Ties Mellema: Dramatic injury prompts slew of commissions

Recovering from a serious injury, Dutch Saxophone player Ties Mellema has asked befriended composers to write short pieces for him only using the notes he can play. On March 12th of this year, Mellema cut his wrist in what he describes as a „very unfortunate accident“. While the damage done to one of his hand's tendons and an artery will not pose any insurmountable problems, the ulnar nerve, responsible for some essential motoric functions (such as spreading your fingers) was also severly injured. Mellema's future as a Saxophone player now depends on whether he the nerve endings will heal completely (for which there is a chance of 75% apparently) and whether the healing will mean that the old functionality will be restored. In a first move, the members of the renowned and astoundingly succesful Amstel Saxophone Quartet had to cancel all tour dates – including prestigious ones in New York, Detroit and Chicago. Mellema also started taking singing lessons and focusses on composing for the time being. Playing the Saxophone, both „in his head“ as a mental training and – carefully – for real, he realised that he would benefit greatly from music suited to his current situation. As a consequence, a slew of composers will ready pieces for left hand Saxophone and Piano over the next weeks.