Red Clay Saxophone Quartet

Music for a Great Space has been bringing world-class classical chamber music, including piano, jazz, organ, vocal, and instrumental ensembles, to the Great Spaces of Greensboro for 22 years and last year that list of genres extended to the world of the saxophone quartet. The sax is a relative newcomer to the wide world of woodwinds. The saxophone was invented by Belgian Adolph Sax in the mid-1800s. Sax was a musical instrument designer and musician who played the flute and clarinet. 

Since his saxophone creation, the soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones have played huge roles in jazz halls, wind ensembles, chamber music and military bands. Over the last several decades the sax has become an instrument of choice for dozens of outstanding contemporary composers as well, many of whom have selected North Carolina's Red Clay Saxophone Quartet to premiere their works. One-half of The Red Clay Saxophone Quartet recently stopped by to talk shop. Duke University and Music Academy in Greensboro saxophone instructor and soloist Susan Fancher plays soprano saxophone in the group and she was joined by Associate Professor of Composition and Electronic Music at the University of NC at Greensboro Baritone saxophonist Mark Engebretson.

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No Nonsense Comedy

Comedians Pat McLeod and Eric Trundy “don't get no respect”—especially from each other, as you'll hear. They're the co-creators of No Nonsense Comedy at The Idiot Box in Greensboro. No-Nonsense is a stand-up comedy show featuring some of the best comedians in North Carolina. The showcase for local talent has stand-up performances every Friday at 8:00, and improv comedy Fridays at 10:00. On Saturday nights at 8pm there's improv comedy that's clean and fun for the whole family, and on Saturday nights at 10pm it's….well…not-so-clean. And if you'd like to try your hand at a little stand up, there's always open mic night at the Idiot Box, Thursday nights at 8:00.  You can see Pat and Eric in action on the first, second, and fourth Friday of every month at 8:00 pm at the Idiot Box in Greensboro.  

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The Sweets

Winston-Salem based garage pop band The Sweets may have only started writing and recording music in December 2012, but that hasn't stopped them from building up quite a discography.  Brothers Zach and Justin Romeo set out to record and release one EP a month since the band's inception, and so far they're keeping up the pace and then some. In this brief time they've also hooked up with not one, but two independent record labels. Bleeding Gold Records out of San Diego will be releasing their music here in the states, and across the pond in Liverpool their tunes will be distributed by Edils Recordings.  While the brothers do attend colleges hundreds of miles apart, in Asheville and New York City to be exact, they're here in Winston-Salem this summer and will be playing some live shows before they return to their studies. The Sweets were interviewed by Triad Arts Weekend's Technical Producer Eddie Garcia.  You can catch them playing their hazy guitar jams in Winston Salem at Krankies Coffee on August 2nd.  Their music is available for streaming and download online, and you can get yourself a copy of their split cassette "Just the Dudes" as well. 

http://youtu.be/aTcKvWESoU8

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A.R. Ammons 
Single Threads Unbraided: A Celebration of the Work of A.R. Ammons was the title Wake Forest University gave for their symposium celebration of one of the school's most famous and talented alumni. The symposium on the wake campus examined Ammons poetry, letters and visual art. NC poet, and during the week-long event, biographer Emily Herring Wilson donated 20 Ammons watercolors to Wake's permanent collection. Several world-class speakers participated including our guest today, Cornell University's W.E.B. Dubois Professor of Literature Kenneth Mc Clane. Ken was one of Archie's closest friends and he shared the legacy of the man, the poet and the artist. He spoke with David Ford by phone from his office in Ithaca, New York.

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