Audrey Cupples: News

Steve and I are performing a concert this week with John Williams conducting! He's a soft-spoken man who is a fabulous conductor! He was nice enough to talk with us, get his photo taken with us and autograph our memorabilia!

I graduated Friday morning. My family came to visit and celebrate... and my good friends were there to support me too! We had a great weekend and I never tired of hearing everyone call me Dr. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement!

I'm graduating May 23rd and will henceforth be Dr. Audrey! I love Dr. Who... "the Doctor"... now I can be called "the Doctor" too!

I had my defense Tuesday April 22nd. Things went well... and I passed! I can officially graduate now!

I had my final Dr.'s recital April 19th. I had fun playing works written for Mule or transcribed by Mule. I was shocked to find so much music dedicated to him! He really was a legend... he influenced so many composers and students. My defense theme is, "Marcel Mule: His Influence on Saxophone Literature."

I had a lot of fun playing for everyone who came to my recital last Saturday. It was great to get to speak with you after the concert! Be on the lookout for more performances...

Come hear Audrey play at the U of MD, in College Park...room 2200 (the lecture hall) in the School of Music... at 5:30 pm on March 29th. That's this Saturday! Should be a fun time!

Unfortunately, Audrey was very ill last weekend and could not perform her recital March 9th. She's building her strength back and will reschedule as soon as possible.

Audrey will be giving two recitals in March.... March 9th at 5:30 in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, and March 29th at 5:30 in the Lecture Hall (room 2200) at the University of Maryland, School of Music. It should be lots of fun... so come on out!

Look at our new products on the BUY page and see photos of the cool new reed cases on the PHOTO page!

It was wonderful to see so many of you at the sax symposium this weekend! I'll be adding my new arrangement, "Suite of Old American Dances," to my "buy" page. I will also add the new reed cases and include photos of them on the "photo" page. Look for these new additions sometime this week. Thanks again to all of you who made purchases at the dibida booth and to all of you who went to hear me perform.

The dibida productions booth will be at George Mason University for the Saxophone Symposium January 19th. We will be selling some new merchandise, including some new reed cases that are really flashy! Audrey has also arranged another piece for saxophone ensemble... Robert Russell Bennett's "Suite of Old American Dances." This will be for sale at our booth, too. We will be accepting credit cards this year, so come armed and ready!

I haven't been adding news here since I started my blog... hopefully you've found it and are enjoying my "fancies."

I saw a good movie the other day... "Lars and the Real Girl." Movies are always fun! Tell me about movies you like! Sign my guestbook!

It's hard to find decent internet service at every hotel.... I update when I can, out here on the road. My blog (mentioned earlier) has some photos and stories about tour this year. Check it out. I'll add to it when I have a fast enough connection speed.

I love British humor... "Keeping Up Appearances" and "Are You Being Served?" are hysterical!

http://Tourband2007.blogspot.com

The first piece I ever performed in front of a lot of people was "The Entertainer" on alto sax. I played that on a concert in 6th grade. Mr. Smukala played tenor sax, and the choral teacher at my elementary school played piano accompaniment. I was nervous, but thought it was a lot of fun!

I love a good comedy.... Drop Dead Gorgeous, Spinal Tap, Zoolander, Best in Show... all great comedies! Newer movies that I thought were funny... You Kill Me, Death at a Funeral (I laughed so hard!)

My first saxophone teacher was Al Smukala. I heard him play a fast chromatic scale and thought the sax was the instrument for me! I loved the sound... it was so personal and expressive. I took lessons from him from 5th through 9th grade. We would play duets sometimes during my lessons.... I loved that! He used to call me Cannonball... what a compliment. He did a great job teaching me the basics of vibrato and tone quality. I was so blessed to have him as my first teacher!

There will be a new entry here every few days with a new fact, story, or some personal like or dislike listed. It seems like it could be fun... and tour is the perfect time to delve into something new! Hope you keep coming back for more!