Acclaim
“O’Connor purred with French cultivation, tangoed with Astor Piazzolla, and redefined what’s playable…seamless technique and lack of affectation…O’Connor gave [Marc Eychenne’s Cantilene et Danse] a sumptuous lyricism reminiscent of French sax legend Marcel Mule…” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
“…Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera for alto saxophone is one of the composer’s most suavely charming works – and played by Doug O’Connor with such a special lyricism that you often weren’t aware of the music as a succession of notes but as a stream of attractive sax sound, loaded with all manner of tension and release.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
“O’Connor’s technical capacity for fast runs impressed in the first and third movements [of Ibert’s Concertino da camera], but it was in the second movement’s warm legato passages and ghostly pianissimos where he most displayed his mastery, especially with regard to color and blend. The orchestra, accordingly, was more subdued, allowing O’Connor’s wit and charm to come forward.” – Haddonfield Courier-Post
“I heard three of the most enjoyable concerts of the season this past weekend, and one of them took place right here in Chestnut Hill. Astral Artistic Services presented saxophonist Doug O’Connor and pianist Sonya Ovrutsky in recital at the Woodmere Art Museum on Saturday night…Doug O’Connor is an example of the mission of Astral Artistic Services. He’s still a student…and yet he’s definitely so talented a young artist on his chosen instrument that he’s more than ready to start what could very well turn out to be a major concert career…he put together a roster of music that displayed the amazing breadth and depth of expression the alto sax is capable of communicating to an audience…He proffered a rich, mellow tone that he phrased with sensitivity…Throughout the entire program, O’Connor played with consummate technical command employed in the service of a distinctive interpretive style. He always played with intense passion yet never overlooked the lyrical qualities inherent in the music.” – Michael Caruso, The Chestnut Hill Local (Philadelphia)
“Berio’s Sequenza IX showed O’Connor can do seemingly anything coloristically, plus astounding background/foreground effects. He used the quarter tones n Denisov’s Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Cello in ways that gave an oily, undulating profile to any given passage, and created textures resembling guitar feedback.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Doug O’Connor played with the expressive purity of a clarinet without losing the saxophone’s prickly qualities.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
