https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/27508 2026-05-13T00:54:29Z 2026-05-13T00:54:29Z Devroop, Karendra https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/30254 2023-07-02T11:00:11Z 2022-02-11T00:00:00Z

Karen Devroop with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra 2022 Devroop, Karendra The saxophone, an instrument renowned for its expressive capabilities and versatility, has found a significant place within the traditional orchestra, marking a departure from the orchestral norms of the past. Furthermore, the saxophone's integration into jazz, both in collaboration with orchestras and within the framework of a jazz rhythm section, has contributed to its prominence and widespread recognition in contemporary music. The saxophone's rich tonal range, ability to mimic the human voice, and adaptability to various musical genres make it an exceptional choice for a solo instrument in the orchestra. In the early 20th century, the saxophone gained prominence in jazz music, primarily due to its expressive capabilities and improvisational potential. This jazz influence subsequently spilled over into orchestral compositions, leading to the integration of the saxophone into the symphonic repertoire. Composers like Maurice Ravel, Dmitri Shostakovich, and George Gershwin began incorporating the saxophone as a solo instrument in their orchestral works, recognizing its unique voice and ability to infuse jazz-inspired elements. Modern composers continue to embrace the saxophone as a solo instrument in orchestral settings. Contemporary compositions often feature saxophone concertos, allowing for virtuosic displays and captivating solos. The saxophone's seamless integration into the orchestra highlights its potential to interact with and complement other instruments, creating rich textures and evocative harmonies. Another contemporary application of the saxophone lies in the fusion of jazz saxophone with a rhythm section within the context of an orchestra. This blending of genres creates a dynamic and vibrant musical experience, infusing traditional orchestral compositions with the energy and improvisation of jazz. The saxophone, accompanied by a jazz rhythm section, adds an exciting element of spontaneity and rhythmic complexity, resulting in captivating performances that appeal to a wide range of audiences. The inclusion of the saxophone as a solo instrument in the orchestra signifies a departure from traditional orchestral norms, embracing the instrument's versatility and expressive capabilities. Through its integration into jazz music and collaboration with both orchestras and jazz rhythm sections, the saxophone has cemented its place as a prominent and indispensable voice in modern musical compositions. It is against this backdrop that this creative output was conceived. The repertoire comprised works for saxophone and full orchestra as Astor Piazzolla’s to works for saxophone, rhythm section and full orchestra which included South African works including Abdullah Ibrahim’s The Wedding to a medley of Lakutshon iLanga, Pata Pata and Meadowlands, all well know South African jazz works. The South African works were specifically arranged for this type of setting by internationally recognised arranger Trino Jimenez. The goal was to present these well know South African works in a new and innovative way, specifically with full orchestra and jazz rhythm section. This is a concept that was not done previously in South Africa. In the past jazz rhythm sections were complimented with strings but never full orchestra with jazz rhythm section. The works were arranged to create a Broadway style sound but with South African compositions. The Astor Piazzolla work was also presented in a new and unique way in the that it was arranged for saxophonist soloist with full orchestra that provided room for jazz style and jazz improvisation of the work. Hence the focus on presenting the work in a new and innovative way. All works contained section for original jazz improvisation by the saxophonist, which is rare in a full orchestra setting. The concert was performed to a full audience at the Linder Auditorium. The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra has a reputation for being one the premier orchestras in South Africa. Prior to the concert, 2 full orchestra rehearsals were held in order to work through the works.

2022-02-11T00:00:00Z Devroop, Karendra https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/28961 2022-06-13T10:13:35Z 2021-10-16T00:00:00Z

Karen Devroop with the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra 2021 Devroop, Karendra Performances of soloists with orchestra are intense and require a lot of preparation and rehearsals because in addition to the soloist needing to have good technical ability, a host of other factors come into play when performing with an orchestra. These include the ability to perform in tune with strings (saxophones are notoriously out of tune by virtue of the design of the instrument), balance with the various sections (woodwind, brass), sectional blend on unison sections when called for in the music and the ability to project your sound above a 50-piece orchestra. In the case of jazz performers, improvisation plays a critical role when performing with orchestra. However, unlike a jazz trio or quartet set where the soloist is offered a lot of liberties when improvising, in an orchestral setting, there are many constraints that have to be adhered to including form, structure and style of the improvisation which must conform to the orchestra setting. In this performance, I performed 4 original compositions namely: Hold My Hand, Her Mother’s Smile, Rita’s Heart and Ancestral Home. Each work was arranged specifically for this concert and arranged for saxophone soloist with full orchestra and jazz rhythm section comprised of piano, bass, drums and guitar. Each arrangement was conceptualised, and continuously revised 6 over months prior to the concert. This was done to ensure that arrangements worked for orchestra from an orchestration perspective and that the orchestral arrangements were balanced in terms of soloist, orchestra and rhythm section. The composition Hold My Hand, was initially composed with a large strings section in mind. This work was composed to present interaction between saxophone and strings with accentuations being done by brass and woodwinds. Rhythm section accompaniment was meant to be supportive and not overbearing. This performance captures the essence of these ideas. The performance (as demonstrated on the recording) calls for good balance and interaction between saxophone and strings. Vital to my performance is maintaining good intonation and balance with the strings section. This work although simple sounding was challenging from a performance perspective because the work modulates from A major to F# major on saxophone with the latter key not the best key to maintain good intonation on saxophone. Accordingly, the performer is required to work exceptionally hard when performing in this key. Having to play in tune with strings makes the task that much more complicated. The track Her Mother’s Smile is an RnB ballad composition in which the feel of the song in more important, accordingly the rhythm section is required to play with a good feel while saxophone has to play with appropriate style. This work calls for emphasis on the low strings specifically cellos who play a counter melody to saxophone while articulating the suspended 4th harmonies on the verse section of the composition. Brass section was arranged to provide intensity rather than movement in this work. Their role although simple was to provide intensity in the chorus section. This work calls for jazz improvisation by the saxophonist that is style specific. Rather than playing bebop lines, the saxophonist is required to play more RnB groove orientated lines. The interaction between saxophone and rhythm section is vital to this work. The last two works on this output are very contrasting with Rita’s Heart a light pop orientated ballad and Ancestral Home a much more intense work contrasting Latin and Mbaqanga styles. The work is technically challenging for the orchestra with brass required to play a featured unison section in the middle of the composition. Saxophone is required to double the brass; accordingly, balance, intonation and blend play a pivotal role. The saxophonist is required to improvise extensively in this work often over harmonic shifts. Accordingly, technical ability and improvisational skill play a critical role in this work.

2021-10-16T00:00:00Z Devroop, Karendra https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/27877 2021-08-31T10:49:16Z 2020-12-16T00:00:00Z

Ancestral Home Devroop, Karendra Ancestral Home is a CD recording that I released in December 2020. The album was released in digital and physical format internationally and has to date received airplay in over 40 countries. The album has been in rotation on radio stations (FM and online) for over 7 months with two tracks reaching the top 5 on the jazz charts in the USA. “Venezia” peaked at #1 and “Sunset in Koh Samui” peaked at #3 on the Smooth Jazz Listener Charts in the USA respectively. The full album was included in the top 100 albums in the USA and remained on the Top 100 albums for several weeks. Several tracks have been in rotation on FM radio stations in the USA (Boston, Florida, Los Angeles, Montana, New York City, New Jersey and Virginia), Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, UK, Panama, Argentina, Ghana, Russia, Poland and South Africa. These are the stations I could track through Radio Monitor. Online radio stations were much more extensive and as expected have no territorial boundaries. The entire album has been streaming on all appropriate platforms including Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, KKBox, Apple Music, Amazon Music, CD Baby, Napster and others. The album has received outstanding reviews internationally. Links to the online reviews may be found in Press Reviews above. This CD was produced by me. My involvement in the project was as follows: 1. I composed all 10 tracks and wrote the lyrics for the 2 vocal tracks on this album 2. I conceptualised and arranged all tracks 3. I booked the accompanying musicians and guided them through the recording process 4. The entire production (recording and mixing) was overseen by me in collaboration with the recording engineer and mixing/mastering engineer 5. A significant amount of post-production editing (Pro Tools) was done by me prior to sending the final pre-mix to the mix engineer in Venezuela 6. Album artwork conceptualisation, design and credits were done by me except for the photography and graphic design 7. All marketing and publicity was done by me including radio promotion worldwide. 8. All official videos for this recording were conceptualised by me with stock footage secured by me. Green-screen production and video editing was done by Matchframe Media. From a creative output perspective, the album pushed the boundaries of originality with all new compositions that were presented in a new and innovative manner (smooth jazz with an African feel on some tracks). The idea was to produce an album that is comparable to international smooth jazz recordings/artists but one that has its roots in Africa, such as the title track “Ancestral Home”, hence the album’s demonstrable appeal to an international audience. This album has achieved significant international recognition with airplay in over 40 countries and widespread online streaming and radio presence. The album was recognised as a world class product by having two tracks peak at #1 and #3 on the jazz charts in the USA and also the entire album breaking into the Top 100 albums in the USA. This is a significant achievement for any artist. The international reviews bear testimony to the quality of this album as compared with its international peers. CD recording by Karen Devroop.

2020-12-16T00:00:00Z Devroop, Karendra https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/27876 2021-08-31T10:42:31Z 2020-03-10T00:00:00Z

Karen Devroop with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra Devroop, Karendra Receiving an invitation to perform with an international symphony orchestra is no small feat. From the large number of applications received by various orchestras around the world, only a handful of artists receive invitations to perform as soloists. Generally, the most popular invitees are primarily pianists, violinists and singers. Saxophonists are rarely invited to perform with orchestras, largely due to the instrument not being recognised as a primary solo instrument with orchestra and also due to the limited amount of literature available for this combination of forces. Accordingly, when a saxophonist is invited to perform with an orchestra, it is indeed an accomplishment. In 2020, I was invited to perform as saxophone soloist with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the Newman Performing Arts Centre in Denver, Colorado. The Lamont Symphony Orchestra is internationally recognised and has accompanied some of the world’s great performers. The Newman Performing Arts Centre is one the most prestigious performance halls in Colorado with a seating capacity of close to 1000 people and a new, state of the art performance hall. My concert was widely publicised online and in print media across Denver and drew a capacity crowd. Generally, concerts are sold out at this venue but in April 2020, the pandemic was just taking hold in the USA; accordingly, the venue was not sold out but did draw a crowd of approximately 700 people. My performance included the Piazzola Suite comprised of Libertango, Oblivion, and Adios Nonino which were specifically arranged for saxophone and full orchestra by internationally recognised arranger Trino Jimenez from Venezuela. I commissioned Mr Jimenez to arrange these works for me, after conceptualising the works in a manner that blended both classical and jazz styles. The works were arranged for full orchestra but included room for jazz improvisation. As a jazz saxophonist with classical training and background, I wanted to perform the works in a manner that was neither classical nor jazz but rather a blending of both styles. Hence, the performance tends to be classical but with occasional jazz inflections, jazz interpretation and jazz improvisation. Keeping in mind that these were tangos (Astor Piazzola was widely recognised for writing tango based orchestral works), I tried to keep the performance in the tango idiom with lots of emotion melodically. Performing as a soloist with an orchestra (national or international) requires a significant amount of practice and preparation. Instruments such as the saxophone are notoriously out of tune (by virtue of their design), accordingly they require intensive preparation in order to balance, blend and play in tune with the string section. My preparation for this concert began a year prior to the concert, as the arrangements had not been performed before. Accordingly, I had to ensure that the arrangements were viable by rehearsing them with a local orchestra before performing them abroad. My personal practising and preparation took several months as I was afforded just one rehearsal with the orchestra prior to the dress rehearsal. Ultimately, the concert was exceptionally well received with a standing ovation. I was indeed pleased with my performance and grateful to be afforded this rare opportunity. Karen Devroop performs as saxophone soloist with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra in Denver Colorado.

2020-03-10T00:00:00Z