{Trés} at Capella Tower
This informal performance will be held in the Atrium of Capella Tower.
FREE and open to the public, enjoy your lunch as you listen.
Presented in partnership with The Musicant Group.
Performer Information
{Trés}: Casey D. Rafn, piano; Joel Gordon, Saxophone; José A. Zayas Cabán, Saxophone
{Trés}
José Antonio Zayas Cabán
As a concert saxophonist and pedagogue, José A. Zayas Cabán has presented performances and taught master classes throughout Europe, the Caribbean and North America. As a member of the trio {tres}, José has cultivated, advocated for, and developed his interest in the transcription and arrangements of chamber music by a wide range of composers, namely Villa Lobos, Fanny Mendelssohn, Poulenc, J.S. Bach, Glinka. These transcription projects have been performed in Central America, the Caribbean, and throughout the United States.
From 2012 through 2013, José served as Assistant Professor of Music at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO, where he taught Saxophone, Music Theory, and Aural Skills. José’s students have gone into music teaching positions in Missouri and Iowa schools or to pursue graduate degrees in music in programs such as New York University, Indiana University, and Ohio State University.
In addition, until 2015, José served as Teaching Assistant at the University of Iowa for both the Saxophone and Music Theory areas. As Teaching Assistant for the Saxophone area, José taught Saxophone, Woodwind Pedagogy and Literature, and Instrumental Techniques. For the Music Theory area, he taught Musicianship.
As a Music Theorist, José’s research focuses on the use of mathematics and data visualization to analyze symmetry in the music of 20th century composers. José also researches the cognitive perception of music, and how music theory can be used to create treatment options for individuals with communication disorders. José has presented his research at the World Saxophone Congress, the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference and the Navy Saxophone Symposium. His article, Symmetrical Processes and Pitch Design in Jindřich Feld’s use of Form in the Sonata for Alto Saxophone, which stems from the research he began during his dissertation, Dodecaphonic and Symmetrical Processes in the First Movement of Jindřich Feld’s Sonata for Alto Saxophone, will be featured in the Saxophone Symposium's 2017-2018 issue.
José has a DMA in Saxophone at the University of Iowa (2016). He is also the recipient of a Performer’s Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (May 2009), holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota (2007) as well as a Bachelor in Music and Bachelor of Arts from Truman State University (2005). His primary teachers include Randall Smith, Eugene Rousseau, Otis Murphy and Kenneth Tse. He has also taken part in the European University for Saxophone in Gap, France, where he studied with Claude Delangle, Vincent David, Arno Bornkamp, Christian Wirth, Jean-Denis Michat and Julien Petit. José is a D’addario Performing Artist. joseantonio-zayascaban.com
Joel Gordon, M.M.
Born in Iowa, grown in Missouri, and sprouting throughout the Midwest, Joel Gordon is a cultivating saxophonist and music educator. Most recently, Joel recorded and released a full-length album, “Along Those Lines,” with the Kansas City-based Matt Cook Collective in 2017.
As a saxophonist, Joel was selected as a resident of the 2014 David Liebman Saxophone Masterclass, named winner of the 2014 Missouri Music Teachers Association Woodwind Soloist Competition, and chosen as a semifinalist in the 2013 Naftzger Young Artist Competition. In 2017, Gordon recorded and released an album with the Kansas City-based jazz quintet, the Matt Cook Collective. The group went on a seven city Midwest release tour and is scheduled for a second tour on the West Coast in Summer 2018. As well, Joel will be traveling to the East Coast in Spring 2018 to perform at the 40th International Saxophone Symposium with {tres}, a chamber ensemble devoted to bringing baroque and classical era compositions into the contemporary saxophone repertoire through recording and public recitals. Joel can be heard playing jazz standards and original compositions throughout Missouri and Kansas as a leader of the groups Joel Gordon’s Happy Habitat and the Joel Gordon Trio. Joel studied jazz improvisation with Tim AuBuchon and Matt Otto and classical saxophone with Randall Smith and José A. Zayas Cabán. Additional instructors include Bob Long, Neil Ostercamp, and Tim Timmons.
Joel is passionate about advancing music through education. In 2015, Joel was named a Presser Foundation Scholar and was a fellow in the TruScholars Research Symposium, exploring the development of jazz education in the midwest. Joel coordinates school jazz clinics as Education Director of the Matt Cook Collective, having had performed for over 1500 midwest public school students. As well, Joel continues to develop his teaching reference The (Young) Adventure’s Guide to Jazz Improvisation. Joel’s professional educational affiliations include the Jazz Education Network, Kappa Delta Pi, the Missouri State Teachers Association, the Missouri Music Educators Association, the Missouri Association for Jazz Education, the North American Saxophone Alliance, Phi Kappa Lambda, Phi Mu Alpha, and the National Association for Music Education.
Joel holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education (2015) and a Master of Arts in Education of Music (2016) from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. Currently, Joel is the Director of Bands at Platte City Middle School and coaches jazz combos at Platte County High School. As well, Joel maintains an active private studio teaching jazz improvisation and classical saxophone. Joel lives in Platte City, MO with his wonderful wife, Megan. joelgordonmusic.com
Casey D. Rafn
Located in the Twin Cities area, Casey Rafn currently holds positions at the Lundstrum Center for Performing Arts, Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, and is the pianist for the Bloomington Chorale. An award winning performer and active freelancer, his upcoming season includes performances in Switzerland, Uruguay, and Shell Lake, WI. Originally from Two Harbors, MN, he received his bachelor's and master’s degrees in piano performance from The University of Iowa studying under Dr. Ksenia Nosikova.