APSU Saxophone Day 2024

Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Music and Mass Communication Building 

Join us for a fun day full of saxophone at APSU! Participants will have the opportunity to rehearse and perform in a saxophone ensemble, attend a basic jazz improvisation clinic, and see our esteemed artist Jonathan Hulting-Cohen present a masterclass and recital.  

Lucas Hopkins APSU Saxophone Faculty

Lucas Hopkins is quickly becoming known as a prominent soloist, chamber musician and educator comfortable in a variety of styles including classical, contemporary, jazz, and pop.

As a performer, Dr. Hopkins has presented guest recitals and masterclasses at various universities, appeared as a concerto soloist with the Oakland Symphony, and has performed with various orchestras including the New World Symphony and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra. Additionally, as the bass saxophonist of The Moanin’ Frogs Saxophone Sextet, Hopkins frequently performs across the country for various concert series and engages in educational outreach with students of all ages. 

Dr. Hopkins holds a DMA from the University of Colorado and additional graduate degrees from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. His primary teachers include Timothy McAllister, Eugene Rousseau, Tom Myer, and Andrew Bishop. Lucas is an endorsing artist for Conn-Selmer and D’Addario Woodwinds. Dr. Hopkins currently teaches saxophone at Austin Peay State University and has also served on the faculties of Tennessee State University, Murray State University and University of Colorado. 

Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, Guest Artist

Associate Professor of Saxophone, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Saxophonist Jonathan Hulting-Cohen’s “adroit” (ModernJazz.gr), “impressive,” (Schenectady Daily Gazette), and “fun to watch” (Oregon Arts Watch) performances have led to concerto engagements with the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, Stockton Symphony, Sequoia Symphony Orchestra, and Adrian Symphony Orchestra. Collaborations with pianists Jiayan Sun, Steven Beck and Nadine Shank have precipitated adventures in repertoire from César Franck to Freddie Mercury, and from Astor Piazzolla to Charles Wuorinen. Duo venues include the Virtuosi Concert Series in Winnipeg, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Haverford College Concert Artist Series, and New York’s new OceanMusic series, among others. Passionate about new music, Hulting-Cohen’s commissions from Joan Tower, Ingrid Arauco, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Annika Socolofsky, Felipe Salles, Salvatore Macchia and Eric Wubbels can be heard on Innova Recordings. 

Besides performing at Chamber Music Northwest and Carnegie Hall, Hulting-Cohen’s work in chamber music is defined by long-term membership in several ensembles. With New York new music specialists, New Thread Quartet, Hulting-Cohen has participated in the creation of dozens of new works by established and emerging composers, developed semi-staged productions, and championed annual concerts of acoustic and electro-acoustic music. In co-founding The Moanin’ Frogs saxophone sextet, Hulting-Cohen helped unleash an international touring sensation blending the antics of vaudeville with the high art of classical recitals. With harpist Jennifer R. Ellis, Hulting-Cohen premiered and recorded ten new duo works for Albany Records. 

From 2022-2024, Hulting-Cohen co-chaired the North American Saxophone Alliance’s Committee for Gender Equity with Allison Balcetis. Hulting-Cohen and Felipe Salles steward the New England Saxophone Symposium through its fourth decade at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where they are Associate Professor of Saxophone. Hulting-Cohen trained at the University of Michigan under Donald Sinta and endorses Conn-Selmer, D’Addario Woodwinds, Silverstein and Key Leaves products.