“a titan of contemporary music and the instrument in general”

Zachary Lewis The Plain Dealer, Cleveland (10/7/14)

“fantastic virtuosity and lyric beauty”

John Corigliano Pulitzer Prize Laureate, Grammy, and Oscar-winning composer

“…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

“World-renowned saxophonist Timothy McAllister’s brilliant, crowd-pleasing performance was equal parts rock-star swagger and supremely polished musicianship”

Leonidas Lagrimas The Buffalo News (12/8/2019)

“McAllister was the tirelessly virtuosic soloist, playing with rhythmic drive and confident swagger…”

Hugo Shirley The Telegraph (UK) (9/5/14)

“He gave the piece the knockout performance it deserved…[McAlllister] gave a fluent demonstration of what his instrument —all his instruments—can do. He tore his way nimbly through intricate passagework, shaped lyrical melodies with the grace of an opera singer, and gave the piece all the theatrical panache it wanted.”

J.Kosman [John Corigliano’s ‘Triathlon’ - world premiere with the San Francisco Symphony] San Francisco Chronicle

“A tremendous saxophonist, McAllister played with great strength, bright tone, and excellent intonation—including the altissimo register—on all his horns…in the end Corigliano’s ‘Triathlon’ brought the house down in cheers for soloist, orchestra, and composer.”

George Grella New York Classical Review (6/5/22)

“the audience was left breathless by the astonishing virtuosity of Timothy McAllister”

Bertrand Hainaut DIAPASON (France) (1/4/2018)

“McAllister is at the center of what’s probably the most mainstream classical saxophone disc of the decade - John Adams’ City Noir and Saxophone Concerto on Nonesuch”

David Patrick Stearns The Philadelphia Inquirer (April 2014)

“Adams imparts a lighter touch to the orchestration to support the solo alto saxophone’s sinewy lines, played with wondrous dexterity by Timothy McAllister”

Pwyll ap Sion GRAMOPHONE Magazine (Aug. 2014)

“a fearless musician and risk taker…a one-of-a-kind artist the way Yo-Yo Ma is”

John Adams Pulitzer Prize Laureate and Grammy-winning composer

“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)

Latest Release

Timothy McAllister & Liz Ames: Project Encore, Vol. 1

Timothy McAllister & Liz Ames: Project Encore, Vol. 1

From mechanical stutterings framing arguably the most famous pop sax solo in history to a crooning theater ballad; from elegiac music inspired by pandemic lockdowns to jubilant outbursts of renewal and hope, PROJECT ENCORE, VOLUME 1, is a channel-surfing mosaic of modern composition at its finest. McAllister notes, “there is a mission and a level of musical activism behind this album, and nothing can speak to the state and richness of concert music today like the saxophone.”

The collected works on this first volume, and the Ann Arbor-based duo’s third album since 2020, features the music of Nina Shekhar, Jennifer Jolley, Andre Myers, Zoe Cutler, Griffin Candey, Matthew Evan Taylor, Karalyn Schubring, Marianne Ploger, Chad “Sir Wick” Hughes, Jim Territo, Armando Bayolo, Corey Dundee, Andrés Eloy Rodriguez, and Gonzalo Garrido-Lecca.

Release Date September 16, 2022
Producer Neuma Records
Catalog Number NEUMA165
All Recordings

New Chandos and Naxos Recording Projects

New Album Releases on the way!

Coming in November 2023, Naxos artist and Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic JoAnn Falletta will release a series of rarely heard American works with the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic. Recorded at the NOI Festival in 2022, the album features Paul Creston’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra. Often performed in its version for wind band, this recording documents the iconic saxophone work in its origin…

Full Article

Upcoming Performances

  1. Carnegie Hall Gala Opening Concert: Chicago Symphony Orchestra

    Carnegie Hall
    7:00 PM

    Mussorgsky/Ravel - Pictures from an Exhibition
    Riccardo Muti, conductor

  2. Single Reed Day: University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Mead Witter School of Music
    10:30 AM

    Performance and Masterclass
    Register here:
    https://music.wisc.edu/single-reed-day/

  4. Guest Artist: 1st Annual Interlochen Woodwind Day

    Interlochen Center for the Arts
    10:00 AM

    10:00am Saxophone Masterclass
    2:30pm Guest Artist Recital

  5. Soloist with University of Michigan Symphony Band; Stacy Garrop’s “Alpenglow”

    Hill Auditorium
    8:00 PM

    Stacy Garrop - Alpenglow for alto saxophone, tuba, and band
    Timothy McAllister, alto saxophone
    David Zerkel, tuba
    University of Michigan Symphony Band
    Jason Fettig, conductor

All Performances

Live Excerpts

  • Abduction from Montag aus Licht

    Karlheinz Stockhausen
    Play

  • Children's Songs

    Chick Corea
    Play

  • Concerto for Alto Saxophone and 11 Instruments

    Andrew Mead
    Play

  • Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra

    Ingolf Dahl
    Play

  • Csardas

    Vittorio Monti
    Play

  • Duo Sonata for Two Baritone Saxophones

    Sofia Gubaidulina
    Play

  • Escapades: Suite from "Catch Me If You Can"

    John Williams
    Play

  • Sonata, Mvt. IV Nocturne et Final

    Fernande Decruck
    Play

  • Soprano Sax Concerto

    Jennifer Higdon
    Play

  • Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, Op. 26 - Mvt. III

    Paul Creston
    Play