at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana.

• Marcus Maroney (Pastorale, recorded on signals cross) is currently Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Houston. Dr. Maroney has received numerous awards and fellowships for his compositions. He holds degrees from the University of Texas and Yale. Dr. Maroney has written an excellent duo for clarinet/saxophone entitled Chamaeleon II. He has also written a saxophone quartet commissioned by the Iridium Quartet that was premiered in Puerto Rico in October of 2011.

• Alyssa Morris (Duo Displasia, recorded on Metamorphosis) is a well-known oboist and composer. Alyssa has been commissioned to write music for the Arizona State University faculty wind quartet, the Eastern Kentucky University faculty wind trio, Brigham Young University's Sundance Trio, Ohio University's Athenia Chamber Ensemble, a consortium of bassoonists through Trevco Music Publishing, and the Brigham Young University Symphonic Band.

• Peter Lieuwen (Little Rivers, recorded on Metamorphosis) has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by orchestras, small ensembles and artists throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Currently on the faculty at Texas A&M University, Peter written a duo for Three Reeds that was premiered at the 2018 World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia.

• Richard Rose (The Journey, recorded on signals cross) is a retired Professor of Music from Northwestern State University. Formerly the principal cellist in the Lake Charles Symphony and the Rapides Symphony, Mr. Rose was degrees from the University of Louisville and Florida State University. He has also written Sonata for alto saxophone.

• Gregory Wanamaker (Duo Cadenza, recorded on signals cross) is currently Professor of Composition and Music Theory at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. His music has been commissioned and performed all over the world, most recently in 2011 by the Society for New Music. Wanamaker is no stranger to the saxophone world having written several works for saxophone, saxophone quartet, and mixed chamber ensembles.