ABOUT DRAX

Formed in 2014, DRAX is a faculty ensemble-in-residence at the University of Missouri School of Music with Leo Saguiguit (saxophone) and Megan Arns (percussion). Dedicated to performing and creating new repertoire for this unique combination of instruments, the duo made its international debut at the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, France. DRAX has performed at the Mizzou International Composers Festival, conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance, the Missouri Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion, Odyssey Chamber Music Series of Columbia, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, and residencies at Virginia Tech University and Sam Houston State University. Upcoming performances include Colorado State University and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, as well as the release of their debut album on Ravello Records in November 2022.

 

Leo Saguiguit has performed throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia, including appearances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, National Concert Hall of Taipei, and the Megarons of Athens and Thessaloniki. Saguiguit also performs with the Athens (Greece) and Missouri Saxophone Quartets. He has performed regularly with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, Missouri Symphony, and appears in over a dozen albums. Saguiguit joined the University of Missouri faculty in 2002 after holding previous faculty positions at Northwestern University, University of the South, and Emory University.  

 
Dr. Megan Arns is active as a contemporary chamber percussionist, whose recent highlights include collaborative performances in Spain, France, India, Jordan, Costa Rica, Ghana, and the United States at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Millennium Park, Smithsonian Institution, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Dr. Arns also regularly performs with the New York-based electroacoustic new music group [Switch~ Ensemble] and the New Hampshire Music Festival. Prior to serving as Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Missouri, Arns taught at Mansfield University and the National Music Conservatory in Amman, Jordan where she was also the Principal Timpanist of the Amman Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Arns received her degrees in percussion performance and ethnomusicology from the Eastman School of Music.