Anna Marie Wytko & Amanda Arrington
from USAAnna Marie Wytko, whose artistry has been described by distinguished Paris composer-pianist Roger Boutry as "brilliant - great sensitivity - exceptional color and vivid contrasts" is Assistant Professor of Music at Kansas State University where she teaches saxophone, chamber music, and music theory. A Yamaha Performing Artist-Clinician, Dr. Wytko has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Canada and Mexico. She has presented guest artist concerto performances with orchestra throughout England and Scotland, and has performed as guest soloist with bands and orchestras throughout the United States. Dr. Wytko has appeared as featured guest artist clinician for the Iowa Bandmasters Association, as guest soloist at the Kansas Music Educators Association, as guest soloist at the American Band College in Oregon, and as a featured guest artist at the IV Miedzynarodowy Festiwal Saksofonowy in Poland. Her first solo CD, titled "When night came" was released in Fall 2011. Dr. Wytko is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she also earned her MM and DMA degrees under the direction of Eugene Rousseau.


'When Night Came...' for Soprano Saxophone and Piano - Karen P. Thomas
When Night Came... is dedicated to the women of Bosnia-Herzegovina and is winner of the Theodore Front Prize (International Alliance for Women in Music). The work is a reflection of the horrors of the war in the former Yugoslavia and, in particular, the atrocities committed against the women of Bosnia-Herzegovina. While the piece is partly a lament, it is also a tribute to the strength and resilience of these women. Two Bosnian folk songs are incorporated into the work. One is a ganga, an intense, vibrant form of vocal music, and the other is one of the most treasured love songs of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.