“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

“The pieces performed by McAllister, in tandem with the talented pianist Liz Ames, stand out for their melodic inventiveness and liveliness and rhythmic intensity. In most cases, the authors summoned here draw liberally from extra-cultured music - jazz primarily, but also funk, rock and even Balkan music -, mixing classical, contemporary and vernacular languages with imagination and consistency…a beautiful and exhilarating CD.”

Filippo Focosi Kathodik - Italy (May 2023)

“[Glint] is a varied anthology of contemporary pieces…tangy, oxygen rich and kaleidoscopic.”

Rob Barnett MusicWeb-International (UK)

“Paul Creston’s Saxophone Concerto (1941) runs the gamut of moods from the dramatic and lyrical to the bright and breezy, often within the same movement. Better known through its 1963 wind-band arrangement, I find the orchestral original more attractive, though Timothy McAllister would be a persuasive advocate in any format.”

Guy Rickards Gramophone Magazine (March 2024)

“an absolute master of the saxophone, and a composer’s dream musician!”

Jennifer Higdon GRAMMY-winning composer and Pulitzer Prize Laureate

“Adams has created a compelling demonstration of the instrument’s unique orchestral potential. McAllister was superb, his technical command of the score impeccable, yet with a tone of molten amber, his saxophone bubbling like a hookah pipe with intoxication, his playing gave the piece its originality”

Matthew Wright The Arts Desk Journal (UK) (9/5/14)

“…a contrasting sense of solemnity followed…yet moving…”

Jeremy Eichler The New York Times

James Lee III

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).

Booking Information

Martha Woods
President
Jonathan Wentworth Associates Ltd.
6118 40th Avenue
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782-3012