I was blown away that this opportunity landed in my lap.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cI was blown away that this opportunity landed in my lap,\u201d he said. \u201cI had never heard of the Congress until I was asked. I was ecstatic to be invited, and being there made me realize I want to be a performer and saxophone teacher at the university level.\u201d<\/p>\n Facundo was able to meet two of his musical heroes, Dr. Kenneth Tse, professor of music at the University of Iowa, and Claude Delangle, a saxophonist from France. \u201cIt was a great chance to network,\u201d Facundo said. He also met graduate professors from the University of Georgia, Oklahoma State University, University of Texas and Central Michigan.<\/p>\n The Arkansas choir performed on Thursday, July 12, in the Croatian National Theatre. \u201cIt was an amazing experience,\u201d Facundo said. The ensemble premiered two works on the world stage at the Croatian National Theatre: Phantasms<\/em>, by Philip Wharton, and Groovin\u2019 Goliath<\/em>, by Craig Wadley.<\/p>\n It was even more beautiful than Google told me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n That same week, Croatia was participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. \u201cWe were able to watch the game there,\u201d Facundo said. \u201cCroatia lost, but everyone was so happy just to have gotten that far.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, Zagreb\u2019s beauty exceeded Facundo\u2019s expectations. \u201cIt was even more beautiful than Google told me,\u201d he said, with a laugh.<\/p>\n Facundo returned to Magnolia feeling inspired. \u201cI was reminded that music is a universal langauge. I want to expose students to a variety of music from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents are so proud,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have seen me grow as a person and as a musician. Because they live so far away, they\u2019ve only been able to come to one performance, my junior recital, and they were very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n He continues to exceed the goals and accomplishments of a student his age. Ben has been, and will continue to be, a huge asset to our band program and SAU.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n He thanked Dr. Andy Peeks, instructor of music at SAU, and J.P. Wilson, director of bands, for encouraging students to do their best. \u201cThey are great mentors,\u201d he said. \u201cThe entire faculty strives to make sure you have everything you need to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBen is a wonderful young man and gifted musician,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cHe continues to exceed the goals and accomplishments of a student his age. Ben has been, and will continue to be, a huge asset to our band program and SAU.\u201d<\/p>\n Facundo looks forward to performing in Senior Recital this November and will begin his pre-screenings for graduate school applications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Benjamin Facundo, a senior at Southern Arkansas University, recently participated in the World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia. Facundo performed with the Arkansas Saxophones Choir, an ensemble comprised of professionals, teachers and students of the saxophone. The La Feria, Texas native is attending SAU on a full band scholarship, majoring in music education. His trip… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":6893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[271,32641,7753,110],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-featured-layout","9":"category-homepage","10":"category-music","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/07\/Croatia201.jpg\")
<\/a>The World Saxophone Congress, organized in Chicago in 1969, has been held in England, Scotland, France, Japan, and Italy, among other countries. It offers participants a unique opportunity to meet professional musicians, attend workshops and lectures and experience a wide range of musical expressions. Facundo attended with 10 other players from Arkansas.<\/p>\n<\/a>While en route to Croatia, the group experienced a 12-hour layover in Paris, giving them the chance to explore such famous Parisian sites as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Notre Dame. \u201cMy heart was very happy,\u201d he said. “I never thought I’d get to see Paris.”<\/p>\n