Sax Plus

Sax Plus will present a concert/clinic by woodwind faculty Peter Cokkinias, Harry Skoler, and Lance Van Lenten playing saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and other woodwind instruments accompanied by pianist Bain Smith. Special arrangements of standards and original compositions will feature aspects of woodwind performance such as stylistic interpretation, group improvisation, doubling, technique, and orchestration.

Harry Skoler (clarinet) is associate professor of woodwinds at Berklee. He received a bachelor of music degree from Berklee in 1978 and a master of music degree from New England Conservatory in 1986. His recordings as a leader have garnered national and international reviews and have charted for national airplay. Skoler has authored articles on jazz education, including pieces in Down Beat magazine, and has been published in Vandoren method books. His performances include national jazz clubs, festivals, and tours in Costa Rica, Japan, and Norway. Endorsements include Buffet clarinets, Vandoren reeds, and Applied Microphone Technology.

Lance Van Lenten (saxophones and flute) composes and arranges music for Sax Plus. He is a veteran instructor with Berklee's Five-Week Summer Performance Program, Saxophone Weekend, and City Music program who has performed and/or recorded with renowned musicians such as Whit Browne, Vinnie Colaiuta, Anton Fig, Bill Frisell, and Roger Rosenberg. Most recently he has been a featured soloist, along with master musicians from India, on the Marc Rossi Group's critically acclaimed album Hidden Mandala. Van Lenten has also written jazz improvisation books published by the Charles Colin Company.

Peter Cokkinias (all woodwinds), "Dr. C.," is a professor at Berklee College of Music and Berklee's Five-Week Program. He has performed with the Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony, the Fifth Dimension, Bernadette Peters, Frank Sinatra Jr., Liza Minnelli, and the Temptations. He is a woodwind doubler for Broadway shows such as Wicked, Young Frankenstein, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, so it's not unusual to see a range of instruments at his stand: flute, oboe, bass clarinet, bari sax, and bassoon.