Best American Colleges for Classical Sax

[muckwee]

Hi all...I'm from Australia and considering a study tour of American to view some of the best college programs and lectures/teachers for classical sax. But I need some advice from the locals!

I'm looking for colleges that have big schools in classical sax programs - lots of work on solo, chamber music, ensembles included and lots of students. With a great lecturer/s.

Please advise your top 5 colleges I should check out.

[tenor71363]

Try Michigan for Don Sinta. Try Arizona St. where you can study with Dr. Tim McAllister. Top notch player. Also try Indiana.

[KevinSax]

IU, Northwestern, Ball State

[Nate94]

what a loaded question...I think that the so called top 5 schools can be different for different people. If you are into new music the top 5 schools will be much different than if you are interested in the more "standard" rep. The schools that have been mentioned thus far are all excellent schools. There is also Bowling Green State Uni. with John Sampen, who is an excellent teacher from what I hear, and has had a great deal of wonderful musicians study with him, especially recently. The Uni. of Iowa has Kenneth Tse who is a great teacher, and Pat Meighan at Florida State of course. So once again, I think it all depends on what you are looking for. Lots of great people on here who study with most of these people, so I think maybe a more specific question, or a better idea of what you're looking for might get you a better answer!

[Nate94]

and by the way, I'm putting in a second vote for Ball State!! George Wolfe, great teacher and fantastic musician.

[altosaxguy1]

Iowa with Kenneth Tse.

[Jordan Smith]

It really depends on what kind of school of thought you are coming from or looking for. Most of the schools mentioned deal with either the American or French saxophone school. If you are looking for something much more orchestral oriented, check out Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Paul Cohen (my current professor) is incredible. I came from an undergraduate school heavily steeped in the French tradition, but was blown away when I studied with Dr. Cohen. He will teach you to be not just a saxophonist, but a musician. He has a library of thousands of pieces and a CD library of over 300 CDs. He is the only person in the world, probably, who has an original Copy of the ORIGINAL Ingolf Dahl Concerto, which he is performing this next week.

In addition, the kind of training you would receive at Manhattan School of Music is unparalleled considering it is one of the top rated Conservatories in the world.

Dr. Cohen will show a musical side to playing that I believe and know from experience is lacking elsewhere. Many might be offended by this statement, but this comes from my own undergraduate personal experience.

[nniuqsiwel]

Eastman School of Music: Chien-Kwan Lin

Peabody Conservatory: Gary Louis

[Sean P]

Since there has been only one "shout out" for Sampen, I'll sponsor him as well. The experience you'll get saxophone wise from him is remarkable, solo and chamber. The studio tends to be driven, very open-minded and supportive. There are some great composers teaching there, giving you access to their work, their insights and possible collaborations.

I'm currently at Northwestern and I'm very impressed with things overall - a positively competitive studio and a plethora resources in terms of musicology and performance teaching, as well as one of the most comprehensive music libraries in NA.

It might help us to know what kinds of trends you follow/appreciate in classical sax. Any of the schools that people have mentioned here might be the best fit for you, but it all depends.

[Jordan Smith]

Couldn't agree more. By the way, I'll throw a vote in for sampen even though I'm not studying with him. I did study with him a few summers ago for 2 weeks and he was amazing! He is especially great for contemporary music!

I'd have to disagree with the Eastman suggestion...CK Lin from what I understand is way too supportive of transcriptions. You'd want someone who loves and respects the saxophone repertoire and is excited to play that...not a transcription of an oboe concerto.

But yes, let us know what exactly you are looking for!

[Nate94]

not to get off track, but I think it may be a bit presumptuous to say that because one is a proponent of transcriptions that they are not "excited" about saxophone literature. Eastman is a wonderful school, and it seems as though the Eastman studio has done quite well as of late, so CK must be doing some great work up there.

[Henshaw]

Just a tad off-track, I don;t know if you have or not but you may want to get in touch with some Aussies who have been/or currently are studying in the US. I know it may not help you choice where to study but they would be helping giving yo an idea about what it's like, cost and things to apply for over there.


Sally Braybrooks (studying with Rousseau)

Micahel Duke (studied with Rousseau and is good mates with Otis Murphy among others).

Michael Lichnovsky (studied with Kenneth Tse)

[Michigansax]

He has a library of thousands of pieces and a CD library of over 300 CDs. He is the only person in the world, probably, who has an original Copy of the ORIGINAL Ingolf Dahl Concerto, which he is performing this next week.

In addition, the kind of training you would receive at Manhattan School of Music is unparalleled considering it is one of the top rated Conservatories in the world.

Dr. Cohen will show a musical side to playing that I believe and know from experience is lacking elsewhere. Many might be offended by this statement, but this comes from my own undergraduate personal experience.

I'm sure Dr. Cohen is a fine teacher. But he's not a good teacher because has an extensive music and CD collection. And your statement only means that what you're getting now is lacking at The College of New Jersey.

I also wouldn't exclude anybody if they are proponents of transcriptions. There was a guy named Sigurd Rascher that arranged many Baroque solos that I have my students play. I would have liked to have taken a lesson or two from him.

All of the suggestions have been great. I'll second Don Sinta at UMichigan again since I went there.

Joey

[hakukani]

+1 for Sampen at Bowling Green U.


There's also Jean Lansing at Wichita State University.

[tenor71363]

Yeah, it's a damn shame that Joe Lulloff plays transcriptions. Hah!! I say the more transcriptions the merrier.

[BYOB]

Hmm..how come nobody ever mentions Hemke?

[Sean P]

I did. I thought it would be kitsch to really yell his name out while I'm a current student. However, it is a fantastic place, as I said, with many great resources in addition to studying with one of the all-time great American saxophone legends.

[hakukani]

Hmm..how come nobody ever mentions Hemke?

He's too tall.

[BlueLight]

I'm going to have to vouch for The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Taimur Sullivan is in my opinion one of the best American players at the moment, and he can definitely make you a good player if you apply yourself.

I'm also surprised nobody has said Michigan State University, they have been doing incredibly well recently in terms of players coming out of there.

Same with University of Minnesota. Eugene Rousseau is a name everyone knows, and he's one of the greatest pedagogues of our time.


Best of luck on finding a school!

[Wisco99]

Hmm..how come nobody ever mentions Hemke?

Because Hemke grew up and went to school in Milwaukee.

Wisco
(from Milwaukee)