THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY College of Music
presents
Guest Artist Recital Trio Abril
Juani Palop, Saxophones
Arno Bornkamp, Alto Saxophone
Frank van de Laar, Piano
Sunday, February 22, 2026
7:30 p.m. | Dohnányi Recital Hall
PROGRAM
Rapsodie (1903) for soprano- and tenor saxophone, alto saxophone and piano
Katsu! (2025) for soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, two pairs of bongos, and piano
Claude Debussy (1862–1918) arr. Alberto Tarraga
Klaas de Vries (b. 1944)
Las Furias (2024) for soprano saxophone, alto saxophone and piano
Carlos Michans
1. Agresivo (b. 1951)
2. Misterioso
3. Impetuoso
Paganini Lost (2009) for two alto saxophones and piano
Jun Nagao (b. 1964)
Trio Abril
Juani Palop, soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone, bongos
Arno Bornkamp, alto saxophone, bongos Frank van de Laar, piano
To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All…
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.
Netherlands-based saxophone ensemble Trio Abril brings is a reimagining of the traditional piano trio using two saxophones in place of the traditional string instruments. Trio Abril is comprised of Dutch saxophonist Arno Bornkamp, Spanish saxophonist Juani Palop, and Dutch pianist Frank van de Laar. The group is dedicated to exploring traditional trio repertoire with its updated instrumentation, and commissioning new works for the ensemble.
Classical saxophonist Arno Bornkamp is a unique figure in both the saxophone world and the Classical music world in general. In his career, now spanning nearly 40 years, he has amazed the music world of his energetic and stylish interpretations, full of lyricism and passion. He believes in the saxophone as an instrument with an infinite amount of nuance and colors, reflecting the human soul with all its shadings of light and dark. Bornkamp is a natural storyteller on his instrument, and offers a highly personal take in his interpretations of all the music he plays. His saxophone style is strongly rooted in the 20th century French tradition: his primary teachers were, in addition to Ed Bogaard, the French saxophone legends Daniël Deffayet and Jean-Marie Londeix. Nonetheless, he was primarily influenced by the Dutch musical climate of the 1980s, a time when traditions were overthrown, dogmas were broken and classical music reached a huge audience. Bornkamp flourished greatly in this cultural climate, and together with Johan van der Linden, André Arends and Willem van Merwijk, he founded the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet (1982-2017).
Orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Residentie Orkest, Holland Symfonia, and various radio orchestras have used Bornkamp’s services as a substitute player, giving him the privilege of performing orchestral repertoire under such greats as Carlo-Maria Giulini, Ricardo Chailly, Mariss Jansons, Daniele Gatti, Mstislav Rostropowitsch, Heinz Holliger and Bernard Haitink. Bornkamp very much loves the tradition of the saxophone. He has built up a small collection of historical instruments, which enable him to perform older repertoire in an historically informed way, in both solo projects and also with the Flemish orchestra Anima Eterna. However, he has a particular fondness for new music: In total, Bornkamp has collaborated on more than 150 premieres, both as a soloist and chamber musician. Initially inspired by leading composers such as Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen, he later built deep, long-term, and productive musical relationships with composers such as Ryo Noda, Christian Lauba, Guillermo Lago, Santiago Baez and Jacob ter Veldhuis, frequently performing many of their works. Arno Bornkamp finds it essential to pass on his know-how to new generations of musicians, teaching at the Conservatory of Amsterdam where many of his students put his ideas into practice. He is also regularly invited to give master classes all over the world. Arno Bornkamp has released dozens of CDs under his own name, with the Aurelia Quartet, and in the context of other projects.
Born in Canals, Valencia, in 1982, Juani Palop began her studies at the Associació Musical Canalense under the direction of Juan Antonio Ramírez. He pursued his higher education in Castellón, Valencia, Paris, and Amsterdam, where she completed a Master’s degree with honors in 2009 in the class of Arno Bornkamp. She was a member of the Municipal Band of Barcelona from 2010 to 2018, and then moved to The Netherlands in 2018, where she performs with the Berlage Saxophone Quartet and the Trio Abril. She is also Saxophone Professor at the ArtEZ Conservatorium in Zwolle. Palop’s artistic path combines orchestral playing, chamber music and pedagogy. She has collaborated with ensembles such as Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Musicaeterna, and Ludwig, working under conductors like Pablo Heras-Casado, Barbara Hannigan,
and Teodor Currentzis. She also co-directed the Alcosax International Saxophone Festival (2010–2018) and am currently part of the team behind Eibarsax Festival. She continues to accompany new generations in finding their own voice through music.
Frank van de Laar (1965, Laren) studied with Jan Wijn at the Sweelinck Conservatorium, where he graduated with the highest distinction in 1989. He continued his studies with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling in Hannover and with Naum Grubert in Amsterdam. In 1987 he won third prize at the International Brahms Competition in Hamburg. In 1988 he won first prize at the Postbank-Sweelinck Competition and made his debut in the Concertgebouw. Since then he has performed to critical acclaim the world over and has received many honours and awards. His repertoire ranges from Bach to contemporary music, including lesser-known but interesting classical and new masterpieces. Additionally, he is very active in the field of chamber music. He has recorded more than twenty-five CDs and has made numerous appearances on radio and TV. He is a principal subject teacher of piano at the conservatories of Amsterdam and Zwolle.