The first Swiss International Saxophone Festival
20 Concerts, Workshops, Masterclasses, Lectures, Roundtables with
Frederick L. Hemke (Chicago, USA)
Nikita Zimin (Moscow, Russia)
Rolf Erik-Nystroem (Oslo, Norway)
Five Sax (Vienna)
Ensemble Nikel (Israel, Switzerland)
Too Hot To Hoot (Lausanne, CH)
Trio Saeitwind (Berne, CH)
Duo Aliada (Vienna)
Saxophone Orchestra Zurich Vienna
and many more!The Zurich International Saxfest will be held in the Toni-Areal Campus, a unique artistic space and the new residence of the Zurich University of the Arts. From 3rd to 5th of March 2017, the Toni-Areal Campus will host a great number of concerts, conferences, expositions, performances and masterclasses.
The three-day celebration of the saxophone is an exquisite opportunity of creating a dialogue between the public, students, professors, prominent performers, as well as educators from all over the world, such as Frederick L. Hemke, Nikita Zimin, Rolf-Erik Nystrøm and Iwan Roth, all reflecting different schools, approaches and generations in the evolution of the instrument.
Through round tables, public lectures or more casual meetings, all will be able to find their way to participate in this effervescent event.
In honor of the occasion, the musical program is wide and diverse, therefore accessible and captivating for a large spectrum of audiences, ranging from professional musicians, knowledgeable music lovers, families and more.
The festival will be featuring saxophone students from the Swiss music Universities (Zurich, Luzern, Basel, Lausanne, Lugano, Bern, Geneva), as well as students from the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität Wien.

We will have the honor of welcoming various renowned ensembles, such as Ensemble Nikel, Too Hot to Hoot?, Trio Saeitenwind or Five Sax.
This weekend will also include the Swiss Saxophone Days, a cooperation between the different Music Universities in Switzerland.
Throughout the Festival, professors of the Swiss music universities and guest artists will offer public lessons ((Sascha Armbruster (Luzern), Raphael Camenisch (Lugano), Beat Hofstetter (Luzern), Lars Mlekusch (Zurich / Vienna), Marcus Weiss (Basel) as well as Harry White (Zurich) and Michael Krenn (Innsbruck/Vienna)
This intense festival will also allow the audience to rediscover a vast repertory; from Igor Stravinsky to Paul Dukas, from Dimitri Shostakovich to Francisco Guerrero, from William Albright to Camille St-Saëns, with particular regard to contemporary Swiss composers. Another highlight of the Festival will be the American saxophone school, represented by the renowned saxophonist and educator Frederick L. Hemke. An exceptional performance-representation of Salvatore Sciarrino’s monumental piece "La Bocca, I Piedi, Il Suono", for 4 soloists and 100 moving saxophonists, followed by world premieres of works for saxophone ensemble (Gérard Pape, Junghae Lee), will all be part of this enriching musical experience.
An exceptional event not to be missed!