Saxtronauts

Standard £18 // Solidarity £23.40 // Under 30 £7
Advance booking required

Our Solidarity ticket price is an opportunity for audiences to support our work by purchasing a ticket at a slightly higher price (the cost of a Standard ticket plus 30%). Read more about Solidarity prices here.

Saxtronauts:
Anna-Sofia Anttonen soprano / baritone saxophone
Nanna Ikonen baritone saxophone
Nanako Lammi alto / tenor saxophone
Sikri Lehko tenor saxophone

Meriheini Luoto (Finland, 1989)
Talven uneen vaipuen (2024) for Saxophone Quartet 20’ UK Premiere
Parts: Kätköt, Talviunia, Kevät kuohuu ja kohisee

Osmo Tapio Räihälä (Finland, 1964)
Oil Today Water Tomorrow (2024) for Saxophone and Electronics 14’ UK Premiere

Arvo Pärt (Estonia, 1935)
Summa for Saxophone Quartet (1977) 5′

Justė Janulytė (Lithuania, 1982)
Endings for Saxophone Quartet (2005) 10’

Mioko Yokoyama (Japan/Finland, 1989)
Tetra-Alloy for Saxophone Quartet (2024) 10’ UK Premiere

Click here to view programme note

Saxtronauts are a Finnish saxophone ensemble with an appetite for discovery. Formed by Anna-Sofia Anttonen, Nanna Ikonen, Nanako Lammi and Sikri Lehko, the quartet explore the saxophones full spectrum – from whispering lyricism to volcanic force – treating it as a vehicle for artistic and sonic exploration.

Their performances bring contemporary music into unexpected spaces: from concert halls and festivals to observatories and science centres, where their acclaimed project Space Odyssey has reimagined the saxophone as a cosmic instrument. They have appeared at Helsinki Festival, Flow Festival, Time of Music, October of New Music (Oulu) and the Invasive Species Club (Helsinki) and will release their highly anticipated debut album in 2025.

For their hcmf// debut, Saxtronauts present a programme rich in Baltic and Nordic voices, featuring UK premieres of Meriheini Luoto’s Talven uneen vaipuen (a three-part journey through winter landscapes), Osmo Tapio Räihälä’s Oil Today Water Tomorrow (saxophone and electronics in dialogue), and Mioko Yokoyama’s Tetra-Alloy. Alongside these new works are Justė Janulytė’s spectral Endings and Arvo Pärt’s luminous Summa, refracted through the sonority of four saxophones.

Spanning minimalist clarity, microtonal shimmer, folk-inflected soundscapes and electronic resonance, the programme is as expansive as the ensemble’s ethos. With Saxtronauts, the saxophone becomes a telescope and a compass — an instrument for navigating uncharted worlds of sound.

Produced by hcmf// as part of The Current Climate; supported by Music Finland; also supported by Estonian Centre of Contemporary Music, Lithuanian Culture Institute and Music Information Centre Lithuania

Photo: Saxtronauts © Sofia Okkone