UK Mega-Sax Earns Awards, Standing Ovation at Elmhurst Jazz Festival
Watch above Noah Beckett’s solo in “Cantaloupe Island,” written by Herbie Hancock and arranged by Jeff Driskill.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 2, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Mega-Sax Quartet, under the direction of Miles Osland, received a standing ovation for its recent performance at the 53rd annual Elmhurst College Jazz Festival held Feb. 20-23, in Illinois. In addition, all four students received Outstanding Soloist Awards for their performances.
The Mega-Sax quartets and quintets at the UK School of Music perform with and without a rhythm section under the direction of Miles Osland, director of Jazz Studies and professor of saxophone. Now in his 30th year of teaching at UK, Osland continues to increase awareness of these ensembles through Mega-Sax live performances and recordings.
UK’s Mega-Sax Quartet that performed at Elmhurst included music performance senior Kirby Davis, of Greenville, Kentucky, on alto saxophone; music education senior Jacob O’Donnell, of Lexington, on tenor saxophone; music performance junior Noah Beckett, of Lexington, on tenor saxophone; and graduate student Adam O’Neal, of Huntington, West Virginia, on baritone saxophone.
Davis and O’Neal were featured on a piece titled “Full English Breakfast” by renowned English composer Mike Mower. O’Donnell and Davis played “Hiatus” also by Mower at the break-neck tempo of a quarter note. Beckett’s solo was showcased in the song “Cantaloupe Island” written by Herbie Hancock and arranged by Jeff Driskill.
Commenting on the quartet’s concert, a judge for the festival described the performance as “A breath-taking example of musicianship, artistry, craftsmanship, showbiz and creativity!”
The nation’s best college and university jazz bands perform annually each February at Elmhurst. The festival of performances and educational opportunities, which runs three days, gives college musicians the opportunity to play in front of some of the greatest names in professional jazz, who offer critiques and present a variety of awards.
The School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, music therapy, composition, and theory and music history.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.