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College Sax Teachers who can DO IT ALL

10K views 31 replies 19 participants last post by  cjsaxman 
#1 ·
I'm looking for a sax teacher to study with in college who can do it all. Classical, Jazz, Doubling (flute and clarinet), Improvisation, etc. I'm looking at Indiana University. I can definitely post some clips as well if that would help.

Can anyone suggest some universities or conservatories with versatile sax players like this? I'm undecided on my major but I would love to do something with woodwind performance if the school offers that major (some do). Otherwise Jazz Performance, or Composition? Not sure yet!
 
#2 ·
I played in one of the jazz bands at UMD for 4 years. Chris Vadala is pure class. Devoted to his students and to music in general. I'd look into it seriously. Program is good too (wasn't actually in the program, so I can't speak too specifically).
 
#9 ·
Curt Hanrahan
UW-Milwaukee

Took lessons from him from 5th grade all the way through College.
 
#10 ·
I live two hours from Milwaukee!! It's almost too close!!

I'm very interested in Maryland and Chris Vadala. Wow, what a great musician. I'll definitely be looking into that school.
 
#14 ·
Ron Kerber in Philadelphia. UArts is very expensive though, if you can make it out here it might be a good idea to take lessons with somebody like that for a year or two to get things together and just focus on skill. Music college is not a good investment these days unless you intend to pursue higher degrees or an education degree (since that's the only real surefire way to get certified in most states). A good investment is lessons and networking through local pros in whatever city you come to.
 
#18 ·
no it's not affiliated with high school at all. It's a group of 16-21 year olds.
 
#19 ·
Miles Osland at University of Kentucky is a great suggestion (given by StanVI).

Also, why not contact Jim Romain who teaches at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. His forum name is Drakesaxprof and he is a mod, so you'll see him around here all the time. Fantastic player!

I would recommend my former professor at Western Michigan University - Trent Kynaston - but he is nearing retirement.

I must ask why it is so important to you to learn all of your craft from one teacher?
 
#20 ·
It's not that I'll learn everything from one teacher, it's just that I want to learn from someone who is versatile because I think that is so important (especially for sax players). I'm not saying I want to restrict my learning to just the one person.
 
#22 ·
Check out my mentor, Phil Barham, at Tennessee Tech. Mr. Barham does it all. He holds woodwinds degrees from North Texas and Michigan with a major in saxophone. He is an absolute monster jazz and legit player. One of the most well-balanced players I've ever heard, and he's also the best teacher you could possibly run into. Plus, Tech's cheap as everything. It's situated in a nice little college town. Seriously. Check it out.
 
#23 ·
Where can I find info on how competitive these schools are? I know Indiana is very competitive.
 
#27 ·
However, if you mean competitive in another way, which I think you do, you'll find that you have a better chance of scholarships at Tennessee Tech than you might at another school. Lots of money, smaller (12-15 people) undergrad studio...Yet, you would still get pushed really hard in an atmosphere in which you won't get lost.
 
#29 ·
Depending on what you're looking for, you can also consider Tom Strohman at Lebanon Valley College. (near Hershey, PA) He started on flute, was a clarinet major during undergrad, and now is the sax professor at the school. Really nice guy as well, able to teach to a wide variety of skill levels.
 
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#32 ·
The saxophone professor I am going to be working with the next couple of years are so falls into that catagory. But he just teaches at the junior college here, but he is very highly qualified, has a doctorate in music and jazz pedagology (aka jazz studies i think). He got his doctorate was recieved from University of North Texas where he also played in the top lab band (1 o clock or whichever).

He primarily plays sax, (classical, jazz, rock, anything) and also plays some piano, clarinet, flute, and percussion.

He also had given me private lesson from a young age all up until I first got to college.
 
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