PHD Don-Paul Kahl - Saxophone without Mouthpiece

Saxophone without Mouthpiece

Welcome!

The following website represents the culmination of my PhD research on saxophone without mouthpiece, conducted at the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (Leiden University, the Netherlands) as part of the PhD program in artistic research.

Promotor:
Prof.dr. Marcel Cobussen – Leiden University

Co-Promotor:
Raaf Hekkema – Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag

Doctoral Committee:
Prof. dr. Richard Barrett – Leiden University
Prof. dr. Rachel Beckles Willson – Leiden University
Dr. Stratis Minakakis – New England Conservatory of Music
Marcus Weiss – Hochschule für Musik Basel

You can find the table of contents to the right of this text. The top navigation bar provides easy access to the main sections of this research, along with the works cited, appendices, and a contact form. While the research is designed to be explored sequentially—from the Introduction, through the six chapters, and ending with Conclusion—you are welcome to navigate the site according to your interests and needs. If you have any questions during your exploration, please feel free to reach out to me. Enjoy your reading, watching, and listening experience of my research on saxophone without mouthpiece.

To start your exploration of saxophone without mouthpiece, please enjoy a short excerpt from Zeruan (2020) by María Eugenia Luc for saxophone quartet performed by my colleagues and myself in the Ensemble du Bout du Monde. 

Disclaimer: The author has made every effort to trace the copyright holders and owners of the illustrations reproduced in this dissertation. If anyone has rights that have not been acknowledged, please contact the author. The work presented in this thesis contains, to the best of my knowledge, no material previously published or written by another person, nor has it been submitted for the award of any other degree at this or any other university, except where due reference is made in the text. This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral degree program at the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts of Leiden University.The remaining requirement involves a demonstration of the research and its findings through an artistic presentation and the official defense of the thesis.

Table of contents

About the author

Renowned as an “artist beyond his time” by distinguished American composer John Corigliano and praised by Brutal New Music Reviews as possessing “the caliber of a soloist with whom composers dream to collaborate,” American saxophonist Don-Paul Kahl (born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 29 January 1989) has performed across Europe, the United States, Australia, Japan, and South-East Asia. His performance record includes invitations to prestigious music festivals such as the KURAIA Festival (ES), Tallinn New Music Days (ET), Mise-En Music Festival (US), and SoundPlasma Festival (DE), among many others.

Don-Paul was a prizewinner at the prestigious contemporary saxophone competition, the 4th Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition in Bangkok, Thailand. A passionate advocate for and specialist in contemporary music, he has premiered many new works for saxophone by established composers, contributing significantly to the evolution of modern music. Recent commissions include works by Ramon Lazkano, Stratis Minakakis, María Eugenia Luc, Yotam Haber, Katarina Miljokovic, and Nicholas Tzortzis, etc.

Among many publicly released albums, Don-Paul released his debut solo album, Go Within, on the Equilibrium Label in September 2021. Featuring six compelling works, the album demonstrates his commitment to championing the works by living composers. Collaborating with pianist Alessandro Cervino, the project showcases compositions by Molly Joyce, Stratis Minakakis, Eleni Ralli, Gregory Wanamaker, Mischa Zupko, and Kenichi Ikuno Sekiguchi.

As an avid and in-demand chamber musician, Don-Paul is active with the internationally acclaimed saxophone quartet, Ensemble du Bout du Monde (EBM), his duo with clarinetist, Jackie Glazier, Duo Entre-Nous (D2), with Woodwork, a dynamic reed quintet based in Belgium, and the Central Pennsylvania saxophone and piano duo, Kahl & Nyce Duo.

Don-Paul also maintains an active practice as a researcher, academic, and teacher. With respect to saxophone, saxophone without mouthpiece, and modern pedagogical practices he has given many masterclasses and guest artist recitals at universities in the United States and Europe.

In 2017, he completed a post-graduate performance and research program at the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven, Belgium. Previously, he earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Music degree from Susquehanna University (Summa Cum Laude). His primary teachers and mentors are Jean-Michel Goury, Marcus Weiss, Jonathan Helton, Geoffrey Deibel, and Gail B. Levinsky, with additional study with Frederick L. Hemke.

Please accept this short video of thanks to all of those that have supported me in making this research a reality. Thank you so very much.

First and foremost, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. dr. Marcel Cobussen and Raaf Hekkema, for their invaluable guidance and unwavering belief in both me and my research. Their encouragement to sharpen my ideas on SWMP with ever-increasing clarity has been indispensable. I am profoundly grateful for their patience in reviewing numerous drafts, viewing countless hours of video, and always returning with renewed energy, enthusiasm, and thought-provoking suggestions.

I am fortunate to have received support from many people throughout this journey. I would like to sincerely thank my mother, Janise Kahl, and my family in the United States and Belgium, especially Sandra Desoete, for their boundless love and encouragement. Their support provided me the strength and perseverance necessary to navigate the challenges of this PhD.

I would like to extend my appreciation to The Academy of Creative and Performing Arts at Leiden University for providing a stimulating academic environment and financially supporting this research. I am equally grateful to the Orpheus Institute, which was the first to recognize the potential and significance of SWMP within the field of artistic research. I also highly benefitted from the docARTES program, an international graduate program for research in and through music.

This project would not have achieved its technical quality without the expertise of Pablo Gastaldello and the Sound Engineering Department at Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, as well as the developers of Sonic Visualizer at Queen Mary University of London, including Matthias Mauch and Simon Dixon, whose work made the necessary audio analyses possible. My sincerest thanks also go to Marcus Weiss, whose guidance in the early stages of this research was instrumental.

I am deeply indebted to my saxophone colleagues who contributed to expanding the repertoire for SWMP. I extend heartfelt thanks to my fellow members of the Ensemble du Bout du Monde – Noa Mick, Simona Castria, and Salvatore Castellano – as well as to Daniel Kientzy, Jean-Michel Goury, Marie-Bernadette Charrier, Claude Delangle, Marie-Chantal Leclair, Quasar Quartet, Sigma-Project Quartet, and many others within the online community. I would also like to express my gratitude to Gail B. Levinsky for her insights and interview, which greatly enriched the chapter on contextualization.

To my clarinet duo partner, Jackie Glazier, I offer my deepest thanks for her unwavering support and collaboration, which provided a shared space for creative exploration. Special thanks are also due to Dolores Minakakis for her invaluable help with language and syntax editing. Additionally, I wish to acknowledge Simon Smalle for his incredible work in designing and updating the research website, which has become an essential part of the dissemination of this research.

I am immensely grateful to the composers whose work continues to inspire and challenge me to explore music in previously unimaginable ways. Their curiosity and support fuel my artistic journey, and I hope my performances reflect the same imaginative spirit. In particular, I extend my thanks to Stratis Minakakis, Eleni Ralli, María Eugenia Luc, Nicolas Tzortzis, Gregory Wanamaker, Robert Lemay, Ramon Lazkano, Jean-Patrick Besingrand, Javier Torres-Maldonado, Stylianos Dimou, Juan Arroyo, Robin Hoffmann, and Annesley Black, along with many others.

Finally, I must extend my deepest love and gratitude to the person with whom I am closest, who has supported me through both the highs and lows of this research and throughout our life together. Thank you for constantly believing in me, encouraging me, reading countless drafts, and bringing out the best in me – my fiancé, Karel Vlaeminck.

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