Dr. Robert Young McMahan (accordion) and Dr. Paul Cohen (Soprano Saxophone) presented the World Premier of Dr. McMahan’s composition, “Romp II” at the Tenri Cultural Center. The premiere was held during the 17th Annual 2011 AAA Master Class and Workshop Series organized and hosted by AAA Board member, Dr. William Schimmel. The composition was very enthusiastically received by the audience.

This unique composition for accordion and saxophone clearly displayed the virtuosic skills of classical saxophonist, Dr. Paul Cohen in addition to the great technique of Dr. McMahan on accordion. During the performance, the audience was dazzled by interwoven melodies of the saxophone and accordion. The saxophone remained in the forefront during the performance as the accordion also had prominent moments and accompanied, at times, with passages of intricate development. The contemporary sound was exciting yet lyrical at times.

This composition is a new and valuable addition to both the accordion and saxophone repertoire. Another performance will be presented at TCNJ (The College of New Jersey) in the near future.

Dr. Paul Cohen is one of America’s most sought-after saxophonists for orchestral and chamber concerts and solo recitals. He has appeared as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Richmond Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Charleston Symphony and Philharmonia Virtuosi. His many solo orchestra performances include works by Debussy, Creston, Ibert, Glazunov, Martin, Loeffler, Husa, Dahl, Still, Villa-Lobos, Tomasi, and Cowell. He has also performed with a broad range of orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, New Jersey Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, Group for Contemporary Music, Greenwich Symphony, Charleston Symphony, New York Solisti, and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra.

He has recorded three albums with the Cleveland Symphonic Winds under the direction of Frederick Fennell and a compact disk of the music of Villa-Lobos with the Quintet of the Americas as well as recordings with the Saxophone Sinfonia, Philharmonia Virtuosi, New York Solisti, Paul Winter Consort, North-South Consonance, and the New Sousa Band. His most recent recordings include an environmental-jazz CD of solo improvisations, the newly discovered classical saxophone concerto of the 19th-century American composer Caryl Florio, and his solo CD, Vintage Saxophones Revisited, featuring the premiere recording of Cowell’s Hymn and Fuguing Tune #18. Recent recordings include works for saxophone and orchestra by Bernhard Heiden, Maurice Whitney, Alfred Reed, and Sabine Pautza and a solo work by Robert Martin.

A specialist on the soprano saxophone, Dr. Paul Cohen is the founder and leader of the New Hudson Quartet, which has performed concertos of Calvin Hampton and Nicolas Flagello, and recently released two CDs of American music: “Breathing Lessons” and “Quartet at the Crossroads”.

Dr. Cohen is currently on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music, Rutgers University, New York University, Montclair State University and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. He holds M.M and DMA degrees from Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included Galan Kral, Joe Allard, and Sigurd Rascher. He has published more than 100 articles on the history and literature of the saxophone in music journals such as the Saxophone Journal, Instrumentalist, CBDNA Notes, Clarinet and Saxophone Society Magazine of Great Britain, The Grainger Society Journal, and the Saxophone Symposium, and since 1985 a feature column, “Vintage Saxophones Revisited,” for the Saxophone Journal.

Secretary-Treasurer of the AAA, Dr.Robert Young McMahan has long promoted classical music for the accordion through his extensive performance, recording, composing, teaching and writing. McMahan teaches Theory and Composition at the College of New Jersey and offers the major in accordion there as well

Dr. McMahan is Professor of Music at The College of New Jersey where he is also Area Coordinator of Music Theory, Composition, Ear Training, and Classical Accordion. Prior to his appointment at TCNJ, Dr. McMahan taught Music Theory and related subjects at Towson University, Morgan State University, College of Notre Dame, Essex Community College, and the Peabody Preparatory School (of the Peabody Institute) where he was Head of the Theory Department and developed its curriculum.  He also taught Classical Accordion at the Peabody Preparatory School and at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Dr. McMahan studied composition with Robert Hall Lewis, Jean Eichelberger Ivey, and Stefan Grove at the Peabody Institute.  He received honors in composition there and awards in composition from the Annapolis Fine Arts Composers’ Competition and Contemporary Recording Society. In addition, he has received a number of Meet the Composer grants since 1996.

Dr. McMahan is a recognized authority on the American composer, Carl Ruggles, and has published articles in American Music, Sonneck Society Bulletin, New Grove Dictionary of Opera, and New Grove Dictionary of Music. He is presently working on a book on the life and works of Ruggles.

Dr. McMahan’s primary instrument is classical accordion, and he has tirelessly promoted the instrument in serious contemporary music throughout his career.  He has been commissioned to write works for the accordion by various individuals and organizations, including the American Accordionists’ Association and the New York State Council on the Arts.  He has recorded on the CRS and Orion labels and is published by Ernest Deffner Music.  During his years in the Baltimore area, Dr. McMahan was accordionist for the Baltimore Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Washington Ballet and American Ballet Orchestras (at the Kennedy Center), and for other cultural and performing organizations. He has performed under such notable conductors as Julius Rudel, Rob Fisher, Sarah Caldwell, Sergiu Comissiona, Gunther Schuller, Frederik Prausnitz, Murry Sidlin, bandleader Les Elgart, Leon Botstein, Leon Fleisher, and Peter Schickele, and with Sting, Georgia Brown, Maureen McGovern, Alvin Epstein, Boyd Gaines, and Theodore Bikel. 

Besides his numerous published articles, Dr. McMahan has been featured in articles by others in Keyboard Magazine, The Music Connoisseur, High Fidelity, Who’s Who in American Composers:  Classical, and several other highly regarded publications.

Dr. McMahan serves as a reader and table leader at the annual examinations readings of the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program for Music Theory and had been a reader for the Graduate Record Examination in Music Theory prior to its discontinuance.

For more information about Dr. Robert Young McMahan: mcmahan@tcnj.edu
For more information about Dr. Paul Cohen : paulcohen.saxo@gmail.com