Music Faculty Launch Season, Debut Classical Album

The performance featuring Adam Estes on baritone saxophone and Adrienne Park on piano also serves as the Department of Music's opening performance for its spring 2025 season.

The album features compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven and Camille Saint-Saëns, among others. It will be released Jan. 24 on Navona Records.

Estes created most of the transcriptions and arrangements for the album, which borrow from the repertoires of the flute, bassoon and cello and reimagines them for baritone saxophone and piano duo.

"Adrienne and I are thrilled with the quality of this album," said Estes, an associate professor of music. "Personally, I take great pride in participating in artistic and creative projects that serve a greater purpose.

"We hope that people will enjoy listening to these reimagined compositions."

Estes has curated, performed and toured three different Lyrical Baritone Project programs since 2022. The programs were designed to advance the exposure and teaching of the baritone saxophone as a solo concert instrument.

TrevCo Music, a publisher of sheet music, will publish Estes' arrangements of this project's music that is in the public domain.

Park, assistant professor of collaborative piano, has mentored graduate pianists, coached chamber ensembles and collaborated with Ole Miss students and faculty since 2001. She is also artistic director of the Sonic Explorations concert series, which features multimedia performances with music faculty and professional musicians in the region. 

"I am very excited to have been a part of 'Lyrical Baritone, Volume 1' with Adam and look forward to our album release," she said.

"Throughout the entire project, I enjoyed collaborating on repertoire that was new to me, such as Burhans' evocative 'Harbinger of Sorrows,' Beethoven's imaginative set of 'Variations' and Saint-Saëns' mighty Sonata No. 1. I also enjoyed revisiting other important repertoire such as Chaminade's virtuosic Sonatina with flute and Beethoven's poignant Sonata No. 4 with cello within a new context of baritone saxophone and piano."

The music department's spring performance series will feature additional free performances ranging from choral ensembles, thematic concerts, jazz ensembles and operas to percussion and steel drum groups and wind ensembles.

Top: Adrienne Park (left) and Adam Estes will launch the Department of Music's 2025 spring performance series with free recital and album release for 'Lyrical Baritone, Volume 1' on Jan. 24 in Nutt Auditorium. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services