Rooted in their long-term academia-based friendship at USC’s Thornton School of Music and the camaraderie they’ve developed since their first tandem performances in 2018, veteran classical musicians Dr. Andrew Harrison (saxophones) and Dr. Jason Lo (piano) achieve a powerful, full-throttle expression of their dual artistry – and set a fresh, dynamic course for their musical future – as Duo Halo. More than simply a catchy portmanteau based on a combination of letters from their individual surnames, the moniker reflects their collective vision and purpose as an ensemble where the piano, often wrongly seen in such settings as merely accompanying a lead instrument, is of equal creative importance as the soprano, alto and tenor saxophones.
Recorded in July 2024, Duo Halo’s debut full length recording Imaginary Folksongs features an eclectic repertoire that begins with the title suite Imaginary Folksongs featuring six rhythmically and thematically diverse compositions by Stephen Lias (b. 1966) and showcases a unique cultural diversity that includes a suite of Negro spirituals, several works by contemporary female composers and an extended piece that taps into the rich tradition of Japanese folksongs.
Composed by Lias in 2011 for saxophonist Nathan Nabb, the Imaginary Folksongs suite is an engaging set of six short pieces that runs the gamut from virtuosic and melancholy to humorous, mischievous and lullaby-like. A longtime audience pleaser that premiered in April 2014, it uses both alto and soprano saxophones, in addition to a few extended techniques. Its individual pieces include I. High in the Andes (soprano), II. Song of Light (alto), III. Magic Island (alto), IV. Titiana’s Bower (soprano), V. Bonnie-Bye (soprano) and VI. The Three Jolly Pigeons (alto).
The second suite on Imaginary Folksongs is Three Negro Spirituals, based on interpretations created by Florence Price (1887-1953), an influential figure in Chicago’s Black Renaissance. Her spiritual arrangements of I. Oh Holy Land, II. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child and III. Lord I Want to Be a Christian, originally created for violin and piano, date from 1933, around the time of her first major successes as a composer. They are sensitive, beautiful settings of African-American spirituals in the vein of Heifetz, bringing out the natural, soulful expression of the violin and now adapted brilliantly for Harrison’s saxophones.
Journey by Lori Laitman (b. 1955) began as a song with words but was re-envisioned as a piece for saxophone and piano. The original poem was about a slave mother’s harsh reality traveling on a slave boat from Africa. Her re-imagining the piece for alto saxophone is based on her feeling that the timbre of the horn perfectly captured the sorrow of the original words.
Incorporating various moods and rhythmic patterns and infused with percussive joy and charming whimsey as well as deep introspection, “Rhapsody on Japanese Folksongs” by Japanese composer and saxophonist Ryota Ishikawa (b. 1983) was originally commissioned by Nobuya Sugawa and is Ishikawa’s most renowned piece on the instrument.
The final piece, “Lilac Tears” by Jennifer Jolley (b. 1981) was originally commissioned by saxophonist Tim McAllister as a duo piece for him and his piano partner Liz Ames’ ongoing Project Encore. It is Jolley’s engagement of the otherworldly solo by Prince at the end of an all-star tribute performance of The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at George Harrison’s posthumous induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In Jolley’s words, the solo “acted as an ecstatic apotheosis that remedied the doubt detected in Harrison’s earlier verses.” She wrote it as an homage to the almost alchemical experience of great instrumentalists, a notion embodied once again in this version by Duo Halo.
“At the university where I teach, we have a convocation ceremony at the beginning of each year,” says Dr. Lo, currently Keyboard Area Coordinator at the University of La Verne in La Verne, CA. “This year, our chaplain profoundly said, ‘Growth happens outside when comfortability ends.’ I enjoy the title Imaginary Folksongs because there’s something about the word ‘imaginary’ that fascinates me. It means you have to conceive something with the hope of bringing it to life. Some things we imagine don’t always come to life, so it’s special that this project does.”
“There is a point of reference for all the classical music that Andrew and I have consumed to this point,” he adds. “We have all these listener skills from before but there’s no reference point for what we present on this album. It’s a fresh new path for us as artists. There are famous pieces we love and can’t get enough of, but time must move forward and it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to present new music outside our usual comfort zone. Because of our ability to imagine, we’re able to tell our story through this music.”
Harrison, a Professor of Classical Saxophone at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, CA, says, “Without access to voice, text and language, it’s left to the audience to decide for themselves what this music is and what these pieces are trying to communicate. We’re not sharing a specific narrative, but rather offering a small picture of time and place where these stories are coming from, while playing to our personalities and adding different colors. The most important thing we convey in the music of Duo Halo is that the sax lives and breathes as a classical instrument, and we’re showcasing that via beautiful, interesting pieces from living, breathing composers and one from 100 years ago, not 300. Imaginary Folksongs is our way of telling the world that composers like Stephen, Lori, Jennifer and Ryota deserve as much of their time as Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.”
Prior to recording Imaginary Folksongs, Harrison and Lo presented live concerts featuring its repertoire in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 at various venues in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and in residency at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. These extended an ongoing slate of critically acclaimed performances over the past seven years by Lo and Harrison, including shows at Cal State Fullerton, Sonoma State, University of La Verne, UCLA, La Sierra University, San Jose State, University of the Pacific, Mt. San Antonio College and Santa Rosa Junior College. During the pandemic, they created a regular live online series on Facebook called Concertcast which featured them performing the works classical composers from many different eras – including Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Paul Creston, Steve Cohen, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Jules Demersseman and Benedetto Marcello.
About Jason Lo, DMA
Chinese-American pianist, teacher, and chamber musician, Dr. Jason Lo is an in-demand performer has performed in Strasbourg, London, Chicago, Honolulu, New York, Washington DC, and throughout Southern California, including concerts at Westminster Hall, Carnegie Hall and one for the 2012 Olympic Games. In addition to collaborating and traveling for competitions, conferences and concerts for numerous organizations, he has been a guest artist and lecturer at many colleges and universities. He has taught general music, piano, and choir programs from grades K-12 in public schools as well as private piano, group piano, functional skills, private voice, choir, and group voice at the college level. Dr. Lo is a graduate of University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where he completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance studying piano with Antoinette Perry, and conducting with Larry Livingston, with minors in Theory, Instrumental Conducting, and Arts Leadership, specializing in French and American Music. Previously, he completed his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance Magna Cum Laude, studying piano with Craig Richey from California State University, Long Beach’s Bob Cole Conservatory of Music.
About Andrew Harrison, DMA
Acclaimed for his unique approach, virtuosic performances, and as a champion for both new and forgotten works, Indian-American saxophonist Andrew Harrison has captured the hearts of audiences across the globe with “electric performances of stunning expression (Classical Sonoma)”, while introducing the world to important voices, and showcasing the beauty and brilliance of the saxophone. He has been a featured soloist with several symphonic groups, including the Cal Poly Pomona and La Sierra University Wind Ensembles, South Valley Symphony Orchestra, Sonoma County Philharmonic and the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble. Harrison previously served at San Diego State School of Music, Mt. San Antonio College, Cerritos College, the French Conservatory of Music, and the Colburn School. As an in-demand clinician, he has presented masterclasses at Southern Illinois State University, the University of Southern California, Webster University, Franklin College, and the New England Conservatory, among numerous others. He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, and a Masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music.