Based in Boston, The Pharos Quartet is a stirring musical collaborative formed by four New England saxophonists. Their unique combination of ideas, styles, and expressions brings the sound of the saxophone quartet to a new apex. With a vivid repertoire, balanced between notable pioneers as well as visionaries of tomorrow, Pharos maintains a steady appetite for today's most demanding saxophone quartet literature. Their concerts are stimulating, entertaining, and unpredictable. Its members bring together their own international performance experience and fuse it into a distinct chamber music event.
Pharos, the great lighthouse of antiquity and often considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World was built by the Ptolemaics in c.280 BC in the port city of Alexandria on the coast of Egypt. This great beacon of light that stood for around 1,000 years inspires the quartet to be a guiding light in chamber music performance of the 21st century.
Soprano: Saxophonist and conductor, Dr. Jennifer Bill has performed in Asia, throughout Europe and the United States. She performs solo and chamber music with a variety of groups including BRUSH|REED, Pharos Quartet, and ēmergere. As a conductor she currently leads the Boston University Concert Band. Dr. Bill is currently faculty at Boston University, performance faculty at Boston College, applied faculty at Rhode Island College, adjunct professor of saxophone at Stonehill College, and adjunct professor of music at Pine Manor College. She is the saxophone instructor, wind ensemble coordinator, and assistant director of the saxophone workshop for the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She serves on the Board of Directors for World-Wide Concurrent Premieres and Commissioning Funds, Inc. Dr. Bill is also the sole organizer, director and officer of Music Performance & Education, Inc.
Alto: Saxophonist Amy McGlothlin is a dynamic performer, teacher, and conductor with studies in a wide range of performance genres. She is a chamber music specialist and performs regularly with the Pharos Quartet as well as the Triage Woodwind Ensemble and the Catamount Pipe Band of Montpelier, Vermont. As a performer, Amy has commissioned works from several composers, including Everette Minchew, Brandon Nelson, James Hamel, Shih-Hui Chen, and John MacDonald, and is a frequent co-commissioner of works from the World Wide Concurrent Premieres & Commissioning Fund. During 2016/2017 season Dr McGlothlin has performed with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra as a bagpipe soloist. As a bagpiper, Dr. McGlothlin has performed across the United States, Canada, Ireland and Scotland. Dr. McGlothlin is currently on the faculty of Fitchburg State University, where she serves as Director of Bands and teaches applied woodwinds. Dr McGlothlin has formerly taught applied saxophone at Salem State University and Gordon College and serves on the board of the Vermont Institute of Celtic Arts.
Tenor: Boston based saxophonist Emily Cox plays as a freelancer for local orchestras, theaters and chamber groups as well as teaching at a number of schools in eastern Massachusetts. During her time working towards a bachelor and masters in saxophone performance from Boston University, she performed in venues at The New England Conservatory, The Boston Conservatory and Boston University as a soloist and as a member of the Kenneth Radnofsky Saxophone Ensemble. With her contemporary saxophone duo, Mothertongue, Emily has performed in venues around Boston and Providence, presented a recital at the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, France, and given masterclasses and performances at colleges including Muhlenberg College and the University of Rhode Island. Emily has a particular interest in new music and has enjoyed working with composers including Joan Tower, Michael Gandolfi, John Harbison and Michael Finnissy.
Baritone: Zach Schwartz is a graduate of the Royal College of Music in London and Boston University. His background spans the fields of music performance, arts marketing, social psychology, conflict resolution, and team building. As a soloist and chamber musician, previously performing with the Dusk Duo and Oracle Saxophone Quartet, Zach appeared at the Royal Albert Hall, the Pride of Britain Awards, the Cadogan Hall foyer, in a concerto appearance with the Royal College of Music wind orchestra, at several engagements in Catalonia, as well as in festivals in Denmark and Finland. He has given masterclasses with Pharos at Marshall University in West Virginia and Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, as well as individually at the Conservatori Liceu in Barcelona, Spain. Feeling most at home with a baritone saxophone in his hands, Zach's debut album will feature the first-ever studio recording of Mark Watters' Rhapsody for Baritone Saxophone (1985).
