West Virginia University saxophone professor Michael Ibrahim said he first picked up the saxophone in 5th grade because it was “shiny and had a lot of buttons.”
Now, with a doctorate in saxophone performance and several international recitals under his belt, Ibrahim jokes about his initial fascination with this instrument.
What began as youthful curiosity went on to transcend a hobby and become a career, and more importantly, a true passion.
Recently Ibrahim released his third CD, titled “Solo,” the product of five years of work. It is a compilation of contemporary works by various composers, including Alex Mincek, Adam Mirza, Katharina Rosenberger and Gérard Grisey.
“These are some of the most imaginative composers of their generation,” Ibrahim said. “These works explore the saxophone within its conventional context, but also define new ways in which the instrument can be played.”
Ibrahim previously gave the premiere performance of four of the pieces on the CD, in addition to also recording them now for the first time.
The album cover features a chalkboard illustration of a saxophone, merged with a snake, artwork that Ibrahim explained to be a modern depiction of the music represented on the CD.
“The album artwork, created by artist Iveta S. Abolina, is chalkboard-style art that is full of texture and layers. You can see that there’s still residue on the blackboard from something that was there before,” Ibrahim said. “In a lot of ways, the artwork reflects the nature of a lot of the pieces on the CD. Like the image, much of the music explores texture and noise. It isn’t necessarily clean or pristine music. It has a lot of grit.”
This “grit” can be found in the fifth piece on the album, “Anubis,” which was recorded in two tracks and played on WVU’s 90-year-old bass saxophone, a rare breed in the saxophone family that typically only consists of soprano, alto, tenor and baritone.
“That WVU owns a bass saxophone this old is impressive, especially considering how relatively young the history of the saxophone is, dating barely over 150 years,” Ibrahim said.
In addition to his latest album, Ibrahim has released two other solo CDs, and has been featured on numerous other CDs.
His first album, a collection of works by J.S. Bach transcribed for the saxophone, was released in 2005.
“The saxophone was invented well after the death of Bach, so the translation of the pieces for saxophone is in a sense a remixing of his original music,” he said.
His second CD, “French Music for Alto Saxophone” was released earlier this year. “The pieces on the ‘French Music’ album are pieces that I teach in my classes. If there was a dedication for the CD, it would be to my students,” Ibrahim said.
A native of Canada, Ibrahim originally attended the University of Regina for his undergraduate studies, and then transferred to the University of Calgary to complete his bachelor’s in music education.
Aspiring to be a university-level professor and aware of the career potential in the United States, Ibrahim pursued a master’s degree in saxophone performance at Bowling Green State University and studied contemporary music under saxophonist John Sampen, an influential figure in Ibrahim’s contemporary background.
After a brief stint of teaching at the university level in Canada, Ibrahim began researching doctoral programs, eventually choosing the saxophone performance program at the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Paul Cohen.
For the past five years, Ibrahim has been serving as the classical saxophone professor in the WVU School of Music. He teaches various saxophone courses to both music education students and performance students.
“Solo” and Ibrahim’s other works are available for purchase through his website, www.michaelibrahim.com, as well as iTunes, Amazon, and CDbaby.com.
