乱伦强奸

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When members of the saxophone quartet Finja learned they had won first place nationally for wind chamber music performance in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) competition in 2014, the musicians had already decamped Chicago for the University of Illinois. There, they were performing with the Eastman Saxophone Project at the North American Saxophone Alliance conference. Informed of their MTNA victory, the quartet members鈥� Ainsley Kilgo 鈥�15E, Dan Stenziano 鈥�15E, Tyler Wiessner 鈥�15E, and Jiaqi (Kevin) Zhao 鈥�15E鈥攑iled into a car and drove 150 miles north to Chicago to perform in the association鈥檚 Winners Concert.

As they drove, Kilgo remembers, they practiced their music yet again, singing their respective parts of Thierry Escaich鈥檚 鈥淭ango Virtuoso鈥� and moving their fingers over imaginary saxophone keys.

Such tireless preparation鈥攊n Finja鈥檚 case that year, under the coaching of doctoral student Phil Pierick鈥攊s the hallmark of the Eastman School of Music鈥檚 Saxophone Studio, led by Chien-Kwan Lin 鈥�07E (DMA), associate professor of saxophone. In the last 10 MTNA chamber music national competitions for winds鈥攚hich include musicians on any wind instrument, not only saxophone鈥擫in鈥檚 students have won the title five times. No other studio is represented twice in that list. Under Lin鈥檚 leadership, Eastman has rapidly become one of the premier schools at which to study the classical saxophone.

鈥淐hien-Kwan has built one of the most high-octane saxophone studios in the country,鈥� says Doug O鈥機onnor 鈥�08E (MM), 鈥�12E (DMA), now a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Band at Annapolis and an adjunct faculty member at Towson University.

The studio鈥檚 standing is borne out鈥攁nd fed鈥攂y the recognition Lin鈥檚 students earn in national and international competitions. Since 2006, performing as soloists and in quartets, they have won more competitions than members of any other studio in the country. Those results are 鈥減roof of the training [students] are receiving here,鈥� says Marie Rolf 鈥�77E (PhD), senior associate dean of graduate studies at Eastman and a professor of music theory.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e thoroughly committed to technical perfection,鈥� says Griffin Campbell, who holds the title of Distinguished Professor of Saxophone at Louisiana State University and who has judged some of Lin鈥檚 students in competition. 鈥淭hey have a drive for that and the ability to achieve it. That鈥檚 really necessary to advance in competitive circles. You have to have the technique. But they also have a level of artistry, and that combination of artistry and technical skill, that鈥檚 what they have that sends them to the top of the heap.鈥�

Rolf sums it up succinctly: 鈥淓astman is known as saxophone heaven, and that鈥檚 all due to Chien-Kwan.鈥�

In the world of instruments, the saxophone is a relative youth, the only widely played, nonelectric instrument invented in more than a century and a half. Developed in Paris in the 1840s by instrument maker Adolphe Sax, the saxophone 鈥渉as a woodwind sound, but the power of a brass instrument,鈥� says Lin.

Strongly associated with jazz in the United States, the saxophone was first taken up by French military bands. By the beginning of the 20th century, composers were beginning to write for the instrument, and since the 1960s, 鈥渃lassical鈥� saxophone鈥攁 term Lin eschews, preferring simply 鈥渟axophone鈥濃�攈as taken hold in this country.

An important part of what sets Lin鈥檚 studio apart, Rolf says鈥攁nd it鈥檚 an observation widely made by his colleagues and students鈥攊s Lin鈥檚 training as a violinist. Born in 1972, in Singapore, he began playing at the age of four. He has never truly left the instrument behind, winning top prizes for violin four consecutive times in Singapore鈥檚 National Music Competition, playing second violin with the Singapore Symphony, appearing as an orchestral violinist, and working for a time as a jazz violinist.

In high school, he joined the school concert band, playing the flute. When the saxophonists graduated, he volunteered to take up the instrument at age 16. 鈥淭his sounds superficial, but I was drawn to the instrument because it looks beautiful. It really is a gorgeous-looking instrument, and I liked the sound of it. That鈥檚 all.鈥�

His offhand comment belies his stature. 鈥淗e is one of the leading saxophonists in the world today,鈥� says Jamal Rossi 鈥�87E (DMA), the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music.

Lin鈥檚 teaching and performance bring the worlds of saxophone and violin together. When Rossi鈥攈imself a graduate of Eastman鈥檚 saxophone program鈥攆irst met him, Lin was performing his recitals from memory. 鈥淰iolinists, pianists, and vocalists have been performing from memory for centuries, but it鈥檚 not the standard for wind instruments,鈥� says Rossi. 鈥淗e was performing Rachmaninoff cello sonatas and Bach chaconnes, and he performed in such a way that you never felt this was somehow compromising the music and the instrument for which it was written.鈥�

Wind instruments don鈥檛 have the same tradition of virtuosity that string instruments and the piano do, says Lin鈥攖hey鈥檙e less agile in producing notes. But he has worked to bring a version of that virtuosity to the saxophone, perhaps nowhere more notably than in the Eastman Saxophone Project (ESP), a group he established in 2010, as a 鈥渃hamber music鈥搇ike ensemble.鈥� The group performed in April at the Kennedy Center.

When members of ESP take the stage鈥� filing out, one after another after another鈥攖he ensemble is alone with the audience. No conductor is positioned before them. No music stands are, either; Lin calls the stands 鈥渏ust small pieces of furniture, but a barrier鈥� that would separate the musicians from each other and their listeners. Project members鈥攁ll the students in Lin鈥檚 studio, from freshmen to doctoral candidates鈥攑lay their music entirely from memory. A 20-member ensemble is large, and to coordinate so many musicians without a conductor is no easy undertaking鈥攏or is their commitment of music to memory. 鈥淭he Eastman Saxophone Project memorizes tremendously complicated music鈥攁nd a lot of it,鈥� Rossi says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an amazing feat, and they鈥檙e doing it without a conductor, so it鈥檚 up to them to communicate with each other. The result is beyond impressive.鈥�

He compares Lin and his students to Olympic athletes. 鈥淭heir Olympic sport isn鈥檛 necessarily new, but every once in a while someone will come along鈥攍ike sprinter Usain Bolt鈥攁nd keep setting new records and doing it better. They鈥檙e inspiring the entire school. They perform two concerts a year [at Eastman], and if you don鈥檛 show up 45 minutes early, you won鈥檛 get a seat.鈥�

The ensemble鈥檚 performances are posted on YouTube, and that exposure, combined with Lin鈥檚 recruitment efforts as he performs nationally and internationally, draws saxophonists to Eastman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely competitive. He鈥檚 got a wait list that other people would die for, and what that means is we can bring to Eastman the very best of the best,鈥� Rolf says.

Many people 鈥渞esisted and argued about the practicalities鈥� when Lin introduced the idea of memorization, says O鈥機onnor, a founding member of ESP. 鈥淏ut the truth is you just live and breathe and own the music better when you memorize it. And now it鈥檚 just part of the culture,鈥� he says.

While memorization for saxophone is less unusual than it used to be, 鈥渋t鈥檚 still pretty unusual,鈥� says Campbell. 鈥淭he level that goes on in that studio is extraordinary.鈥� And, he adds, the students aren鈥檛 just memorizing the notes. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e memorizing the structure, the flow of the piece. There鈥檚 a lot more going on than knowing the notes.鈥�

鈥淧laying in the Eastman Saxophone Project was probably the most intimidating part of my freshman year鈥攃oming in and hearing 19 other saxophone players, most of whom are older and better than you,鈥� says Kilgo, who graduated in May with a double major in saxophone performance and music education and is staying on for a semester of student teaching. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very much built around the entire studio pushing each other to be better and play with more finesse, especially at the beginning.鈥�

The project鈥檚 repertoire 鈥渋s unique to them because those arrangements are done in-house,鈥� says Campbell. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a repertoire for a saxophone group that large.鈥�

As a result, the ensemble in large part plays music originally written for orchestra or string ensemble but transcribed for saxophone by Lin鈥檚 students. When Kilgo would receive a transcription, she would annotate it to show which instrument鈥檚 part she was playing on her saxophone in any given passage: 鈥淚 might play flute for a few bars, trumpet for a few bars, then violin.鈥� Playing music originally written for other instruments can be challenging. 鈥淪tring players have a very easy time articulating lots of notes because it鈥檚 a movement of the bow, but for the saxophone, it鈥檚 the movement of the tongue,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou do something called 鈥榙ouble tongue鈥� to imitate the strings. It uses the tongue muscle and the muscles of the throat, and there鈥檚 only so much you can do.鈥�

鈥淭here are very few places in the country鈥攊f any鈥攖hat are doing things at the level that the Eastman Saxophone Project is doing them,鈥� says Campbell.

Lin, who earned his bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in music at the New England Conservatory, studied under Ramon Ricker 鈥�73E (DMA) at Eastman for his doctor of musical arts degree. Initially hired part-time to teach clarinet, Ricker became the school鈥檚 first full-time saxophone teacher, building a studio for students interested in all saxophone music, jazz and classical.

鈥淩ay is one of the few saxophonists in the world who can bridge classical and jazz saxophone and do both exceptionally well,鈥� says Rossi. But in 2002, Ricker, now professor emeritus, cut back on his teaching as he moved full time into the position of director of Eastman鈥檚 Institute for Music Leadership. It took two people to fill the position he had held: Ricker was the 鈥渢runk of the tree鈥� that then split into two limbs, jazz and 鈥渘on-jazz鈥� studios, says Lin.

Charles Pillow 鈥�84E (MM), a jazz saxophonist in New York City, was hired part time to teach the jazz part of the program. He鈥檚 now an assistant professor of jazz saxophone. Lin was hired while still a graduate student to lead the classical branch. 鈥淐hien-Kwan was proving immediately that his was a very special talent, and he was ultimately hired into a tenure-track position,鈥� says Rossi.

When Lin first began teaching at Eastman, students who didn鈥檛 want to play jazz music didn鈥檛 tend to think of the school as the place for them to study saxophone. 鈥淪o my first task was to establish ourselves as one of the viable names. And there鈥檚 no quicker way to establish a reputation than to have students stand on the stage and say, 鈥業鈥檝e just won first prize. We鈥檙e really good. Look at us.鈥� So that鈥檚 the approach I鈥檝e taken to building the reputation of the studio. We have within Eastman a sort of ethic that we鈥檝e taken upon ourselves that we need to be at the very top of our field, whatever you play here. We didn鈥檛 separate ourselves from that culture.鈥�

Lin鈥檚 view of competitions is deeply practical. 鈥淲e think of them as a project for us to work toward, and whatever the results, we are happy because obviously the most important thing is to push ourselves to the max. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any sort of teaching behind it that allows our students to do better. It鈥檚 just hard work.鈥�

That hard work pays off. 鈥淚t seems like I鈥檓 writing a congratulatory note to a saxophone player about every week,鈥� says Rolf.

LSU鈥檚 Campbell lays much of the credit at Lin鈥檚 door. 鈥淭he Eastman School of Music has always been, since its founding, one of the great institutions of higher learning in the United States, and perhaps the world, for music. As good as Ray Ricker was and the band programs were, the classical saxophone program hadn鈥檛 come to the point where the other programs were. But Chien-Kwan has, in the time he鈥檚 been there, brought the program to a level where it stands at the same peak鈥� as the very best classical saxophone programs in the country鈥攖he University of Michigan, Northwestern, Indiana University. 鈥淭he competition for the very top students is very high, and Chien-Kwan is able to attract those students to Eastman,鈥� says Campbell. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 Eastman, so that makes it doubly fantastic [for the students]. It鈥檚 a little difficult to be in competition with him, I have to say.鈥�

Students praise Lin鈥檚 supportiveness as much as his drive. 鈥淚 always felt he鈥檇 work his tail off to help me do what I needed to do,鈥� says O鈥機onnor, who trained with Ricker and Lin and who has won top prizes in many solo competitions. 鈥淗e challenged me. He also helped me with the emotional rigors of going after a musical career, which is brutally competitive sometimes.鈥�

In contrast, students call the atmosphere of Lin鈥檚 studio familial. In many studios, the only time students see other studio members is in a weekly class, but the Eastman Saxophone Project means Lin鈥檚 students are constantly working together, says Myles Boothroyd 鈥�15E (MM), who has been a member of the studio for the last two years and will begin doctoral study with Lin in the fall. He won national first prize this year in the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition, as did O鈥機onnor in 2007. Boothroyd also took first prize last year in the North American Saxophone Alliance Collegiate Solo Competition.

鈥淭rying to become a great musician is all about control,鈥� says O鈥機onnor, who at Eastman was soprano saxophonist with the Red Line Sax Quartet, which won gold medals at the Fischoff and Plowman chamber competitions. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in the practice room. You鈥檙e in the competition. You鈥檙e doing everything you can to control the outcome, but that鈥檚 a difficult psychological place to be because you don鈥檛 really know what the judges are looking for. Chien-Kwan helped me not just to see that, but to feel it.鈥�

Ultimately, competitions are 鈥渋ncentive to practice hard,鈥� he says, adding that while competition can lend dimensions of sport to music making, 鈥渋t鈥檚 an art, and Chien-Kwan never loses sight of that.鈥�

Lin doesn鈥檛 play the saxophone when he teaches, so that students will develop their own sound rather than imitate him. 鈥淗is way is to show and guide, show and guide,鈥� says Kilgo. 鈥淎 lot of times he鈥檚 using his voice to show you phrasing and the pacing of things.鈥� Her first year of study with him was devoted to technique. 鈥淚 was required to do a lot of scale patterns and 茅tudes. It was a technical workout. He challenges your fingers and mind and concentration. He listens to every little bit of that; he doesn鈥檛 assign a graduate student to do it.鈥�

鈥淗e clearly loves what he does, and he is visionary,鈥� says Rolf. 鈥淗e鈥檚 at the top of his game, and there鈥檚 nothing more compelling than that if you鈥檙e a young student. That鈥檚 who you want to work with. That鈥檚 inspirational.鈥�