Timothy McAllister (born October 21, 1972) is an American classical saxophonist and music educator, who, as of 2014, is Professor of Saxophone at the

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded by Calvin Brainerd ...

Career

Born in 1972, he gave his solo debut at age 16 with the Houston Civic Symphony. As a teenager he attended the

Interlochen Center for the Arts Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. In ...

, where he studied with

John Sampen John Sampen (born 1949) is an American classical saxophonist. Sampen's degrees are from Northwestern University (B.M., 1971; M.M., 1972; and Doctor of Music, 1984). His teachers included Frederick Hemke, Larry Teal, and Donald Sinta. He has served ...

. McAllister studied saxophone with

Donald Sinta Donald J. Sinta (born June 16, 1937 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American classical saxophonist, educator, and administrator. Mr. Sinta earned a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from the University of Michigan in 1962. In 1969, he ...

and conducting with

H. Robert Reynolds H. Robert Reynolds is an American musician, conductor and academic. He is currently the principal conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he holds the H. Robert Reynolds Pro ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He holds a Bachelor of Music (1995), the Albert A. Stanley Medal (1995), Masters of Music (1997), and a Doctor of Musical Arts (2002). As of 2014, McAllister has been Professor of Saxophone at the

, a role held previously by

and

Larry Teal Larry Teal (26 March 1905 - 11 July 1984) is considered by many to be the father of American orchestral saxophone. Career Laurence Lyon Teal earned a bachelor's degree in pre-dentistry from the University of Michigan. Although he came to the Uni ...

. Each summer he teaches saxophone at

Interlochen Interlochen ( ') is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 694, up from 583 at the 2010 census. The community is located wit ...

, the MPulse Saxophone Institute, Arosa Music Course in Switzerland, and the Orford Music Academy in Canada. From 2012 to 2014, McAllister was Co-Director of the Institute for New Music and saxophone professor at the

Bienen School of Music The Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music is the music and performance arts school of Northwestern University. It is located on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois, United States. The school was previously known as the North ...

at Northwestern. He has premiered over 250 new works by composers including: Gunther Schuller, Caleb Burhans,

Jennifer Higdon Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Award for Best Contempora ...

, Benjamin Broening, Kati Agocs, Mischa Zupko, Gregory Wanamaker, Roshanne Etezady, Kristin Kuster, William Bolcom, Martin Bresnick, Steven Mackey, Lee Hyla,

Libby Larsen Elizabeth Brown Larsen (born December 24, 1950) is a contemporary American classical composer. Along with composer Stephen Paulus, she is a co-founder of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum. A former holder of the Pa ...

, Lei Liang, John Harbison,

David Rakowski David Rakowski (born June 13, 1958, St. Albans, Vermont) is an American composer and typeface designer. He studied under such composers as Robert Ceely, John Heiss, Milton Babbitt, Peter Westergaard, Paul Lansky, and Luciano Berio. In 2006, he w ...

, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Joel Puckett, Brian Fennelly, Evan Chambers, Ken Ueno,

Donnacha Dennehy Donnacha Dennehy (born 17 August 1970) is an Irish composer and leader of the Crash Ensemble specializing in contemporary classical music. According to musicologist Bob Gilmore, Dennehy's "high profile of his compositions internationally, togeth ...

, David T. Little. His recording of

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

’s Concert Suite for Alto Saxophone and Band was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards. In 2013, he premiered Saxophone Concerto dedicated to him by the composer

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

with the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

. The premiere was conducted by the composer. This concerto was a joint commission by St Louis, Baltimore and Sydney Symphony Orchestras and Fundacao Orquestra Sinfonica do estado de Sao Paulo. McAllister had previously given the World Premiere of Adams’ ‘City Noir’ in 2009. He is featured as the saxophone soloist on ‘City Noir’ (album) which won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance. He is the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

chair of the PRISM Saxophone Quartet. He also regularly performs with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

. He appears on over 50 albums as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral saxophonist.

Selected Discography

*"The Inaugural Concert: Gustavo Dudamel" DVD (LA Philharmonic) 2009 *"John Mackey Soprano Sax Concerto" (ASU Wind Symphony) 2012 *"Music of John Cage" (Simone Mancuso percussion) 2012 *"The Singing Gobi Desert" (Prism Quartet) 2013 *''John Adams: City Noir; Saxophone Concerto'' (St. Louis Symphony Orchestra) 2014 (2015 GRAMMY winner) *"Music of Matthew Levy" (Prism Quartet) 2014 *"Heritage/Evolution" (Prism Quartet) 2014 *"Belle Nuit" (Kathryn Goodson, piano) 2015 *"Music of Zae Munn" (Lucia Unrau, Piano and others) 2015 *"

The Fifth Century ''The Fifth Century'' is a classical and choral studio album by Gavin Bryars, conducted by Donald Nally, and performed by The Crossing choir with the saxophone quartet PRISM. This album was released in the label ECM New Series in November 201 ...

" (The Crossing and Prism Quartet) 2016 (2017 GRAMMY winner) *”Spiritualist: Kenneth Fuchs” (includes Saxophone Concerto “Rush”) (London Symphony Orchestra) 2018 (2019 GRAMMY winner) *”Lost Horizon: Guillaume Connesson” (includes ‘A Kind of Trane’ Concerto) (Brussels Philharmonic) 2019 *”Animal, Vegetable, Mineral” (Prism Quartet) 2019 *”Surfaces and Essences” (Prism Quartet) 2020 *”Westland: Andy Scott” (Liz Ames, Piano) 2020 *”Notturno” (Liz Ames, Piano) 2020

References

External links

Official Site

Prism Saxophone Quartet

University of Michigan faculty biography

Interview transcript

Interview on Saxophone Concerto
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAllister, Timothy American male saxophonists Classical saxophonists Living people University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni University of Michigan faculty 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians 1972 births