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This symphony series has a surprise By BILL VARBLE OK, symphony fans, here's something you don't see every day: classical saxophone. But a series of concerts planned by the Rogue Valley Symphony for the weekend feature just that. Three shows set this weekend Who : The Rogue Valley Symphony What : Concert series When , where: 8 p.m. today, Grants Pass High School; 8 p.m. Saturday, Southern Medford High School; 4 p.m. Sunday, SOU's Music Recital Hall. Tickets : $16 and $18, Grants Pass; $18, $20 and $24, Medford; $28 and $32, Ashland; $10, students. Call 770-6012 Saxophonist Rhett Bender will be the featured soloist in performances of Claude Debussy's "Rhapsody for Orchestra and Saxophone.'' "In the United States, the saxophone is very much associated with jazz and is not thought of as an orchestra or concert instrument," Bender says. "In Europe, and especially France, the saxophone as an orchestra instrument is very common." The program features Bender in the Debussy composition plus four of the symphony's principal winder players in Mozart's "Sinfonia Concertante." The featured orchestral work of the program is Rimsky-Korsakov's "Sheherazade." The series consists of three performances of the same program. They're set for Friday evening at the new Grants Pass High School Performing Arts Center, Saturday evening at Southern Medford High School in Medford, and Sunday afternoon at Southern Oregon University's Music Recital Hall in Ashland. Bender, an associate professor of music at SOU, where he teaches saxophone and clarinet, calls the rhapsody a beautiful piece of music. He says it has an unusual background. It seems a well-to-do 19th-century Boston matron had taken up the saxophone for her health after contracting typhoid fever. Eventually she progressed to the point that she wanted to perform in concert. But the sax was considered a jazz instrument, and there was no concert music for it. Determined to have music to perform, the woman went to France and commissioned Debussy to write a piece. Bender says he worked for years on the composition, which was finished by one of his students after his death. Bender is finishing up a doctorate in music performance with the University of Georgia. He travels widely to teach and perform. As a member of the Athens Saxophone Quartet, he was a winner in a 1995 chamber music competition for college instructors. A Yamaha recording artist, he's featured on the CD "America's Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax" (Arizona University Recordings). He describes the Debussy saxophone music as Moorish and exotic. "Sheherazade" revolves around several of the "Arabian Nights" tales, which were popular in Europe and Russian in the late 1800s. Look for Sinbad the Sailor, the Sultan and Sheherazade herself in Rimsky-Korsakov's masterpiece. Featured soloists in addition to Bender are Irene Fitch, principal oboe; Lori Calhoun, principal clarinet; Terrie Henderson, principal horn; and Kathy Staller, principal bassoon. Free music talks start an hour before each show. These feature Jim Rich of the Jefferson Baroque Orchestra in Grants Pass, and KSOR-FM classical host Milt Goldman in Medford and Ashland. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA