Shenson Faculty Concert Series: Juan Carlos Entrembasaguas, saxophone

Explore the incredible and surprising  range of emotions and styles of the saxophone duo and piano! Jun Nagao's Paganini Lost brings the legendary violinist's virtuosity to life with modern colors. Poulenc's Trio reflects the French charm, moving between playful and lyrical moments. Karalyn Schubring's Powerhouse showcases rhythmic energy, living up to its title, while Jennifer Higdon’s Lullaby offers a peaceful pause, wrapping the listener in a warm and meditative sound.

The second half features a lyrical and expressive new work by CMC faculty composer Joshua Saulle, Melody, written for saxophone and piano. We also present a new arrangement of Shostakovich’s Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano for soprano and alto saxophones—five short character pieces full of charm and grace, bringing a fresh voice to this beloved suite.

Featured Artists:

Juan Carlos Entrambasaguas, soprano and alto saxophone

Ricardo Martinez, alto and tenor saxophone

Natsuki Fukasawa, piano

Thursday, August 14 at 7pm

CMC Concert Hall

FREE

The Shenson Faculty Concert Series returns this summer with free concerts spotlighting CMC’s talented faculty members. Each year, the Shenson Foundation sponsors free community concerts for musical projects to support CMC faculty as performing artists and ensure their work on stage is shared and celebrated in our community.

This year’s presenters will highlight a wide variety of musical styles, techniques, and creative inspirations, including original compositions, new arrangements of beloved classics, and traditions from around the globe—using music as a tool for cultural reflection, personal connection, and artistic experimentation.

Meet this summer's talented faculty performers:

• July 10 - Larry Dunn, guitar
• July 24 - Ben Snellings, cello
• August 7 - Tregar Otton, violin
• August 14 - Juan Carlos Entrembasaguas, saxophone

is a saxophone performer and educator interested in Contemporary and Classical Music. He has been developing his artistic activity in Finland, Spain and the United States. Juan Carlos performed as a soloist and with chamber music groups. He taught master classes and played with different Artists at high-performance levels. He currently holds a teaching position as a woodwind instructor at the San Francisco Community Music Center. 

Juan Carlos has a Master’s degree in Classical Saxophone Performance from the University of the Arts of Helsinki - Sibelius Academy of Finland, studying with Joonatan Rautiola. He also holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Saxophone Performance from the Superior Conservatory of Salamanca (Spain). Juan Carlos taught several master classes in different European countries such as Norway, Finland, Spain and the United States. During January of 2024, he also performed a recital with the pianist Casey Dierlam Tse at the International Saxophone Symposium, hosted by the United States Navy Band in Fairfax, VA.

Along his performance trajectory, Juan Carlos has played concerts internationally in Norway, Denmark, Latvia, Andorra, and Croatia, and has performed at the International Saxophone Symposium, American Saxophone Academy, Manhattan School of Music, the Helsinki Music Center. He has played as a soloist with the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of Salamanca (Spain), Helsinki Saxophone Orchestra, 'SaxibA Ensemble'. He has also attended many workshops with well-known musicians, such as Claude Delangle, Arno Bornkamp, Timothy McAllister, Otis Murphy, Marcus Weiss, Vincent David, Jean-Denis Michat, to name a few.

Ricardo Martinez is assistant professor of practice in saxophone at University of the Pacific. Martinez has been a featured soloist with the Mission Chamber Orchestra of San José, Stanford Summer Symphony, University of the Pacific Wind Band, the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Cergy-Pontoise Wind Ensemble in France, and the Mitaka City Orchestra in Japan. In addition, Martinez regularly performs with symphonies and festivals including the San Francisco Symphony, California Symphony, Classical Tahoe Music Festival, Sun Valley Music Festival, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and has recorded at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County. As an educator, Martinez has been invited to teach and perform at Stanford University, CSU (California State University) Summer Arts, the Indiana University Summer Saxophone Academy and give masterclasses in Japan. Martinez is a Yamaha Performing Artist and is endorsed by BG France and Legere Reeds.

Steinway Artist Natsuki Fukasawa serves on the conservatory faculty of University of the Pacific as well as for the Talis Festival and Academy and Orfeo Music Festival. She also enjoys nurturing young talents in her own private studio. Her students' accomplishments include appearances in the NPR show From the Top, top prizes in Chopin National Competition, MTAC Young Artist Guild and Philadelphia International Competition.

Fukasawa has performed in Australia, Bosnia, Brazil, China, Denmark, England, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S. She is a recipient of the Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year from the Danish Music Awards. In addition, Fukasawa is the pianist on the soundtrack of recent film We Had to Go–Remembering Internment. She has released a live solo album Year in Prague and co-released albums Voices from Easter Europe with violinist Igor Veligan and Vocalise with bassoonist Scott Pool. In 2022, she collaborated on the album Song of the Redwood Tree from MSR Classics. In 2023, Fukasawa performed as a soloist Gershwin's Concerto in F at Mondavi Center. She also released a new video recording of a commissioned work Invisibles by Miguel del Aguilá, and was featured as one of the convention artists at the 2023 Music Teachers' Association of California Annual Convention.

Host or Publisher Community Music Center