The Barry Sax Show

A podcast interview with Preston Duncan, an American saxophone performer and educator and professor at the University of Minnesota.

An interview with British saxophonist and broadcaster, YolanDa Brown.

The Barry Sax Show

Jean‑François Guay studied at McGill University in Montreal and at the Conservatory of Bordeaux, France, where he received his gold medal under the direction of Jean‑Marie Londeix. He also holds a Masters in performance from Laval University in Quebec.

In 2000, Jean-François was the director of the 12th World Saxophone Congress held in Montreal, Canada. A specialist in contemporary music, Jean‑François Guay has commissioned numerous works for the saxophone.

He is currently a professor of saxophone at CÉGEP Marie‑Victorin in Montreal and the University of Montreal. Jean-François is the founding member of the Nelligan Saxophone Quartet which was formed in 1994 with the mandate to showcase the contemporary and classical repertoire for the saxophone.

Show Notes: Organising the 12th World Saxophone Congress. Fundraising for saxophone events. The silence after the intensity of a large event. Starting the Association des Saxophonistes du Québec. Bringing Canadian saxophonists together. Getting to know the world's saxophone players. Limited Canadian opportunities for saxophone and orchestra. Getting started playing the tuba. Learning with teachers Rémi Ménard, Abe Kestenberg and Jean-Marie Londeix. Having encouraging and critical teachers. Squeezing in practice around other activities. Learning to be efficient out of necessity. Thoughts on working from memory. Keeping fit for a long career. Recordings as a documentation process. The importance of living a rich life. Teaching at Cégep Marie-Victorin and the Université de Montréal. Working with great Canadian composers. The importance of playing good music. The Art of Fugue. The joy of being with people. Focussing on the task and not the risk. Always be over-prepared. Exciting new projects coming up. Being part of an orchestra but feeling apart. Having a fire inside of me!

The Barry Sax Show

Alain Crepin, a many-sided musician, was born in 1954 in Mettet (Belgium). He is founder of the Adolphe Sax International Competition held in Dinant, Belgium and since 2005 has been president of the jury.

At first he studied saxophone, cello and piano in Dinant and later, he went to study the saxophone with François Daneels at the Royal Brussels Conservatory of Music.

For 21 years he was the musical director of the Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Air Force. King Albert II promoted Alain Crepin to the rank of major and later he was appointed the artistic director of all the bands of the Belgian Army.

He is professor of saxophone at the Royal Brussels Conservatory of Music and professor of orchestration and conducting at the Conservatory of Music of Esch-sur-Alzette (Grand Duchy of Luxemburg).

As a composer, Alain Crepin has written numerous works for symphonic band as well as many solo instrumental pieces with piano accompaniment. Many of these compositions have been recorded on CD and he is published in Belgium, France and The Netherlands.

As a soloist or conductor, he has recorded some 60 compact discs and performed all over the world.

Show Notes: The development of the Adolphe Sax International Competition. Helping young saxophone players. The town of Dinant, the birthplace of Adolphe Sax. Sponsors and funding for large events. To be good saxophonist, you have, at first, to be a good musician. Listening to over 500 candidates for a competition. Conducting the Belgian airforce bands. A typical teaching week in Brussels. If you don't have a great start, you will never be great. Being director of bands for the Belgian Airforce. Being prepared for anything at a concert. Keeping fit to help the saxophone playing. Recording 60 albums. The importance of playing in chamber ensembles. Loving the work that you do. The possibility of legacy in music. Working with Belgian composers. Keeping a positive frame of mind. Loving wine, music and friends. Thoughts on retirement and the future.

The Barry Sax Show

Debra Richtmeyer, an internationally renowned saxophonist and pedagogue, has been Professor of Saxophone at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1991 and has performed as a soloist and clinician in North America, Europe, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Thailand and China. She has performed or recorded as a concerto soloist with numerous bands and orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Slovak Radio Orchestra, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the United States Navy Band. She was principal saxophonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 1981-1991 and with the St. Louis Symphony from 1992-2002. She is Past-President and Honorary Life Member of the North American Saxophone Alliance and an Artist/Clinician for Conn-Selmer Incorporated.

Debra has premiered commissioned works at eight World Saxophone Congresses and four North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences. In 1997 in Valencia, Spain she became the first woman to be invited to perform a concerto with orchestra at a World Saxophone Congress. In 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand, she became the first woman to be invited to give a master class at a World Saxophone Congress.

Prior to her appointment at the University of Illinois, Professor Richtmeyer was a saxophone professor at the University of North Texas and an instructor at Lawrence Conservatory. She received her degrees from Northwestern University where she was a Teaching Assistant and student of Dr Frederick L. Hemke.

Richtmeyer’s students and former students are leaders in the next generation of classical saxophonists and teachers.

Show Notes: Getting started on curved soprano in a family of musicians. Hearing Hemke perform live for the first time. Learning with my parents, Larry Combs and Fred Hemke. Learning to be my own artist. Helping students to teach themselves. Needing competition for motivation. Increasing the practice hours to develop a foundation. Decreasing the practice hours with a foundation. Teaching efficiency for students to increase their learning speed. Breaking down music to learn it fast through correct repetition. Listening from the heart. How to write a book. Advising the Committee on the Status of Women in the Saxophone. Building awareness of minorities in music. Being the first woman to perform a concerto and give a masterclass at a world saxophone congress. Making tough musical choices when life gets busy. Learning to say no. Working with composers. Keeping in touch with former students. The source of original interpretation. Using recordings without being overly influenced by them. Practising with artistic intention. Improvising at home. Effortless to make music sound better. Directing energy to an audience. Building endurance with breaks. Embracing the possibility of failure as a learning process by stepping outside your comfort zone.

The Barry Sax Show

About Derek Brown:
From his 30+ million views across social media to his appearance on international television and NPR’s Weekend Edition, Billboard-charting saxophonist/innovator Derek Brown and his one-of-a-kind solo “BEATBoX SAX” project have been exploding across the world music scene.

Derek has performed solo concerts in all 50 United States and over 25 countries around the world. Known for his boundless energy on stage, creative audience interaction, and musical depth, Derek’s live shows always surprise and delight. His ongoing “BEATBoX SAX” music videos and tutorials on YouTube have been enormously popular among saxophonists and music lovers alike with over 100,000 Youtube subscriptions.

Previously the director of jazz studies at Abilene Christian University for six years, Derek received his BM in Music Performance (Classical and Jazz) from Hope College in 2006 and his MM in Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music in 2008.

Crossing genres from jazz to classical to funk, without looping or electronic effects, saxophone innovator Derek Brown’s unique playing style must be seen in person to be believed!

Show Notes: 50 state tour of the USA in an RV. Getting started in the school band. Listening to Kenny G. 6 years teaching at Abilene Christian University. Working out what makes me unique. There will always be someone practising more than me. Avoiding competition in music. How to use youtube to boost your career. As a student, being encouraged to explore. Early struggles with self-esteem. Smaller schools allowed me to have more responsibility. I felt lost in my mid-20s. Staying one day ahead of the students. The importance of variety and contrast. The composition process and coming up with ideas. Practise routines when not on tour. Practising in the RV while driving. Hearing my own compositions played by students. Thoughts on self-publishing. Promoting music through social media. 90% of a career is music business, 10% craft. You're can’t please everybody. Making video tutorials. Viral videos. The most effective social channels. Posting but not scrolling on social media. Post and get off. The importance of a website to keep control of your content. How to organise your day. Tips on preparing for a performance. Future plans.

The Barry Sax Show

About Javier Zalba

Javier Zalba graduated from the National School of Art, in 1976, specialising in clarinet. Later he studied flute and the full range of saxophones in classical, jazz and Cuban styles.

His early training as a clarinetist helped to develop his love of chamber music and he later became interested in jazz. As a Cuban, the range of popular rhythms of the Island has been an important influence on him.

His arrival at the legendary Cuban Modern Music Orchestra in 1978, at only 23 years old, opened the doors to his extensive career. He has performed Concertos by Mozart and by Bach, worked with the Irakere group, Cubanismo, Afrojazz, Tropicana Cabaret Orchestra and perhaps most well-known internationally, the Buena Vista Social Club.

He works as a professor at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory and at the Superior Institute of Art.

He has given master classes and workshops in Colombia, Denmark, Spain, England, and Switzerland and as a composer and pedagogical author, has published many books with Advance Music and Edition Gruber.

Show Notes: Too old to study the violin. Getting starting with Enrique Pardo and Roberto Sanchez Lopez. An early career starting with Orquesta Cubana De Música Moderna. Doubling on woodwinds. The importance of playing in ensembles. Having respect for the audience. Listening to a wide variety of music. Getting my hands on the first jazz books to learn without a teacher. Meeting with Michael Brecker. Writing my first books for learning Cuban music. The importance of being published. Working with Buena Vista Social Club. Loving music books. Putting sound first. Finally having access to the internet.

The Barry Sax Show

Paul Cohen is one of America's most sought-after saxophonists for orchestral and chamber concerts and solo recitals. He has appeared as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Richmond Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, New York Virtuosi, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony and the Philharmonia Virtuosi. His many solo orchestra performances include works by Debussy, Creston, Ibert, Glazunov, Martin, Loeffler, Husa, Dahl, Still, Villa-Lobos, Tomasi, and Cowell.

He has also performed with a broad range of orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, New Jersey Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, Group for Contemporary Music, Greenwich Symphony, Charleston Symphony, New York Solisti, and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra.

Dr. Cohen is on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music, Rutgers University, Queens College and New York University.

Dr. Cohen holds M.M and DMA degrees from Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included Galan Kral, Joe Allard, and Sigurd Rascher.

He has published more than 100 articles on the history and literature of the saxophone in music journals such as the Saxophone Journal, Instrumentalist, CBDNA Notes, Clarinet and Saxophone Society Magazine of Great Britain, The Grainger Society Journal, and the Saxophone Symposium, and since 1985 a feature column, “Vintage Saxophones Revisited,” for the Saxophone Journal.

Combining his musicological pursuits with performing activities, Dr. Cohen has rediscovered and performed lost saxophone literature, including solo works for saxophone and orchestra by Loeffler, Florio and Dahl (for winds), as well as rare chamber works by Grainger, Ornstein, Sousa, Cowell, Siegmeister, and Loeffler.

His company, To the Fore Publishers, publishes his arrangements and settings for saxophone ensemble as well as original, historical, and contemporary saxophone works from selected composers. Dr. Cohen frequently presents lectures on the saxophone, illustrating his talks with rare instruments, manuscripts, and archival material from his extensive private collection.

About Paul Cohen: The Paul Cohen saxophone collection. Starting out as a chemistry major. Choosing music because it is a passion. Working eight days a week. The satisfaction of students learning something new. The musical level of saxophonists is not rising as fast as the technical and tonal aspects. Learning with an orchestral oboist. Learning with Joe Allard and Sigurd Raschèr. Working on the Dahl concerto. Having a unique way of teaching. The importance of the flexibility of tone production. Productive practising in the middle of the night. Never playing from memory. Joe Allard and tone production. Learning to play vintage mouthpieces and equipment. Learning adaptability at a young age. Practising in short bursts. Allowing a few days to learn a passage. An organically evolving career. Dividing lessons into three parts. Teaching on the weekends. The importance of working with composers. Doing non-jazz improvisation. Avoiding long tones. Achieving orchestral parody of the saxophone. Sounding the same on any mouthpiece. Mistakes are inevitable as part of our humanity. Current and future projects.

The Barry Sax Show

Todd Yukumoto is lecturer of Saxophone at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa where he teaches applied saxophone and directs the University of Hawai’i Saxophone Choir. He is also saxophonist in the Royal Hawaiian Band, the only full-time municipal band in the United States.

Todd received a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Music Education from the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa and went on to receive a Master’s degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with world-renowned classical saxophonist Harvey Pittel.

He has performed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Austin Civic Orchestra, the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra and as a versatile jazz musician, also performs with local and visiting artists. He has played regularly with the well-known Hawaiin rock band, Kalapana and has released several commercial recordings.

Todd founded the not-for-profit Hawaii Saxophone Foundation with a mission to raise the level of awareness and education of the saxophone (with the emphasis to classical music) in Hawaii.

Show Notes: Band was very popular in school and I loved it. There were not many teachers available to start with. Originally I wanted to be a band director. Studying with Harvey Pittel and his influence in Hawaii. Hearing the West Point Band saxophone quartet. The importance of being flexible as a player. If it involves the saxophone, I'm happy. In music, you need as many life experiences as possible. Taking care of business. Focus on what is at hand at the time. Day job with the Royal Hawaiian Band. Practise routines for a busy lifestyle. Playing without tension for a long healthy career. Developing a career without a plan. The importance of working with composers. Being isolated on an island. The more experiences you get for yourself, the more you have to offer. Great, melodic, beautiful saxophone playing should always be with us.

The Barry Sax Show Podcast.

About Clifford Leaman

Clifford Leaman is in great demand as a soloist and clinician throughout the world and has been a featured guest artist in China nine times. He has performed as a concerto soloist with the ShenZhen Symphony Orchestra, at the XII and XV World Saxophone Congresses, and the North American Saxophone Alliance’s 2006 and 2014 Biennial Conferences. He was also a featured concerto soloist at the 2008 International Navy Band Symposium in Washington D.C.

Professor of saxophone at the University of South Carolina, Clifford Leaman received the Bachelor of Science degree in music education from Lebanon Valley College, and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in performance from the University of Michigan where he was a student of Donald Sinta.

An avid supporter of contemporary music, Dr Leaman has commissioned and given the world premiere performances of numerous works, including concertos by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers, Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, and Michael Colgrass.

Leaman has released four critically acclaimed compact discs of works for saxophone and piano on the Equilibrium label. Leaman has also performed extensively with percussionist Scott Herring, giving concerts and masterclasses throughout the world since 2005 when they formed the RoseWind Duo.


Show Notes: Live podcast interview from the Melbourne International Saxophone Festival. Getting started on the saxophone but missing out on trombone. Playing in the school band. Studying with David Bilger and Donald Sinta. Having seeds planted in my brain. Letting out my inner demon. Teaching in Universities for 34 years. The importance of listening to others play. Milk the time that you have. Tips on how to avoid embarrassing yourself on stage. Juggling 18 pieces at once. The joy of music can be a great motivator. My next performance is my motivation. Practising in rhythms. Leaving our legacy in our students. The importance of making recordings. Recordings as an artistic snapshot in time. The right repertoire for the right audience. Travelling and playing. Frequent travel to China. Always play at your best to give a great first impression. Juggling administrative work and music. Commissioning composers becomes a legacy. Improvising in music. Spending time alone right before a performance. Future projects.

The Barry Sax Show

About Joseph Murphy: Joseph Murphy has been saxophone professor at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania since 1987. He has also been director of bands, department chair, and taught a variety of courses. He received his Bachelor of music education from Bowling Green State University (OH), and his Masters and Doctorate degrees from Northwestern University. His teachers have included John Sampen, Fred Hemke and he also received a Fulbright Award for a year of study in Bordeaux, France to study with Jean-Marie Londeix.

His guitar and saxophone ensemble, Duo Montagnard was formed in 2002 and has performed over 300 concerts. Joe has premiered over 90 new works and has recorded 10 albums. Joe has performed in all 50 states, 8 Canadian provinces, 24 countries and 6 continents, including performances at 10 World Saxophone Congresses.

Show Notes: Getting started in the. 6th grade. Learning with the greats, John Sampen, Jean-Marie Londeix and Fred Hemke. Studying in Bordeaux, France. Londeix had a reason for everything. Hemke and Sampen were very intuitive teachers. Know how a piece goes before you learn it. The importance of sight reading. Listening to your body for a long and healthy career. Tips on playing from memory. The difficulty of teaching and practising. Making your own interpretations. Performing in the 50 states. Working closely with composers. Raising funds for international travel. Tone, fingers, brain.

American Saxophonist Timothy Roberts, currently serves as Professor of Saxophone and Instrumental Division Chair at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA. He retired as Principal Saxophonist and a National Tour Soloist with the United States Navy Band in Washington, DC, where he also served as Coordinator of the Navy Band's International Saxophone Symposium which became the largest-attended public saxophone event in the world today.

As one of the ensemble's premier concert soloists, Tim performed for five U.S. Presidents, many foreign dignitaries, and patrons throughout 48 states and around the world from 1987-2011.

Tim makes frequent appearances with the Dallas Symphony, performing on European festival tours and on numerous recordings for the Dorian, Delos, and Hyperion compact disc labels.

Roberts received both his Doctorate of Musical Arts and his Masters of Music degrees from the Catholic University of America and received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied with Fred Hemke.

Roberts has had numerous pieces composed especially for him, and a strong proponent of music education, Roberts has published more than thirty articles for Saxophone Journal.

An avid student of music and life, Roberts currently makes his home in Winchester, Virginia with his wife and two children.

Show Notes: My father was a professional orchestral musician. Playing professionally with my father. Starting with fundamentals. The importance of being able to sight read. Joining the US Navy band. Finding out the hard way that I wasn't as good as I thought was a good thing. The influence and mentorship of Dale Underwood. Playing for presidents. Playing concertos on tour around the 50 states. Extending the Saxophone Symposium. A typical day in the navy band. Being an efficient practiser. Visiting Australia. The importance of working with composers. Making sure that new music is played more than once. New recording projects.

About Matthew Lombard: Matthew Lombard is a South African concert saxophonist, is founding director of the South African Saxophone Society and helped to plan the first National Saxophone Symposium in 2014. He has performed as chamber musician and soloist in South Africa, North America, China, England, Scotland, Croatia, and Germany and is proud to be an ambassador of the Henri Selmer Paris company.

In 2017, Matthew Lombard founded the South African Saxophone Society to further enrich the musical culture in South Africa by promoting the development of saxophonists. The Society will support professional development of saxophone educators and performers, contribute to the international academic community, provide educational support to underserved rural communities in outreach projects, and ultimately aim to host national and international conferences and congresses. 

Matthew actively commissions new music though the South African Music Rights Organization, and continues to premiere these works internationally. Matthew completed his Master of Music degree at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music in the United Kingdom, studying with Rob Buckland and is currently completing his doctoral studies at the University of California in Los Angeles under Professor Douglas Masek. Soon Matthew will be returning to South Africa to continue teaching at Pretoria Boys’ High School, the University of Pretoria and the University of South Africa.

Show Notes: Getting started with Marc Botha. Inspired by recordings of Arno Bornkamp and Claude Delangle. The importance of a strict training early on. Dealing with embouchure changes in the early years. The concept of sound is very important to me. Studying with Rob Buckland was a big turning point. A characteristic of a great teacher is that their students do not sound the same. Studying in the USA with Douglas Masek. Ideas to grow the saxophone community in South Africa. Working with Karen Devroop to develop the first National Saxophone Symposium. There is opportunity because there is a lack of opportunity. Deadlines motivate me. Getting into the recording studio as often as possible. The importance of nature. I know my path is predestined. Playing Escapades for John Williams. There is no point playing music that everyone else is playing. Making music is more important than playing all the notes perfectly Getting sleepy before walking on stage. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing.

The Barry Sax Show. About Tim: Soprano chair of the renowned PRISM Quartet and internationally-acclaimed soloist, Timothy McAllister has been hailed as a “virtuoso…one of the foremost saxophonists of his generation” (The New York Times). Since his solo debut at age sixteen with the Houston Civic Symphony, his career has taken him throughout the world, with solo performances in such venues as Prince Royal Albert Hall in London, the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

McAllister has premiered over 200 new works by today’s most eminent and emerging composers ranging from solo compositions to saxophone quartets and chamber works. In 2009, he appeared as saxophonist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the Gala concert performing the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize and multiple Grammy-winning composer John Adams’ major work, City Noir. In 2017 he performed the work with the famed Berlin Philharmonic, which appeared on the Digital Concert Hall and he recorded for the Berlin Philharmonic’s “John Adams Edition” anthology.

In August 2013, McAllister gave the World Premiere of John Adams’ Saxophone Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the composer in the Sydney Opera House. This work was recorded for Nonesuch Records and the St. Louis Symphony, which won the 2015 GRAMMY Award for Best Orchestral Performance.

A dedicated teacher, McAllister spends his summers as a distinguished Valade Fellow/Instructor of Saxophone for the Interlochen Center for the Arts and has served as a Guest Professor at the famed Paris Conservatoire. In 2014 he was appointed Associate Professor of Saxophone at The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance, following the legacies of Larry Teal and Donald Sinta, after holding the same post at Northwestern University, succeeding the legendary Frederick Hemke.

Show Notes: Visiting Australia. Getting started in a school band. The wanted to give me a tuba, but the saxophone was the most interesting and coolest instrument. I grew up in a very competitive environment. The level of playing in Texas schools was very high. BMX biking was more important to me than the saxophone. Learning with my first specialist, Chester Rowell. Hearing recordings of classical saxophone for the first time got me hooked. Hearing John Adam's music for the first time. Planning five years ahead, at least. Learning with Donald Sinta. Learning and now teaching at Interlochen summer camp. Hearing Denisov for the first time. The importance of listening to interments besides saxophone. Recording my first album while still a student. The decreasing worth of recording albums. Completing two masters degrees at the same time. Practising can become stressful. If you can play from memory, you really know a piece. Improvisation is pivotal to music making. Working with jazz artists. Prism Quartet. Admiration for Claude Delangle. Teaching at the Paris Conservatoire for the first time. Being happy to play John Adam's forever. We have to make everyone love the saxophone. We are a wonderful saxophone community. A lot of the most widely played orchestral pieces have saxophone now. More bananas, less coffee. When I play, I am thinking about just the spirit of the music and the person who wrote it. Thoughts on recording. I don't want us to miss out on the greatest composers of today writing for the saxophone. Tim McAllister Website

Sue is a D’Addario Woodwinds Artist and a Claude Lakey Endorsee. She was the Assistant Director of the 16th World Saxophone Congress, 2012 and as one of Scotland’s leading contemporary saxophonists she has given UK and Scottish premieres of many new works. She is one half of the McKenzie Sawers Duo who recently released their first CD, “The Coral Sea”, with Delphian Records. Sue is also the leader and founder of the Scottish Saxophone Ensemble who were part of the Made in Scotland Music Showcase, 2013 and the Director of the Scottish Saxophone Academy. She regularly performs with Salsa Celtica and the Glasgow Improvisor’s Orchestra and recently performed with her own band, “Dark Grooves” at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 2013. She was chosen as part of Serious Music’s talent development programme, Air Time, in 2014. Sue also plays in Syntonic with bass player Emma Smith and runs Bitches Brew which promotes female improvising talent.

Show Notes: Wanting a saxophone but getting a flute. My first teacher, Mickey Deans. Practising the night before a lesson. Developing a love of sound with teacher Kyle Horch. Lessons can be both positive and negative experiences. Students are often neglecting improvisation. Practising can be chaos. Developing efficiency in practise. Teaching students how to practise. Being told to sound like myself and no-one else. Developing the Scottish Saxophone Ensemble. Taking music to the remote parts of my country. Finding your own voice and acting on it. Developing a distinctive sound to be memorable. Adapting to and managing injuries. The importance of stretching before playing. Organising a World Saxophone Congress. Releasing new albums. Working with composers, including John Harris. Finding more time in a day.

About Arno Bornkamp: Dutch saxophonist Arno Bornkamp (born 1959) is the archetype of the modern virtuoso, feeling equally at home in traditional and contemporary repertoire. Hailed as a lyrical musician with a great sense of performance, Bornkamp studied at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam with Ed Bogaard. He has won many awards, the 'Silver Laurel of the Concertgebouw' and the 'Netherlands Music Prize' among the most noteworthy. The latter enabled him to go abroad, studying in France with Daniël Deffayet and Jean-Marie Londeix, in Japan with Ryo Noda as well as working with composers such as Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen.Since his 1982 solo debut in Rome, performing the 'Concertino da Camera' by Jacques Ibert, he has played more than two hundred concerts with orchestras around the world, including the most important works from the saxophone repertoire in addition to new concerti written especially for him, such as the 'Tallahatchie Concerto' by Jacob TV. In addition to his solo career, chamber music is one of Arno Bornkamp’s great loves. For over thirtyfive years Bornkamp was a member the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet and his duo with pianist Ivo Janssen existed almost as long. The many CDs he has made on various labels since 1990 have garnered national and international praise. On some of these recordings, Bornkamp has taken a certain period of saxophone history and put it under the microscope, on others he highlights a specific composer. Being one of the most important personalities of saxophone in the world, Bornkamp took the initiative to create SAX14, a huge, multidisciplinary saxophone festival in Amsterdam in November 2014, celebrating the 200th birthday of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone. Arno Bornkamp is a renowned teacher, leading an international saxophone class at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. In the summer he teaches at various master classes.

Show Notes: Getting started in Amsterdam. In two years I had played Ibert with orchestra. Deffayet was my hero. Enriching life enriches music. 35 years of Aurelia Saxophone Quartet. Changing personnel in chamber music. Working with composers. Putting the notes in the right place. Making intonation the priority. Animals don't make mistakes, only human beings.

About Branford Marsalis: Branford Marsalis has stayed the course. From his early acclaim as a saxophonist bringing new energy and new audiences to the jazz art, he has refined and expanded his talents and his horizons as a musician, composer, bandleader and educator – a 21st-century mainstay of artistic excellence. Growing up in the rich environment of New Orleans, his first instrument, the clarinet, gave way to the alto and then the tenor and soprano saxophones when the teenage Branford began working in local bands. A growing fascination with jazz as he entered college gave him the basic tools to obtain his first major jobs, with trumpet legend Clark Terry and alongside his brother Wynton in Art Blakey’s legendary Jazz Messengers. When the brothers left to form the Wynton Marsalis Quintet, the world of uncompromising acoustic jazz was invigorated. Branford formed his quartet in 1986 and, with a few minor interruptions in the early years, has sustained the unit as his primary means of expression. Branford has not confined his music to the quartet context, however. Classical music inhabits a growing portion of Branford's musical universe. A frequent soloist with classical ensembles, Branford has become increasingly sought after as a featured soloist with such acclaimed orchestras as the Chicago, Detroit, Düsseldorf, and North Carolina Symphonies and the New York Philharmonic. Branford’s screen credits include the original music for Mo’ Better Blues and acting roles in School Daze and Throw Momma from the Train. Branford has also shared his knowledge as an educator, forming extended teaching relationships at Michigan State, San Francisco State and North Carolina Central Universities and conducting workshops at sites throughout the United States and the world. As for other public stages, Branford spent a period touring with Sting, collaborated with the Grateful Dead and Bruce Hornsby and served as musical director of the tonight show starring Jay Leno. Some might gauge Branford Marsalis's success by his numerous awards, including three Grammys and (together with his father and brothers) his citation as a jazz master by the national endowment for the arts. To Branford, however, these are only way stations along what continues to be one of the most fascinating and rewarding journeys in the world of music.

Show Notes: Growing up in a musical family and a musical city. In New Orleans playing an instrument is cool for kids. There are ridiculous amounts of musicians in New Orleans and they all work. Studying at Berkeley College of Music. Organising musicians for the National Basketball Association half-time show. Building a massive sound vocabulary. Melody should be at the top of the list.  The challenge of music was to be like a chameleon. It’s not music law, it’s music theory. Orchestral appearances were never really part of the plan. There’s only one way to get better at anything, go out and be really bad at it in front of people. I’m in it to play better. I believe that the only way to eliminate mistakes is by making them.  I never met a man that improved by kissing his own ass. Children are more resilient than many adults, if they are allowed to be resilient. You learn how to create sounds that evoke an emotional effect. There’s a lot of music written for the saxophone, I would hesitate to call it great. I’m a nerd, so I’m all about technical mastery, but not at the expense of musical mastery. Everything you learn makes you better. In a niche, you have dedicated yourself to a very limited career. There’s certain things you have to practise do every day. Improvisation is supposed to feel like it’s happening right in front of you, not like it’s meticulously prepared.  I was terrified when I played with the New York Philharmonic. Recording is documenting how I thought about music at a given point in time. Hearing is harder than knowing. You have to be willing to be bad at something for a long time to get good at it....

Asya Fateyeva, a classical saxophonist born on the Crimean peninsula in 1990, has a wide repertoire which includes original works written for her instrument, as well as Baroque, Classical and Romantic pieces which she often arranges herself. In 2014 she became the first woman to reach the final of the prestigious Adolphe Sax International Competition in Belgium. As a winner of the first prize at the German Music Competition in 2012, Asya Fateyeva recorded her debut album of works by Mishat, Ibert, Albright and Decruck. For this project, she was awarded the Best Newcomer ECHO Klassik in 2016. The daughter of a professional footballer, Asya Fateyeva began taking piano lessons at the age of six and saxophone at age 10. Later, she was taught by Professor Margarita Shaposhnikova in Moscow and took masterclasses in Gap, France. Asya moved to Germany in 2004 where she was taught by Daniel Gauthier. Study trips to France, where she was taught by Claude Delangle in Paris and Jean-Denis Michat in Lyon, provided crucial creative inspiration. Fateyeva has performed with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, with the Tchaikovsky Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Ukrainian National Philharmonic, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and many German orchestras.

Show Notes: Concerto soloist after 6 months of lessons. Falling in love with the classical saxophone. Adopting a family to study saxophone. The Russian way of putting the music first. Music and technique are not separate things. Adapting your sound for chamber music. Listening to yourself from an outside perspective. Zooming in on problems. Having confidence to perform from memory. The importance of improvisation to know music more deeply. Inside the laboratory of saxophone events. Giving music everything. The imperfection of beauty. Performing in the state of concentrated calm. Developing a wide range of skills, other than playing. Curiosity, discovery and development.

About Lars Mlekusch: Lars Mlekusch is a saxophonist, conductor and educator. He was appointed a professor of saxophone and chamber music at the Music and Arts University of Vienna at the age of 26, and since 2015 he is the saxophone professor at the Zurich University of the Arts. Lars Mlekusch has performed throughout the world as a soloist, with orchestras or in chamber music. For ten years he was a regular guest saxophonist of the Klangforum Wien and has been the saxophone soloist of the Vienna based ensemble PHACE. He has been invited to teach masterclasses at many renowned institutions such as the Paris Conservatoire, Conservatorium of Amsterdam, Chopin University of Music Warsaw, Royal College of Music London, Bejing Central Conservatory and leading universities across the United States. He has been on the faculties of the European Saxophone University Gap and the Arosa Music Academy. He was a jury member at many international competitions such as the International Adolphe Sax Competition in Dinant, the Jean-Marie Londeix Competition in Bangkok. Following his career as a saxophonist, he is now pursuing a career as a conductor. As such he has appeared at Konzerthaus Wien, the Cité de la Musique Strasbourg and the National Concert Hall Taipei. He is the Artistic Director and conductor of the MIT saxophone ensemble in Taiwan. Lars Mlekusch is the founder and Artistic Director of both the Vienna International Saxfest and the Zurich International Saxfest. He is a Selmer Paris Artist.

Show Notes: Starting the saxophone because it is golden, different to the black clarinet. Learning with my teacher's teacher's teacher. Working with Marcus Weiss. Boring scales and a lot about music. Becoming curious about composers. Studying as far away as possible. Master's with Fred Hemke at Northwestern University. Recommending students to study abroad. Private study with Claude Delangle and Arno Bornkamp. Giving masterclasses with Tim McCallister and Christian Wirth. Founding the Vienna Saxophonic Orchestra. Performing withsoloist ensemble Phace. Teaching without being systematic. Living with focal dystonia. Canceling a big concert for the first time. Advancing a career in conducting. Studying with Emilio Pomarico. Improvisation is something significant that every musician should try at least. Keeping kids creative. The subtle art of avoiding answering questions. Remaining in the moment.
Dissemination of saxophone knowledge through social and other media.

About Richard Ingham: Richard Ingham has had an extensive career as a performer, composer and educator. He has given solo saxophone recitals and chamber concerts throughout UK, North America, Asia and Europe.

Numerous composers have written works have for him, and he has played by invitation at every World Saxophone Congress since 1985 (in Washington DC, Tokyo, Pesaro, Valencia, Montreal, Minneapolis, Ljubljana, Bangkok, St Andrews, Strasbourg and Zagreb). In 2012 was the Artistic Director of the acclaimed 16th World Saxophone Congress in St Andrews, Scotland.

He is a Yamaha artist, conducted the National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain for several years and has composed many original works. He studied at the University of York, specialising in clarinet and contemporary music. Later he studied at Leeds Metropolitan University and the University of Leeds, both in aspects of music technology. A brief but inspirational period was spent at Bloomington University, Indiana, studying saxophone with Eugene Rousseau.

Richard has been teaching for 40 years, always alongside his performing and composing career. He teaches saxophone (classical and jazz), chamber music performance, jazz performance, and history of 20th-century music. His jazz courses at the University of St Andrews have been running for 24 years.

He was the editor and contributing author of the Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone (Cambridge University Press, 1999), widely regarded as the leading book on the subject.

Show Notes: Informal lessons to get started. Cross boundaries and dipping toes into different kinds of music. Subtle marketing from a man of great integrity. Summer courses in Bloomington, Indiana with Eugene Rousseau. The UK is more encouraging than destructive. The influence of contemporary clarinet music. Examination boards influencing the development of the UK saxophone. Kids growing up would listen to pop music and that's where they would hear a saxophone. Playing Boulez's Dialogue de l'Ombre Double Having a composing break for almost 20 years. A career as a series of accidents. Teaching at the University of Aberdeen. The development of the saxophone in China. Having time to prepare before stepping on stage.

Gerard McChrystal comes from Derry, Northern Ireland. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester and later at The Guildhall School, London and with Frederick Hemke at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Gerard has performed in over 35 countries, recorded numerous albums and has worked with orchestras including Philharmonia, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, National Symphony of Ireland, Stuttgart Staatsorchester and the Orchestra of San Francisco Ballet.

Gerard was artistic director of the British Saxophone Congress in London and he has served as an adjudicator at the 5th Adolphe Sax International Saxophone Competition in Dinant, Belgium.

Gerard is Professor of Saxophone at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London.

Show Notes: A lot of my career was an accident. I was a really serious clarinet player but I was always number two. I loved to play along with my dad’s record player, especially Baker Street. Working with John Harle at the Guildhall School of Music. Studying with Frederick Hemke at Northwestern University. It was tough growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland. I thought I knew everything and I knew virtually nothing. My life has been a beautiful zig-zag. I wish what I knew then what I know now. To practise you have to get rid of your ego. I learn things under tempo and let adrenaline take me over the line. You must a program a piece in a concert for a reason. I like pieces that are virtually impossible to play, I like the challenge. I have played Ku Ku over 100 times, it is a real party piece. The first performance of a piece is just an introduction. Make sure that you play pieces that you really know. We are running a program with 50% male and 50% female composers. I love getting guests in to work with my students. A love of travelling and touring, food, the larger human experiences. John Harle’s contribution to the saxophone in the UK. I like to be antisocial before walking on stage. The great energy of the Apollo Quartet. We are in trouble when we don’t know we are making mistakes.

Carrie Koffman is Associate Professor of Saxophone at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford and Lecturer of Saxophone at the Yale School of Music. She has appeared at numerous World Saxophone Congresses, the SaxArt International Saxophone Festivals in Italy, the International Clarinet and Saxophone Festival in China and several North American Saxophone Alliance National Conventions.

Carrie is a graduate with high honours from the University of Michigan where she studied with Donald Sinta and also the University of North Texas where she studied with James Riggs and Eric Nestler. Carrie regularly appears as a chamber musician, and clinician and has been a featured soloist with numerous orchestras and bands including the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

Committed to new music, Carrie has commissioned and premiered around 50 compositions. Her recording projects comprise twelve commercially available CDs, and she has an ongoing recording and performing series entitled "Pink Ink" that is dedicated to promoting the music of living women composers.

Show Notes: Getting started playing tuba parts on the contra-alto clarinet. Learning with Donald Sinta at the University of Michigan. The most charismatic person met to this day. Building playing from the ground up. Studying jazz improvisation as a classical saxophonist. Getting jobs early. Interpretation as a function of improvisation. Juggling multiple teaching positions. Changing practice routines as your playing matures. Learning and then teaching Kripalu Yoga. Using Pranayama breathing techniques in playing. Touring internationally with the Transcontinental Saxophone Quartet. Working with living composers. Removing tension from playing for a long and healthy career. 50% technique, 50% repertoire approach to practising. The importance (and possible addiction) of recording. Skydiving to learn about letting go.

After graduating from Hanover University of Music and Drama, German saxophonist Sebastian Pottmeier continued his studies in Bordeaux, France in the prestigious class of Marie Bernadette Charrier and Jean-Marie Londeix. He has appeared at several world saxophone congresses including performances with the International Saxophone Ensemble under the direction of Jean-Marie Londeix. Since 2003, Sebastian has taught at the University of Music in Cologne, Germany. Sebastian has built a significant career in chamber music. For 15 years he has been a founding member of Alliage Quintett, one of the most creative and successful ensembles in Europe. A consummate musician with significant tours and broadcasts, Sebastian has recorded a dozen chamber music albums and continues to perform throughout the world.

Show Notes: I played my first concert without having heard the saxophone played by a professional saxophone player. Music comes first. Don't take yourself so important. The important is not you; it's the music. Students have their time taken with too many activities. You must help students discover what they can do after their studies. Chamber music is an excellent career path. There are not enough jobs for music teachers in Germany. I could never play a note without musical interest. Scales are not the best way to warm up. Playing without quality breathing is nothing. I don't practise anything that I did as a student anymore. Baritone saxophone is my first choice. It is very important for members of a chamber music group to really know each other. We were bored with traditional saxophone quartet repertoire. We try to be serious, even if we are not so serious. Music is individual and personal. If I just had one hour to practise, I would just play low notes. The worst case is music is without phrasing. To find a concert, you need a recording. Working on the combination with an acoustic instrument and electronic.

Canadian Daniel Gauthier has performed throughout the world as a concerto soloist and as soprano saxophonist with the internationally acclaimed group, Alliage Quintet. He founded this ensemble in 2004, and together they have recorded seven albums including several for SONY Classical. After studying in Montreal and Bordeaux, Daniel Gauthier completed his studies in Canada earning his doctoral degree.   He has presented masterclasses in major European music capitals and has also served as a jury member in many international saxophone competitions.   Daniel has been an elected member of the International Saxophone Committee, he held the first saxophone professorship in Germany and since 2003 has been teaching at the Cologne Faculty of Music. During Daniel’s recent tour with Alliage in Australia, I was able to catch up with him for an entertaining conversation full of laughs and insight.

Show Notes: I came to the saxophone in a completely different way. A music lesson was $3. I met Jean-Marie Londeix at a summer camp. I moved to France for one year. I was selling croissants during the day and in the evening learning Denisov by memory. I decided to go back to Canada and to maybe even quit the music. I got the job as the first saxophone professor in Germany. Three cultures are all part of my way to make music now. I was very focused on new music, contemporary music because Londeix was very forceful about that. We are musicians because we want to go on stage and not play in our living room for ourselves. It was not an option for me to repeat what other peoples have done. It’s more interesting for me to work in a group. Try to find what you are and what you want to do. Jean-Marie Londeix is the one who opened to a new dimension of the repertoire. If you have something to say, be patient enough to wait until that time comes, and it will happen. Touring with Sabine Meyer. I would like very much to get some original repertoire for the quintet.

Dragan Sremec is a professor of saxophone and the vice-dean at the Zagreb Music Academy. He is the founder of the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, and for many years he was the principal saxophonist with the Zagreb Philharmonic and the Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra.

Dragan was the first ever graduate in saxophone from the Zagreb Academy in 1981 and went on to study in Paris with Daniel Deffayet and with Dr Eugene Rousseau at the IU School of Music.

He has performed as a soloist and as a member of the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet in the prestigious halls of many European countries, the USA, South America and Asia. He played with all major orchestras in Croatia and Slovenia, with the Orchestra of the French Republican Guard, the US Navy Band and many more.

He made many solo recordings for Croatian Radio and Television, and with his quartet, he has recorded 11 albums. He has premiered over fifty works by foremost Croatian and Slovenian composers, and currently, Dragan is artistic director of the 2018 World Saxophone Congress, hosted in Zagreb, Croatia.

In this episode: My life is a series of coincidences. Too old for violin and piano, the guitar is already full of candidates. Saxophone, play the saxophone. My professor Nochta was a great teacher and musician. I got a Fulbright grant to study with Eugene Rousseau. Deffayet was very polite, very gentle with me. Be open to knowledge. The bloody war started. Almost 30 years with the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet. When you practise a lot, you don’t need a lot of warm-ups. Just practise. If you don’t have a goal, you’re just stalling. The World Saxophone Congress. Avoiding a secluded kind of saxophone sect that nobody knows.

A musician of international repute, French saxophonist and composer Philippe Geiss has given concerts and masterclasses all over the world. Excelling in diverse disciplines, he has mastered a repertoire that extends from classical to improvised music. He is in great demand as a composer, with a catalogue ranging from solo pieces to symphonic repertoire. He is published by Billaudot, Robert Martin and Leduc.

Philippe is Professor at the Strasbourg Conservatory and the Strasbourg Superior Music Academy / Haute École des Arts du Rhin, as well as a guest professor at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Tokyo. He is a member of the scientific committee of LabEx-GREAM at Strasbourg University. Philippe Geiss is a valued member of the International Saxophone Committee, in which role he masterminded the artistic direction of SaxOpen – the 17th Congress and World Festival of the Saxophone – in Strasbourg in 2015.

In this wide-ranging interview, listen to Philippe describe how he wanted to play the trombone and his mother bought him a saxophone In France, students learn the saxophone from age 6. Kids should have fun practising and learn something at the same time. We need to find some way to have people motivated to keep practising. The very boring mechanical exercises. My teacher's 12 copy-paste students. Ivan Roth, had fun playing jazz. Jerry Bergonzi called me crazy. Last teacher was Jean-Marie Londeix. You learn to master your body, your mind and your stress. Weeks really working hard at a restaurant, and after that, I decided to stay with the saxophone. You have to decide what you will practise because you do not have enough time. Taking care of my body. Some people play better when they read, some other people play better when they memorise. Tips on coming back from a jazz embouchure to a classical embouchure. Five years with Zulu musicians from South Africa. Learning and studying traditional music from different countries. Travelling makes you understand that we are really on a small planet. You have to learn to listen, to sample, and to respect different origins and traditions. For a long period time, I didn't think about my career. Doing around 250 concerts each year. The first thing about improvisation, especially teaching improvisation, is don't say improvisation. Things worked well because I learned to trust my colleagues. Open your mind to different cultures and don't only practise your saxophone.

Lev Pupis is a Slovenian saxophonist, teacher at the Conservatory in Ljubljana and is a senior lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. After a brilliant graduation in 1998 at the University of Music in Vienna, he studied saxophone in France with Jean-Yves Fourmeau and Vincent David.

Lev is a multifaceted and versatile artist. He plays both as a soloist and as co-founder of the 4saxess quartet. He is the artistic director of Emona Music Festival, the international woodwind competition and runs the internationally recognised AS Festival each year in the scenic town of Bled, Slovenia.

He has performed as soloist with orchestras in Graz, Ljubljana, Maribor, Belgrade, and Vienna and since 2015 he has been an elected member of the International Saxophone Committee.

In this episode, you will hear: why starting saxophone was a coincidence - why nobody liked to hear Lev’s performances with piano - Not a typical education for a classical saxophonist - Practising like hell in early years. - Studying abroad is an essential step.
Curiosity led to Gap, the European saxophone summer university. - In Gap, I learned was that I’m a nobody. We have to leave the nest to really grow up. - Respect is my secret weapon. - Is the saxophone a tool or a toy? - Our country is very, very, very small, but the sax community is big. - Thoughts on memorisation. - The romantic style is my most natural language of expression. - Opportunity and intuition, they are my kind of words. - Be brave. - If we share music, not just show music, then we can really go far. - An obligation to leave a trace on the saxophone world. - The Slovenian saxophone school is recognised throughout the world. - The importance of collaboration. - If we don’t understand the mistake, that is the mistake. - Never think that you are the best. - The saxophone is really the instrument of the future, and its time is still to come.

Soloist, researcher, and pedagogue, Claude Delangle is one of the greatest contemporary saxophonists and he stands out as the master of the French saxophone.

Considered a profound interpreter, he also has enriched the saxophone repertoire by collaborating with the most renowned composers, including Berio, Boulez, Takemitsu, and Piazzolla as well as supporting many younger composers. Since 1986, he has been saxophonist with Ensemble intercontemporain, and has appeared as soloist with prestigious orchestras worldwide including London BBC, Radio France, Radio of Finland, Berlin Philharmonic and the Australian Chamber Orchestra amongst many others.

Passionate for his instrument, he has worked closely with Musical Acoustic Laboratories of the University of Paris 7. The results of his research on the specific acoustics of the saxophone have helped him further his collaboration with living composers.

He has recorded many albums for BIS, Deutsche Grammophon, Harmonia Mundi, Erato and Verany including popular repertoire through to the most avant-garde works.

After obtaining several 1st prizes at the Paris Conservatoire, Claude Delangle was appointed professor in 1988, where he has created the most prestigious saxophone class in the world.

Learn more about Claude Delangle: He was happy because at 9 years, he was too old to play the violin. On hearing the saxophone for the first time - I have to play that instrument. When we grow up with something, it feels natural. My teacher Daniel Deffayet did not play during lessons. Serge Bichon’s teaching was very tough.

I had been told that I would not learn anything at the Paris Conservatoire. Students today are exposed to too many ideas too early. Sometimes I try to sing some tunes I listen to in an elevator. Began teaching at the Paris Conservatoire at age 31. The main job of a teacher is just listening, very, very carefully. 10 years to begin something, 20 years to develop it and 30 years to realise that it could be done differently.

We shouldn’t be proud but we should be confident. What I like most about travel is meeting new students. Try everything with no expectations.
Students play music that is too difficult too early. When we love something, we learn very easily. Playing in a duo for 40 years. Learning the most by making recordings. Music is the art of time. We now have the time to experiment with new things.

Working with composers has been the key point of my career. I use improvisation in teaching. Love of technology. The biggest mistake one can make is to believe there is only one right way. Practising as little a possible on the day of a performance. When you know something from memory, you just know it. The Solitary Saxophone recording. Learning music is practising and playing chamber music. Working with a dancer. The human part of my life has been the most important.

Dr. Javier Valerio is widely recognized as one of the pioneers and leading classical saxophonists in Latin America. He was invited as a jury member of the 2014 Adolphe Sax International Competition. He is member of the International Saxophone Committee (ISC), Founding President of the ALASAX (Latin American Saxophone Alliance), Founding Director of the Sax Fest Costa Rica International, the Costa Rica International Saxophone Competition and founder of the renowned saxophone and percussion quintet, SONSAX.

After studying with the world known saxophonist, Eugene Rousseau, at Indiana University School of Music, Valerio returned to his home country, Costa Rica, and established the Saxophone Studio where he has been teaching as a Distinguished Professor of the School of Music at the University of Costa Rica and worked as the Director of the Instrumental Department. He obtained his Masters degree in Jazz Studies at Florida International University and obtained DMA degree from the University of Kansas, having the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall, New York with the KU Wind Ensemble in 2013.

He has been invited to perform as a soloist with many Orchestras and Wind Ensembles throughout Latin American countries, performing also on numerous occasions in the World Saxophone Congresses and North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences. He has travelled offering recitals, clinics, master classes and concerts throughout the world and is a Selmer Paris, Rico Reeds and Rousseau Mouthpieces Artist.

In this interview you will hear about parties and dancing a lot, not being able to play music just sitting down, his early teacher who was very, very good. Learning from recordings, being very serious about going to the United States to study with Eugene Rousseau, not always realising how you got there, but you get there, one of the most important elements for any saxophonist - the sound concept. Practicing saxophone with just the mouthpiece.

Costa Rica is influenced by music from all over the world. I have to play salsa, I have to play merengue, I have to play classical, I have to play jazz, I have to play rock, I have to play all these different styles. I cannot just practise one way, because it depends on what I need to do.

Getting distracted when practising? Just turn off the phone, SONSAX - Valerio's group that has been playing together for over 20 years. Teaching is creating the school that you have in your mind. Founding the Latin American Saxophone Alliance.

The importance of sharing life with someone who understands and enjoys what I do. I didn't have much time to practice because I was at the beach. Developing a close relationship with composers. Using improvisation in teaching. Playing really fast arpeggios just for the hell of it. There are too many people that I admire. If you don't enjoy what you're going to do, you're wasting your time. Don’t ever be too uptight, be patient and think twice. The first and last thing that you do in life is breathing. Breathe.

Widely recognized as one of the world’s leading classical saxophonists, Kenneth Tse is certainly one of the instrument’s outstanding proponents on any saxophone aficionado’s short list. He burst on the scene in 1996 as the winner of the prestigious New York Artists International Award, which resulted in an acclaimed debut recital at Carnegie Hall, after which he was hailed as “a young virtuoso” by the New York Times. Since then he has been a frequent concerto soloist on five continents and featured artist at events such as the triennial World Saxophone Congress and North American Saxophone Alliance conferences. Prestigious universities and conservatories worldwide, such as Moscow Conservatory and Paris Conservatory have invited him to give master classes. He was recently a judge, representing the USA, at the 6th Adolphe Sax International Competition in Dinant, Belgium.

In this wide-ranging interview, learn about Kenneth's surprising first band instrument, starting without a saxophone teacher, support from family, an unconventional way to learn classical saxophone. meeting an American saxophone mentor, moving to, and studying saxophone in the USA, saxophone masters and DMA degrees.

Saxophone teaching is a feeling, do what your music teacher tells you to do, you can't just do the minimum, time to practise is harder to come by, playing from memory is for communication with the audience.

Kenneth's favourite music, working with composers writing for saxophone, fitness for a healthy performance career, being a positive person, 10 years to build an audience base, teaching students to be responsible for themselves.

Highlights of touring the world, you just have to work harder, dinner with Jean-Marie Londeix, new saxophone recordings coming out soon and making playing effortless. Enjoy!