The Mainzer Saxophonorchester and their leader, Steph Winzen.

Taken from https://saxiom.de/ the website of Steph Winzen.

Translation by AI and checked over by a human. 

In 2013, Steph Winzen founded the Mainz Saxophone Orchestra, an ensemble made up exclusively of saxophonists. With compositions by Bach, Händel, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Grieg, Wirth, and several world premieres, the orchestra brings an extraordinary sound experience to the stage.

These workshops are aimed at all saxophonists who would like to help create a very special sound experience: an orchestra made up entirely of saxophones! Not only is it an impressive sight – it is also a remarkable musical experience.

The Mainz Saxophone Orchestra is an open project orchestra that has been meeting twice a year since 2013. Around 25 saxophonists aged 11 to 88 work together during the 2½-day rehearsal phases to prepare a demanding repertoire of arrangements and original compositions of classical music.

In addition to Johann Sebastian Bach, Edvard Grieg, and Felix Mendelssohn, Astor Piazzolla is also a composer frequently performed by the orchestra. Participation is open to all saxophonists who have a certain level of playing experience and can read music. Good rhythmic and intonation skills are an advantage. There is no age restriction. Scores are provided in advance for practice.

Since the founding of the orchestra, there have of course always been regular participants—“repeat offenders”—who have enjoyed taking part again and again. Our range of instruments spans from sopranino through soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass saxophone, creating a beautiful, symphonic, and richly varied sound.

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Steph Winzen made music from early childhood. Music was ever-present in her family environment: both of her parents are still active in a choir today, and her father played several musical instruments. In the village music society of her Bavarian hometown, Steph began playing the flugelhorn at the age of 10. But it would take another ten years before she discovered the saxophone. In the meantime, she completed school and a vocational qualification. She worked for ten years as a technical draftswoman before music—and especially the saxophone—gradually became the central focus of her life. During this period, Steph played in various dance bands, rock bands, and big bands, where she gained her first stage experience.

Her enthusiasm for music and fascination with the instrument ultimately led Steph, in 2004—much to the dismay and resistance of her family—to leave the security of her rural home and her drafting table behind, and to begin studying saxophone at the University of Mainz. “With the first note on the saxophone I found my inner voice. You can express every emotion with it—strength, pain, sorrow, and everything in between. I wanted to learn how to explore all the facets of the instrument,” she says about her choice of instrument.

Traditional brass band music and 1980s pop shaped her childhood. After discovering the music of George Gershwin, she found her way to jazz. It was only through her music studies that Steph was introduced to the world of classical music. She studied with the renowned saxophonists Linda Bangs-Urban and Wardy Hamburg at the Mainz School of Music. In 2009 she graduated with a diploma in music education, followed in 2011 by a diploma in orchestral performance.

Today she says: “The most important thing as a musician is to stay open, to try everything, and to give everything a chance. That’s how new possibilities and new inspiration arise.” Steph moves seemingly effortlessly between different genres and instruments of the saxophone family. She plays every size from bass down to sopranino saxophone. She also plays clarinet, flute, and sings.

Choosing a single genre is difficult for her. “Variety is always an enrichment,” is her motto—“whether culturally, socially, or at a buffet. In Mozart’s time there was no separation between ‘serious’ and ‘popular’ music. And when the saxophone was invented, jazz didn’t even exist yet,” she says. For her, the message of a piece of music is what matters most.

Today her repertoire includes all major saxophone concertos, such as those by Ibert, Glazunov, Villa-Lobos, and Larsson. She has a particular love for the music of Astor Piazzolla. “Music of extremes, yet accessible to everyone. Piazzolla’s music draws me in like a current.” She is also open to lesser-known composers and enjoys discovering and performing new works.

Steph has continued the chamber music activity she began during her studies. Among other things, she performs concerts with Fritz Walther, the outstanding pianist of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.

She has also remained faithful to jazz: she has played baritone saxophone in the saxophone quartet “Mainz 04” since 2004, and she has been a member of the Darmstadt Magicsound Bigband since 2005. With a saxophone duo she performs a wide repertoire ranging from Baroque to jazz to pop.

In 2016 Steph released a solo CD of contemporary music with the Mainz ARE label, and in the same year a live CD of her saxophone quartet featuring jazz, swing, and rock repertoire. Concerts and studio recordings have taken her to England, Greece, Spain, France, and Italy. She also still plays pop music on the side, performing with a DJ at exclusive events. In addition, Steph organises the Daniel Honsack memorial concerts in Biebrich and Naurod.

Another area of her work is performing with various symphony and symphonic wind orchestras, where she is frequently engaged as a soloist or as a coach for rehearsal periods. Teaching plays an important role in Steph Winzen’s work. Communicating her joy in music and her understanding of music as a language is a major concern for her: “I believe it is music that makes us human. It shows us all the highs and lows—not only figuratively. It teaches us attentiveness, perseverance, and so much more—things that play an immensely important role in everyday life and in living together.” Since 2010 she has held a teaching position for saxophone at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory of the City of Mainz, where in 2018 a classical saxophone degree programme was established with her as the principal instructor.

In 2013 Steph Winzen founded the Mainz Saxophone Orchestra, made up of advanced amateur saxophonists—many of whom are her students. She persuaded her former mentor Linda Bangs-Urban to help actively shape the orchestra. Twice a year, intensive rehearsal phases take place under her direction, open to all interested saxophonists.

In 2017 Steph Winzen was appointed City Musician of Mainz, and in 2019 she served as patron for Saxophone – Instrument of the Year in Rhineland-Palatinate.