“McAllister precisely conveyed the mood of every stylistic alley into which Bolcom peered. His saxophone delivered dialogue, as well as notes, as he brought his own experiences to Bolcom’s hodgepodge of a musical canvas…the arrangement of John Williams’ Catch Me If You Can score gives plenty of opportunity to display his technical wizardry and dynamic control.”

Gregory Sullivan Isaacs Critic, Theater Jones: Arts News in North Texas

“The virtuosic writing makes uncompromising demands on the soloist, challenges to which Timothy McAllister rose most impressively, maintaining a fullness of tone where Adams’s writing is lyrical while handling some incredibly difficult fast passages with commendable ease and clarity…Adams has enriched the sparse repertoire with an impressively argued structure”

Ben Hogwood Classical Source (UK) (9/5/14)

“Both violinist Leila Josefewicz and saxophonist Timothy McAllister gave incredible performances this evening. McAllister was the eye of a storm in his performance, delivering endless cascades of notes with Zen-like control, and acrobatic grace…Adams’ Saxophone Concerto is a solid new contribution to a genre that is undeservedly underrepresented. The star of the show was, hands down, McAllister, whose prowess portends great things to come, not just for himself, but for the presence of...

Jason Gerraughty I CARE IF YOU LISTEN (Aug 30, 2013)

“REVIEW: Stephen Mulligan returns to the ASO for a saxophone-driven program”
“The evening’s linchpin was its second piece, “Adagio (For Wanda Lee Smith)”…Timothy McAllister was comfortable standing with one foot in each of the normally disparate worlds of classical refinement and hard bop intimacy. “Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith)” flat out works thanks to a consistently...

Jordan Owen ArtsATL (March 2023)

[Critics’ Picks: Musical Must-Haves for your holiday list: John Adams, Saxophone Concerto, City Noir] “Adams conjures up the seductive yet dangerous swagger of postwar Los Angeles…McAllister, the virtuoso and stylistically nimble saxophonist, lights up this recording…”

Brian McCollum and Mark Stryker Detroit Free Press (12/14/14)

“It is a formidable challenge for a saxophonist to make the composer’s astonishing range of sounds flow as smoothly and enticingly as McAllister does, nor is it a given that the intricate rhythmic give-and-take between soloist and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero could fall into place as merrily as it did…the results, however, were nothing short of exhilarating…the thrills come partly from McAllister’s virtuosity but also from Corigliano’s fertile orchestral imagination.”

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Harvey Steiman Seen and Heard International (4/9/22)

“Timothy McAllister makes much more of the solo part in Creston’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone than its acrobatics would initially suggest: his attractive tone and cheeky virtuosity bring the music to life.”

Philip Scott FANFARE Magazine (March 2024)

Vincent Ho

Whimsical Concerto of Fanciful Birds (2023)
I. Enchanted Migrations
II. Angels and Mockingbirds
III. Urban Birds

Premiered by Tim McAllister and the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, this concerto represents the culmination of the composer’s years of writing for saxophone, namely in the series “Whimsical Sketches of Fanciful Birds, Books 1-3” for alto saxophone and piano. This series are a collection of fifteen works that explore various bird-like or bird-inspired sounds that could be created on the saxophone instrument. After writing this collection (with the possibility of more to come), the inevitable next step was to adapt many of these musical ideas into a large-scale concerto. To fully capture the spirit of the avian world Ho envisioned, it was decided to score it for solo alto saxophone, orchestra, and spatialized saxophone ensemble–a collective of saxophonists placed in various areas of the concert hall surrounding the audience (eg. loges, balconies, aisles, etc) to serve as the “flock of birds” accompanying the soloist and orchestra while creating an immersive sonic experience for the audience.

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