Timothy McAllister
Professor of Music
Bio
Widely regarded as today’s most celebrated classical saxophonist, Timothy McAllister has appeared with over forty of the world’s finest orchestras across twenty-five countries. He is a champion of contemporary music credited with over sixty recordings and three hundred premières of works by eminent composers worldwide.
Pulitzer and Oscar-winning composer John Corigliano wrote TRIATHLON: Concerto for Saxophonist and Orchestra for McAllister, who premiered the work with Giancarlo Guerrero and the San Francisco Symphony, followed by a recording with the Nashville Symphony (due for imminent release). He reprised the work in his acclaimed solo debut with the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Slatkin. Longtime collaborator Tyshawn Sorey wrote his 2024 Pulitzer Prize winning work, Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith), for McAllister, which was premiered by the Lucerne Festival and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
McAllister premiered the John Adams Saxophone Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and was honored with a Grammy Award for his Adams Concerto and City Noir recordings with the St. Louis Symphony under David Robertson. He later appeared with Marin Alsop and the BBC Symphony at the London Proms performing the Adams Concerto to widespread acclaim.
His recording of Kenneth Fuchs’ Rush, with the London Symphony under JoAnn Falletta, won another Grammy, and his reprisal of Adams City Noir with the Berlin Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel appears on the composer’s Grammy-nominated anthology.
Recent performances include the Spain and Belgium Premieres of Guillaume Connesson’s concerto: A Kind of Trane under Stéphane Denève, recorded with the Brussels Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon. Notable soloist debuts include the symphonies of Buffalo, Detroit, Galicia, Hong Kong, Houston, Indianapolis, Lyon, Milwaukee, Monterey, Mineria (Mexico), and Seattle.
McAllister’s interest in expanding the saxophone repertoire led to Project Encore, a collaboration with pianist Liz Ames, which commissions miniature works for saxophone and piano. Alongside the duo’s conscious efforts to weave a wide array of influences into their playing, from modernism to minimalism or popular idioms including latin, jazz, funk, and musical theater. Their upcoming Project Encore, Vol. 2 is due in 2025.
McAllister is the soprano saxophonist of the Grammy-winning PRISM Quartet, and he has been Professor of Saxophone at the University of Michigan since 2014, following previous posts at Arizona State University and Northwestern University, among others. He holds degrees with distinction from the University of Michigan, having studied with legendary saxophonist, Donald Sinta. Pupils of McAllister have won top prizes in the nation’s most prestigious solo and chamber music competitions and hold positions in premier military bands and teaching posts throughout higher education.
