I recently caught up with MANA’s tenor player, Eric Barreto-Maymi to ask him what he was looking forward to the most about the upcoming MANA Saxophone Institute and we got to reminiscing on his time in MANA...
MH : Do you remember your first concert with MANA? What would you say sticks out in your memory the most about that time?
EB: Yea.. I think it was at SUNY Oneonta in 2010 [pictured above], I remember we premiered the quartet by David Mecionis and that he was in the audience, but I can’t think of what else was on the program.
MH: We also played the Lukas, Bach, Glass and von Koch, it had to be a relatively easy program to put together since it was your first… we were also rehearsing all of those other programs at the same time. Getting ready for our first residency at the HSMF [Hot Springs Music Festival] our first MSI [MANA Saxophone Institute] and the AZ tour…it was a busy first couple of months for you.
EB: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think we spent most of the summer in Rochester in Dannel’s and Doug’s apartment rehearsing at Eastman…was that the year??
MH: Kind of lol… We were in Rochester most of May and first part of June rehearsing at Eastman, remember we got a coaching from Chien-Kwan Lin on the Mozart? We had to prepare so much music for the HSMF residency plus we were giving the US Premiere of the Nilsson [Concerto Grosso for saxophone quartet and orchestra by Anders Nilsson],and working up Mobius Loop [Mathew Rosenblum], Penderecki Quartet plus running our first workshop! It was pretty exciting.
EB: Oh Right - That’s when we drove to Fredonia to get a coaching from Carina [Raschèr] on the Nilsson and Rosenblum…I just remember how intense it was those first rehearsals, we’d start so early, break for lunch, then go until dinner, then listen to our rehearsal recordings and make lists of what to fix the next day. It was definitely the hardest music I had ever played at the time.
MH: So you joined MANA in May of 2010, which was the end of our first season as a professional touring group- it was the first year after we had all left FSU, well you were still very much at FSU - how old were you?
EB: I had just turned 21, I was finishing up my junior year
MH: That must have been a lot to get used to, especially with all of the traveling. After Rochester, Hot Springs Festival and MSI which were in Arkansas we then spent a large portion of July in Arizona. I think we had 4 or 5 concerts plus your first photo shoot and a lot of rehearsals. We had to prepare all of the new music for the following season. I think your first season and a half there was a premiere on each concert - I remember that feeling like a lot at the time. I don’t know that I would have been up to that at 21
EB: yea
MH: What are some of of your most memorable experiences since joining the quartet?
EB: This is actually kinda tough. Each concert really is its own unique experience. Well, we’ve already talked about a few… Definitely the first Hot Springs Festival Residency, the Nilsson Concerto Grosso Performance [recordings below], Playing for Carina, the first time we played the Philip Glass Concerto [ recording below], that was at the National Music Festival during our first residency there. I would also add our recording session we did with the Calder Quartet, when we recorded the octet written for us by Enrico Chapela - that was during our residency at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Playing at the Festival of New American Music [Sacramento] and that entire California tour was really special for me. Not only was that the first time I had been to California, but it served as the impetus for my move to San Francisco.
MH: Yea actually me too. That California tour was pretty fun. I remember my aunt driving us around SF and thinking wow we should move here. There seemed to be so much new music happening here at that time, and a lot of our friends in the chamber music scene seemed to be thriving in the Bay Area.. That tour was November 2014, and I moved to Oakland July 2015 right after MANA got back from Europe. Then within a few months Mortarotti moved here then some of our other friends followed and then you were here by the following June. That was such a cool time, kind of scary but exciting all at the same time.
EB: Yea for sure
MH: OK let’s talk about MSI!
So MSI started as part of our residencies with Hot Springs Music Festival for 3 years, then National Music Festival in Maryland for 5 years- Those were really great simply because of the amount of musicians that were taking over a small town and making music everywhere. Back then MSI was capped at only 16 participants. I think it made sense for us to go on it on our own with no limititations on participants. After the festivals we held MSI’s at Grand Canyon University as well as the University of Southern Mississippi. At USM i think we had around 40 participants then SJSU the following years where we have had as many as 50. I like the fact that we can have as many participants as we’d like because you can do more with more people. Also during the festivals sometimes it could be challenging because we were the ensemble in residence so MANA was performing a ton, sometimes multiple concerts a day and we were also trying to run a workshop. I like that now MSI can be more student focused.
What would you say are some of your most memorable experiences from past MSI’s?
EB: I did really enjoy when we were at NMF and HSMF because we played for orchestral colleagues. Representing the saxophone in those settings was special. In addition to that I would say that I’ve really enjoyed each time that I’ve had the opportunity to conduct the saxophone orchestra, learning the Dvorak Serenade for Winds, anytime that I’ve gotten to perform alongside the participants in the chamber music ensembles and definitely performing KRASCH! with percussion at the National Music Festival [listen to performance below].
MANA performs USA Premiere of Concerto Grosso by Anders Nilsson at the Hot Springs Music Festival
MANA performs KRASH! at the National Music Festival
MANA performs Philip Glass Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra at the National Music Festival
MH: What are you looking forward to the most as we plan and prepare for MSI 2025?
EB: I would say spending time with my colleagues, digging into new repertoire, and resurrecting some of our older pieces we haven’t played in a while. I’m also looking forward to the awesome sound of a saxophone orchestra and meeting new people and talking about all things saxophone!
MH: Nice- Me too. Thanks!
