If Not Winter is a composition by Amanda Schoofs, created for saxophonist Nick Zoulek’s unique artistry. A reimagining of Hush, a cyclical lullaby that Amanda wrote for her infant son, If Not Winter, finds its strength through intimate vulnerability. It is a solo composition for voice, and tenor, or bass saxophone. The performer both plays and sings with little separation (of self) between the two instruments. Drawing on ideas of memory, suffusion, presence, aspiration, and the sudden rawness of being human, If Not Winter, saturates the listener with circular melodies. Nick Zoulek premiered If Not Winter as a solo for tenor saxophonist in 2017 at Bowling Green State University’s New Music Festival. After touring the piece on tenor, in 2020 he premiered the work as a solo for bass saxophone on Sensoria: Experiments in Sound and Performance in Milwaukee, WI.
The video you are watching this evening was filmed in the Jan Serr Studio. The gorgeous videography is by artist Helen Holman. The audio engineering is by Nicholas Elert, with audio/video post-production by Nick Zoulek.
Amanda Schoofs 