BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
When Nick Russoniello finishes a gig, he regularly receives the following compliment: “I didn’t realise a saxophone could sound like that.”
The 2011 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year has built his musical career on an instrument which is more often than not associated with jazz over classical. With the saxophone excluded from the standard symphony orchestra, Nick knew he’d have to get creative to achieve his goals.
“Musicians are trained with this ‘orchestra or nothing’ attitude and I was glad I didn’t have to buy into that way of thinking. There is a world of music to be made outside of orchestral repertoire, and you’re only limited by your imagination and how hard you want to work to make it happen.”
The young musician has just released his debut Between Worlds, joining forces with ARIA and Arts Music Awards nominated Acacia Quartet in an album which features works by Elena Kats-Chernin, Barry Cockcroft, Chick Corea, Jeremy Rose, and even one of Nick’s originals. Nick said the project has been years in the making.
“Recording and touring this music is something I’ve been trying to do for few years now. I had all these great arrangements and ideas and wanted to document them and put it all together and get it out to people.”
To get the project off the ground, he received the Fine Music 102.5 Stephan Kruger Scholarship.
“Applying was quite simple, though I went to a lot of trouble to show a well thought out plan and realistic budget. I don’t think I’d have been able to get the project off the ground any other way, so this scholarship has been amazing.”
The debut album is the culmination of quite a career, with Nick – not yet 30 years old – having toured to Scotland for the World Saxophone Congress, played for the Prime Minister at Parliament House, and performed with major Australian orchestras, including a gig with Sydney Symphony Orchestra which had an estimated audience of 50,000 people.
As he is often reminded by surprised audience members after a gig, Nick has made a performance career out of what is often not considered a conventionally ‘classical’ instrument. But knowing he had to sacrifice a salaried orchestral career to pursue his instrument has never been a regret.
“It was never, ever and option so pretty early on I realized I’d have to find other ways to work. In truth, not having a steady job to work for has been a blessing; it forced me to think outside the square about what I’d like to do with my music and the skills I’d developed.”
Despite his love for the instrument, Nick admits that “people don’t realize what can be done with a saxophone.” The relatively modern instrument lacks the historical repertoire of other winds, and is often associated with contemporary genres like jazz and rock. But changing its image is all part of Nick’s master plan.
“I think peoples’ idea of the sax is still largely limited to their knowledge of ‘80s pop sax solos. This is fine, I love ‘80s pop sax solos, but feel it’s part of my job to challenge this and show what else can be done with a saxophone.”
In his debut album Between Worlds, Nick challenges these sorts of preconceptions of the saxophone. Fulfilling his longstanding dream of working with strings, he says, “the string quartet is the quintessential classical music ensemble and the saxophone is the king of jazz but the two rarely meet. They missed each other in music history so I wanted to see what would happen if you merged them.”
The outcome is of audible brilliance, with Nick channeling all of the energy and emotion of a live performance into his compact disc.
“I wanted to play things like I would play them live otherwise things can get pretty boring and clinical. I tried to make the recording feel as much like live playing as possible.”
Nick has toured his album around the country and is about to hit Hobart for his final destination. He’ll perform with classical guitar as part of his Duo Histoire in a “pretty special” show.
The concert will take place at B3 Gallery, MONA on October 5, 1pm. For more information go to www.nickrussoniello.com.au.
Image supplied.
