Tower Duo

Tower Duo is a flute and saxophone ensemble based in Columbus, Ohio that specializes in creating engaging musical experiences with a particular interest in performing and premiering contemporary works by living composers. Tower Duo, whose members are flutist, Erin Helgeson Torres and saxophonist, Michael Rene Torres, has been performing together since 2007 and gave its inaugural recital at the Brevard Music Center Festival and Institute in North Carolina. The duo has since performed all across the United States at universities, conferences, and festivals. Highlights include the Omaha Chamber Music Society’s Eko Nova series, the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project’s Re:Sound New Music Festival, and multiple North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial conferences. Tower Duo recently recorded their debut album, Crosswind, which features the duo’s favorite collaborations with composers from the first decade of their artistic work. Crosswind was released under the PARMA Recordings label in January of 2019.

Erin Helgeson Torres, flute

Erin Helgeson Torres is the Lecturer of Flute at Ohio Northern University and Muskingum University, and Adjunct Instructor at Ashland University. Second Flute/Piccolo with the Dr. Erin Helgeson Torres is Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Ohio Northern University where she teaches applied flute lessons and the Music History sequence in addition to coaching small ensembles and flute choir. Torres has also taught flute at Muskingum, Ashland, and Ohio Dominican Universities.  She was appointed in 2019 to the Artist Faculty of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake MI and is the founder of the Mid-Ohio Flute Intensive, entering its fifth season. For six years, Torres served as the Assistant Dean of Students at the Brevard Music Center Summer Festival and Institute. She is Principal Flutist of the Lima Symphony Orchestra, McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra and Queen City Opera, Second Flutist/Piccoloist with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Substitute Second Flutist for the 2019-20 season with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and an Associate Musician with the Columbus Symphony. She is also Solo Flutist with the Columbus Ohio Discovery Ensemble (CODE), a contemporary music ensemble that is dedicated to the promotion, performance, and perception of new music in Central Ohio. She has performed in various area orchestras including the Springfield, Central Ohio, and Westerville Symphonies. Torres holds degrees from The Ohio State University, Stetson University, and the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, and is a Burkart artist. For more info, visit www.erinhelgesontorres.weebly.com

Michael Rene Torres, saxophone

Saxophonist, composer, educator, and curator Michael Rene Torres currently serves as Lecturer of Saxophone at The Ohio State University and Lecturer of Saxophone and Composition at Muskingum University. He is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Columbus Ohio Discovery Ensemble (CODE), a contemporary music ensemble that is Saxophonist and composer Dr. Michael Rene Torres currently serves as Assistant Professor of Practice at The Ohio State University in Columbus OH where he teaches saxophone and composition, and during the summers teaches saxophone at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake MI. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Columbus Ohio Discovery Ensemble; a 501(c)3 nonprofit contemporary music ensemble that is dedicated to the promotion, performance, and perception of contemporary concert music in Central Ohio. Additionally, Torres serves as the Program Director and an Advisory Board member of the Johnstone Fund for New Music which advances the performance of new music for the benefit of the Central Ohio community. Torres is a Conn-Selmer Endorsing Artist, performing exclusively on Selmer Paris saxophones, and has presented recitals, clinics, and masterclasses at conferences, universities, and festivals throughout the United States. To learn more visit, https://michaelrenetorres.weebly.com/