“a titan of contemporary music and the instrument in general”
Zachary Lewis
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland (10/7/14)
“City Noir is about process, not stasis…there was a prominent part for saxophone (played by the steady Timothy McAllister)…”
Arthur Kaptainis
National Post (Toronto)
“one that will be studied and admired by saxophonists everywhere, yet deserves a still wider audience…remarkably good and thought provoking.”
FANFARE Magazine
[Review: “LA Phil Brings ‘New World’ to Seoul”]
“Resplendent saxophone solos thrilled audiences throughout…”
Kwon Ji-youn
The Korea Times (3/27/15)
“…breathtaking and spectacular…a revolution displayed in the hands of an artist…”
Donald Sinta
Earl V. Moore Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Saxophone, The University of Michigan
“John Adams said he wouldn’t wish [that alto saxophone solo] on anyone, but Timothy McAllister dispatching it with wonderful grace on this world premiere evening.”
Fred Child
Commentary from American Public Media/Performance Today’s coverage of Gustavo Dudamel’s Inaugural Concert with the LA Phil
“McAllister precisely conveyed the mood of every stylistic alley into which Bolcom peered. His saxophone delivered dialogue, as well as notes, as he brought his own experiences to Bolcom’s hodgepodge of a musical canvas…the arrangement of John Williams’ Catch Me If You Can score gives plenty of opportunity to display his technical wizardry and dynamic control.”
Gregory Sullivan Isaacs
Critic, Theater Jones: Arts News in North Texas
“brilliant solos were in abundance, especially by Timothy McAllister…”
Janos Gereben
San Francisco Classical Voice
“McAllister shone in the virtuosic concerto, navigating the perilous runs and figures with ease while keeping a high level of technical proficiency. His musicality was the high point of the performance, especially in the opening movement where Dahl eschewed a steady beat and rhythm, leaving the soloist to push forward the musical line. The final movement was a whirlwind of fingers, but each note and phrase was perfectly placed.”
John Norine, Jr.
Theater Jones: Arts News in North Texas
“…jaw-dropping technical display…a well-known master of his instrument.”
Daniel Coombs
Audiophile Audition
“No doubt this disc will be much studied and admired by saxophonists and certainly deserves hearing among a still wider audience…remarkably good and thought provoking”
Robert McColley
Fanfare Magazine - Review of Visions
“It was Higdon’s concerto that offered the most sublime musical moments on the program…her saxophone concerto is an extremely lyrical piece whose ideas are clear and free of musical meandering…The work was played with warmth and agility by saxophonist Timothy McAllister…In the realm of contemporary music, finding a jewel amid the programmed mix is a rare music moment. And this concert delivered it with Higdon’s concerto.”
Edward Ortiz
The Sacramento Bee
“Dudamel led a bracing, propulsive performance with instrumental lines clear even in Adams’ most riotous contrapuntal moments. The L.A. Phil members covered themselves in glory with outstanding contributions…especially, Timothy McAllister’s evocative and bravura alto sax playing.”
Lawrence A. Johnson
The Classical Review
“Handling the extensive saxophone solos was guest musician Timothy McAllister, who performed the work’s world premiere and who was brought in at Adams’ request. Although seated in the middle of the orchestra, he stood for the solos and played the jazz-inspired riffs in a nervy, improvisatory style, a highlight of what was a fine performance.”
David Fleshler
The Miami Herald/South Florida Classical Review
“McAllister was phenomenal, giving a dazzling performance that rocked the audience to its feet for a prolonged and well-deserved ovation”
Sarah Bryan Miller
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Oct 2013)
“McAllister’s beautiful high register rivaled that of a coloratura vocalist…”
Review of PRISM Quartet
The New York City Jazz Record
“[City Noir’s] second movement, “The Song Is for You,” is softer and, on the surface, sweeter than the first, and jazzy. I heard hints of Gershwin in the horns after a flamboyant saxophone solo played by Timothy McAllister.”
Mark Swed
Los Angeles Times
“McAllister literally mesmerized the audience with a virtuoso performance that captured the full range of the sax, bringing thunderous applause and two curtain calls for bows”
Bill Jones
Charlotte Sun (1/17/19)
“the audience was left breathless by the astonishing virtuosity of Timothy McAllister”
Bertrand Hainaut
DIAPASON (France) (1/4/2018)
“Tim McAllister is a stunning saxophonist…he has played and recorded two of my saxophone works, and I can’t imagine them being played any better by anyone.”
Ann Arbor, Michigan -
Today has finally arrived! The official announcement of American icon, GRAMMY, PULTIZER, and ACADEMY AWARD winning composer JOHN CORIGLIANO’s new saxophone concerto to be premiered January 14-16, 2021 with the incredible San Francisco Symphony and conductor Cristian Macelaru!
The work features the soprano, alto and baritone saxophones across three movements, entitled “Leaps”, “Lines”, and “Licks”, respectively. I can’t tell you how honored and thrilled I am to share this project with you. The practicing has already begun on this monster, so if you need me this summer and Fall, I’ll be in the woodshed. Much love to all!
Timothy McAllister joined Maestro Thomas Wilkins with the superb Buffalo Philharmonic this past weekend, showcasing two different saxophone concertos on the same program across two evenings. The Buffalo News critic Leonidas Lagrimas’ full review can be found HERE.
(Excerpt)
“World-renowned saxophonist Timothy McAllister’s brilliant, crowd-pleasing performance was equal parts rock-star swagger and supremely polished musicianship.
Following the full-blast intensity and crowd-pleasing pyrotechnics of “Rush,” the more restrained tone and mellower lyricism of Aleksandr Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto came across as somewhat anticlimactic (the program’s first half would have been far more effective if the Fuchs and Glazunov were reversed). Nevertheless, McAllister’s refined performance was as good as saxophone playing gets, a masterclass in phrasing and another reminder of this instrument’s full dramatic and musical range.”
Tim’s 2019-2020 Season includes featured and debut solo appearances with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, Seattle Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic, as well as return engagements with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Click on ‘Performances’ for more details.
Deutsche Grammophon and the Brussels Philharmonic will release their recording of new orchestral works by Guillaume Connesson, including his stunning saxophone concerto ‘A Kind of Trane’ with soloist Timothy McAllister. Look for it in March 2019!
Timothy McAllister is featured on two different albums that are nominated as finalists in the classical category for the coveted “BEST CLASSICAL COMPENDIUM.” His performance of Kenneth Fuchs’s Saxophone Concerto “Rush” with the London Symphony Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, cond., appears on the NAXOS album “Spirtualist” featuring four concertos by Kenneth Fuchs, and he appears as saxophone soloist in John Adams’s “City Noir” with the Berlin Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel on the box-set anthology “John Adams Edition.”
More information on the Fuchs album can be found HERE
More information on the “John Adams Edition” can be found HERE
August 10th marked the release of my recording on the Naxos label of Kenneth Fuchs’s Saxophone Concerto ‘RUSH’ with the London Symphony Orchestra and Maestra JoAnn Falletta. Almost a year to the date when this was recorded in historic Abbey Road Studios, it was indescribable standing in front of that legendary ensemble. My deepest thanks to all involved! Here is the link to the preview video
Look for it now on iTunes and other major outlets. Thanks for listening!
I’m very excited to announce upcoming recording projects with three of the world’s top orchestras to be released during 2017/2018 year!
City Noir - John Adams (recorded June 2017)
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Berlin Philharmonic 4-CD Box Set and DVD anthology of the music of John Adams
Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings (NOW AVAILABLE)
Rush (Saxophone Concerto) - Kenneth Fuchs (Released August 10, 2018)
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
London Symphony Orchestra
NAXOS Records (NOW AVAILABLE)
Saxophone Concerto “A Kind of Trane” - Guillaume Connesson (recording March 2018)
Stephane Deneve, conductor
Brussels Philharmonic
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
I hope you will be able to check these out! More info to come as release dates are finalized. Stay tuned!
What an honor to be part of this Nonesuch album that took home the 2015 GRAMMY Award for Best Orchestral Performance! An amazing tribute to the musicians and staff at the St. Louis Symphony who helped make it all happen. I am thrilled to reprise the Saxophone Concerto in January 2016 with the orchestra in St. Louis and on a week-long, Grammy celebration California Tour! Stay posted for more information!
I was thrilled when I learned the album, “John Adams: City Noir,” with the St. Louis Symphony and David Robertson received two Grammy nominations for “Best Orchestral Performance” and “Best Engineered Album.” The album has also been featured on several year-end lists for top recordings of 2014, including the Detroit Free Press, San Jose Mercury News, Rhapsody and National Public Radio, as well as by independent critic’s lists nationwide. It is incredible to see such attention for an album largely featuring the saxophone and new music, and I am so honored to have been a part of it.
September has been quite a life-changing month so far. I settled into my life in Ann Arbor, performed in a dream collaboration perhaps on the classical world’s biggest stage in Royal Albert Hall, and helped organize an emotional and inspiring tribute recital honoring the career and life of my predecessor and mentor at the University of Michigan, Donald Sinta. However, this week something struck me equally as deeply in my experience with the Utah Wind Symphony on September 23 in Salt Lake City. Only four years old, this group of professional freelancers and educators gave a rousing performance of John Mackey’s Soprano Sax Concerto with me to an audience of nearly 1100 people as part of a ‘send-off’ preview concert for the upcoming Midwest Clinic in Chicago (Dec. 20).
What struck me wasn’t simply the commitment to the level of playing, but the sheer dedication to the cause of wind band music and the deep sense of community. Led by Scott Hagen, director of bands at the University of Utah, and his wife and clarinetist, Myroslava Hagen, this group in four years has managed to achieve a level and following that rivals our nation’s military bands and other successful civic models such as the Dallas Wind Symphony, Northshore Concert Band, Lone Star Wind Orchestra, among many others. Yet, under this veneer, I learned that recently the group lost its primary financial support which now threatens the existence of the ensemble. Such disheartening news for such an amazing group of people and musicians. Amidst all the financial struggles we see with today’s major orchestras, news like this can be even more hurtful since a group like UWS comes together for the love of playing and the celebration of a very under appreciated literature, concert band music.
Band music isn’t simply trivial or purely pedagogical. It is a viable, ever-growing field of which many of today’s greatest composers have explored. More importantly, it often serves as the cultural center of most grade schools and college campuses. When we witness the rise of such an ensemble like the UWS, it helps a musician/teacher like myself remember WHY we got into music in the first place. The music. The camaraderie. The mission. These are not musicians looking for a hefty paycheck, accolades in the city’s major newspaper, or to rival the local symphony orchestra or opera company. They are performing together because they believe in the medium and the spirit of collaboration.
A vibrant community like Salt Lake deserves a successful ensemble like this to flourish for many years to come. They are not alone, as most cities/towns have some form of a community band, either amateur or professional. Get out to support these groups and their mission. It is the extension of a great American genre that never retreated after it’s rise in the late Nineteenth century.
Godspeed to the Utah Wind Symphony, and see you in the Windy City!
Welcome to my new website! New to the site are downloads for presenters, a news blog, and a press page entirely devoted to the John Adams Saxophone Concerto. I hope you will enjoy the functionality of the site and many of the new pics from the photography studio of RRJONES. Look for more updates in the days ahead as final tweaks are made, but in the meantime, take a listen to the clips, note any upcoming performances in your area, and add your name to my mailing list for updates and news. I am very grateful to Joe Dakroub for his design and assistance!
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