A new concerto dedicated to Timothy McAllister for alto saxophone and orchestra from James Lee III is coming for the 25/26 season! The work pays tribute to the African-American astronaut/saxophonist Ron McNair and commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy in 2026. McAllister, a Houston Bay Area native and son of NASA-affiliated employees, was a beginning saxophonist at the time of the space shuttle disaster which left him forever inspired by McNair’s life and those of his peers who the world lost that fateful day.

More details to follow. The work is fully commissioned through a gift from the Gail Straith Fund at the University of Michigan and is available for first performances and recording. Contact Martha Woods (info below).