Saxminster was formed by our Musical Directer, Alison Davies, just after Easter in 2008 when she persuaded 11 of her saxophone students (of all ages) to commit to weekly rehearsals together to form a saxophone choir. As our rehearsal venue was in Axminster there was little surprise when we decided to name our group Saxminster. Seven of the original members are still keen, committed members and were joined within the next year by another tranche of fun loving saxophonists to bring the numbers up to the current 18 members. We have set a limit of 20 members so have room for another couple of enthusiastic saxophonists who wish to join. We currently would be delighted to enrol some soprano players, but any keen saxophonist able to read and play to a reasonable standard would welcomed. Within the current group we have sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone players and together we produce an excellent and unique sound.

Our playing year starts in September with weekly rehearsals on Tuesday evening near Axminster and continues until mid-July. At our weekly sessions, under the direction of Alison Davies, we work hard on 4 or 5 tunes from our repertoire of around 100 totally varied pieces. Some examples from our last year include Shostakovich Waltz No 2, Lullaby (Billy Joel), Glenn Miller Medley, Stompin’ at the Savoy (Benny Goodman) and 42nd Street. We are fortunate to have our own in-house arranger, Jon Garvey, who is able to ensure that the individual parts of any of our pieces fit into our individual abilities and saxophone mix.

We first performed in public in our second year of existence and aim for about 6-8 performances each year around at many locations from Exeter to Lyme Regis. Last year we played at the Donkey Sanctuary Christmas Carol event, Axminster Minster Lunchtime, Fairwater Head Hotel, the Lyme Regis Jazz and Blues Festival and in the shelters at Lyme Regis morning and afternoon to entertain all the holiday makers. We were universally well received by our audiences and Saxminster really enjoyed themselves playing for the people.

Details of past and future performances and our latest news can be found on our News & Events page. Please CLICK HERE

Please contact us for more information about joining or hiring us, or for any other enquiry. CLICK HERE.