Alexis Mason

Sunday, March 30, PASQ Chapel, 1:00pm - 1:30pm

Appalachian Visions (World Premiere)                                                                            Jenni Watson (b. 1985)   

I. Inured        

II. Blackwater Falls

III. Sunset Over Stonewall

IV. Shenandoah Outcrops

Alexis Mason, alto saxophone

Greta Hulterstrum, flute

Molly Orlando ,piano

Alexis Mason is a Junior Saxophone Performance major at West Virginia University, where she studies saxophone under Dr. Jeffrey Siegfried. She is from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania and is a member of the WVU Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble 1. Last year, she performed with WVU’s Quartet Elakala in the semifinals of the North American Saxophone Alliance Collegiate Quartet Competition during its biennial conference in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She has performed in masterclasses for artists such as Dr. Timothy McAllister, Dr. Otis Murphy, and Imani Winds. This past summer, she attended the American Saxophone Academy in Hartford, Connecticut.

Greta Hulterstrum is a Junior flute performance major from Litchfield, Minnesota. She currently participates in the WVU Symphony Orchestra and WVU Wind Symphony and over the summer, participated in the 2024 Chicago Summer Opera Orchestra. Some of Greta’s recent accomplishments include winning 2nd prize in the Central Ohio Flute Association Collegiate Competition, performing at the National Flute Association Convention in Phoenix, and performing in masterclasses with Jasmine Choi, Alexa Still, Imani Winds, and Carol Wincenc.

Appalachian Visions is a newly composed suite for alto saxophone, flute, and piano that reflects on the beauty and fragility of nature. The suite was commissioned as a gift for saxophonist Alexis Mason, a native of Appalachia. Alexis shared with composer Jenni Watson (b. 1985) an album of photographs capturing her fondest memories of the region, which served as inspiration for the composition.

A shared concern for both Jenni and Alexis is climate change, a pressing issue that increasingly affects Appalachia and its unique landscapes. This theme is woven throughout the music, with an underlying sense of unease that mirrors the fragility of nature’s beauty.

Movements II, III, and IV of the suite are inspired by specific places in Appalachia that hold special significance for Alexis. Two of these movements will feature flutist Greta Hulterstrum.