Behind the Music

Meet HyperResonance

HyperResonance started in 2022, back when the late pandemic still made a full band feel like a lot. We wanted to play together again, and a saxophone ensemble turned out to be exactly the right size for it — big enough for real harmony, small enough to feel safe.

Since then we’ve played around the Seattle area, including the Ballard Locks summer concert series and the Woodinville Farmers Market. One funny thing about this group: most of us play a different horn here than we do anywhere else.

Brooke Leary — soprano & alto. Brooke covers both soprano and alto, which is its own kind of skill — they’re different animals. She also plays with the Washington Wind Symphony and the SANCApators, the house band for Seattle’s circus-arts scene, so if you’ve been to the Moisture Festival you’ve probably already heard her.

Matt Gilbert — soprano. Matt takes the soprano chair with us and plays alto with Northwest Swing, a 20-piece volunteer big band with a healthy Basie and Mingus habit. Soprano carries a lot of the melody in our arrangements, and he has a gift for making a line sing.

Aileen Wilson — alto. Aileen plays alto here and tenor with the Mach One Jazz Orchestra, the 17-piece band you may have caught at the Ballard Locks summer concerts. She’s also on alto with the Woodinville Symphonic Winds, so her week swings from funk charts to concert band literature.

Jonathan Heidegger — tenor. Jonathan holds down the tenor chair, the part that has to be melody and glue depending on the tune. He also plays with the Woodinville Symphonic Winds and Seattle’s Rainbow City Band.

Elizabeth Royalty — bari. Elizabeth anchors the low end on bari and has been playing saxophone for over thirty years. She’s principal alto and soprano with the Woodinville Symphonic Winds, which means she swings back and forth between the top of the section and the bottom.