Bio
Described as “a virtuoso” (The New York Times), hailed by The Cleveland Plain Dealer as “a titan of contemporary music and the saxophone, in general,” and known for “wondrous dexterity” (Gramophone Magazine), Timothy McAllister is the featured soloist in John Adams’s “Saxophone Concerto” on the 2014 GRAMMY Award-winning album John Adams: City Noir with the St. Louis Symphony.
McAllister regularly performs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As soloist he has recently appeared with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the 2014 London Proms, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, National Symphony, New World Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia, Dallas Wind Symphony, and United States Navy Band, among others. Soprano saxophone chair of the acclaimed PRISM Quartet, McAllister serves as associate professor of Saxophone at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and spends his summers as distinguished artist faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp, the European University for Saxophone in Gap, France, and Switzerland’s Arosa Music Academy.
McAllister’s critically-acclaimed work can be heard on the Nonesuch, Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, Navona, OMM, Stradivarius, Centaur, AUR, Albany, New Dynamic, Equilibrium, New Focus, and Innova record labels.
McAllister is credited with over 200 premieres of new works by eminent and emerging composers worldwide, and the Adams Saxophone Concerto was composed specifically for him and premiered under the baton of the composer in the Sydney Opera House in August 2013. January 2016 performances brought McAllister, Maestro Robertson, and the St. Louis Symphony together again on a five-day tour of California following the great success of their GRAMMY win.
Dr. McAllister’s former students enjoy great success in positions in higher education, artistic administrations, foundations, touring ensembles, premier military bands, and K-12 education.
He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, where he succeeded his legendary mentor, Donald Sinta, and has been bestowed distinguished honors such as the Albert Stanley Medal, the Earl V. Moore Award, the Paul C. Boylan Alumni Award, and the Christopher Kendell Alumni Award.
