BS Project Biography:

BS Project is a Twin Cities based oboe and saxophone duo. BS Project is committed to commissioning and performing music by women and underrepresented composers as well as creating educational learning opportunities for students in greater Minnesota. The duo presents engaging educational programs to students of all ages with a particular focus on equal educational opportunities. Throughout each endeavor, BS Projects aims to reach a wide range of audiences with the hopes of inspiring future generations of musicians. 

In the fall of 2021, BS Project shared free programs in art parks throughout the Twin Cities, sharing music that represented colors, art, and different sound textures. BS Project has had numerous opportunities to engage with students over the last few years, including performing for students at the American School Band Directors Association’s Small Ensemble Day in St. Anthony, MN; we worked with students in Winona, MN at St. Mary’s University and Winona State University; on a central US tour in February/March 2022, we performed for middle school and high school students in Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, and Iowa; during that tour we worked with college students at Murray State University in KY, Fisk University in TN, and Arkansas State University in AR. In May 2022 we premiered our original educational program, “Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox Find the Blues” at the Dassel Library in Dassel, MN. In the summer of 2022, we performed this program at Muir Library in Winnebago, MN, and at Southwest Middle School in Lawrence, KS. During the 2022-2023 school year, BS Project has performed our educational program 99 times as YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio Classnotes Artists at 41 elementary, middle, and high schools and at over a dozen libraries throughout Minnesota

In July of 2023 BS Project premiered works by Gary Powell Nash and Jonathan Posthuma at the International Double Reed Society (IDRS) Conference in Salaya, Thailand. The ensemble will partner with Bassoonist, Cody Hunter at the IDRS Conference in Flagstaff, AZ to premiere two more works written by Jonathan Posthuma about wildflowers found in Minnesota.

This coming June the duo will take “Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox Finds the Blues” to libraries throughout the state of Minnesota on a week-long library tour.

Upcoming Concerts/Programs:

Monday, June 24, TDB - “Paul and Babe Find the Blues” @ Hancock Library, MN

Tuesday, June 25, 10:30 am - “Paul and Babe Find the Blues” @St. Peter Library, MN

Tuesday, June 25, 1:00 pm - “Paul and Babe Find the Blues” @Henderson Library, MN

Wednesday, June 26, 10:30 am - “Paul and Babe Find the Blues” @Douglas County Library, Alexandria, MN

Wednesday, June 27, 1:00 pm - “Paul and Babe Find the Blues” @Rushford Library, MN

Wednesday, June 27, 3:00 pm - “Paul and Babe Find the Blues” @Lanesboro Library, MN

Saturday, June 29, 10:00 am - “Paul and Babe Find the Blues” @Winona Library, MN

July 21-25 - International Double Reed Society Conference - Premiere of two Wildflower Pieces by Jonathan Posthuma @Flagstaff, AZ

We are thrilled to announce that we have been chosen as Classnotes Artists on behalf of YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio next school year!

We have created an original musical story Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox Find the Blues where Paul and Babe begin at the start of the Mississippi River in Itasca State Park and make their way down the Mississippi River.

“Join us on a journey down the Mississippi River on a search for the Blues. On the way we find a variety of characters who represent various music genres. Listeners will be introduced to the oboe, English horn, and 4 different saxophones! Some of the music is based on Scandinavian Folk Songs. This program introduces young (and young at heart) listeners to a variety of musical genres including baroque, classical, blues, and jazz, as Paul & Babe travel down the Mississippi learning about a number of geographical locations. Paul and Babe create a desire to listen and connect characters through musical theme identification. There are many opportunities with this program to expand the mind while hearing fun and exciting music and meeting many new instruments!”

Our program will be around 30-45 minutes, it will include:

• begin with a short flashy musical piece as an attention getter

• instrument demonstrations (all 6!): show each instrument, tell about instrument, play a short musical example

• character and theme identification [all 6 instruments w/ their musical character (theme)]- helping the audience connect the sound with its character

• character and theme identification paired with a character "hand sign" - each character/theme will have their own hand sign (further reinforcing musical learning and theme identification)

• 10 minute (approx.) narrated musical story Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox Find the Blues

• recap: audience participation - questions such as "Which instrument plays Babe?", "Which instrument plays the theme of the Paul?", etc.

• Short flashy closing piece

• Optional: Questions/comments/look at the instruments up close

Upcoming Conference Performances:

Past Conference Performances:

Call for Scores:

Submission Deadline: April 15, 2019

No Entry Fee

What: Music written for any combination of oboe/saxophone duo

• Can include oboe/English horn & soprano/alto/tenor/baritone saxophone

• Any style of music with be accepted, we are open to new and different as well as more “traditional” works

• We have no designated length - Short pieces as well as multi movement works are welcome

Items to Submit: PDF of Score and Individual Parts, a quality MP3 recording (if available) as well as your personal biography and website link.

Works accompanied by piano will be accepted, but duos will have priority. We are open to works that have been previously performed, but we're especially looking for works that have not been performed.