Saxophonist Taimur Sullivan
On April 14, 2024, acclaimed saxophonist Taimur Sullivan will make his Northshore Concert Band debut in William Bolcom's Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Band.
Mr. Sullivan describes this work:
Bolcom’s Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Band is a relatively new work in our world, composed just nine years ago. It is Bill’s third concerto for the saxophone — the first was his Concert Suite for alto saxophone and band from 1998, followed by his Concerto Grosso, which my quartet (PRISM) commissioned in 2000. This concerto — as well as the saxophone itself — is a beautiful vehicle for Bolcom’s fanciful musical imagination, which has everyone on stage singing his tuneful melodies, rocking doo-wop and big band inspired call-and-responses, or traversing edge-of-your-seats extremes of virtuosity.
Taimur Sullivan is Professor of Saxophone at Northwestern University, and has been a member and Co-Artistic Director of the acclaimed PRISM Quartet for 30 years. His performances have taken him to stages around the globe and have garnered critical praise as “outstanding . . . his melodies phrased as if this were an old and cherished classic, his virtuosity supreme” (The New York Times), a player of “dazzling proficiency” (American Record Guide), “. . . a whiz . . .” (Gramophone), and “Mr. Sullivan delivered this . . . wide-ranging program with a seductive breadth of tone and considerable technical agility” (The New York Times).
Through his work as a soloist, with PRISM, and as a founding member of Chicago’s Grossman Ensemble, Mr. Sullivan has dedicated much of his career to generating new repertoire for the saxophone. As a result, he has given the premieres of over 300 works by composers including William Bolcom, George Lewis, Julia Wolfe, Alvin Lucier, Augusta Read Thomas, Tyshawn Sorey, Kate Soper, Gavin Bryars, Lee Hyla, Tania León, Olga Neuwirth, John Harbison, Chen Yi, Martin Bresnick, Jennifer Higdon, and many others. He has also presented American premieres by major composers such as Gerard Grisey, Toshio Hosokawa, Philippe Hurel, Michael Finnissy, Georgia Spiorpoulous, and Jean-Claude Risset. In honor of his distinguished record of promoting and presenting new works for the saxophone, the New York-based arts-advocacy organization Meet the Composer named him one of eight "Soloist Champions" in the United States.
We contacted Taimur Sullivan and asked him to share with us his journey in music, advice for young musicians, and more.
Please tell us a bit about your journey in music and life.
I actually grew up just down the road in Champaign! I started on piano in fourth grade and then added the saxophone a year later and kept them both up through late high school when it became apparent that I needed to pick one exclusively for ‘serious’ study. I also think tackling Khachaturian's piano concerto (or maybe it tackled me?) may have sealed the deal for me, and that, in fact, the saxophone held the most promise for my future. I spent the first part of my professional life in New York City, learning how to exist and thrive as a classical saxophonist in a city that in fact had quite little history with the classical saxophone, despite being one of the cultural centers of the world. It was at that time that I joined the PRISM Quartet, with whom I have now been for 30 years, presenting concerts around the globe and producing numerous recordings. After ten years in NYC, I ‘re-entered’ the academic world, teaching first at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and since 2015, at Northwestern University.
What is on your Spotify playlist or in your music library?
It’s all over the map! This weekend, it’s been Manze playing Heinrich Biber, Leleux playing Telemann, Pollini playing Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto, Tyler Childers "Live on Red Barn Road,” and Joe Henderson playing anything,
Which composer/musician, past or present, would you most like to meet for a coffee and why?
Well . . . if we’re talking about going back in time, Adolphe Sax, for so many reasons! And perhaps then Brahms, to strong-arm him into writing a saxophone sonata. Imagine what that would have done to jump-start the trajectory of our instrument in the early 20th century.
What inspires you?
Inspiration comes from many places. But if I were to select one, it would be seeing what my current and past students have been doing with their musical lives, and how they are helping shape the future of our instrument in their own performing, commissioning, and teaching.
What do you do to relax
What’s relax?
Just kidding! . . . Lots of things. I like to run, especially along beautiful Lake Michigan. I’ve been into photography for almost 40 years, and often get to pursue that outlet with my concert travels around the world. And in the summer, my family and I literally head for the hills — we will live out of a tent for weeks at a time in some of the most beautiful parts of the country, from Glacier National Park to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Do you have any advice for young musicians?
Tomes can and have been written on this subject, but perhaps just a few things:
Find great mentors and learn as much as you can from them. And then, know that this is only a fraction of what you’ll need to have a rich, rewarding life in music. Become voracious about your own growth and learning. Music can be a crowded field too, so find what makes you “tick,” and trust that it doesn’t need to be the same thing as your friends and colleagues. Lastly, ours is a world of networks and relationships, which start earlier than you might expect. Being kind, gracious, supportive, and humble goes a long way.
Please share any thoughts that you may have about the Northshore Concert Band.
To say I’m incredibly honored to perform with a band of such history, importance, and artistry would be an understatement. Mallory Thompson is one of my favorite people and musicians anywhere, and I simply can’t wait to work with her and her amazing ensemble on the musical voyage that Bolcom’s concerto takes us on!
Please add anything else that you would like our audience to know about you.
Music is a thread that runs through my whole family — my wife, Allison, was a wonderful saxophonist in her earlier career, and our daughters (currently students at Evanston Township High School) are gaining recognition around the country as great young bluegrass musicians, touring as The Sullivan Sisters. In fact, on the same day as the Bolcom concerto with the NCB, they will be performing at Evanston’s SPACE, opening for the renowned Kruger Brothers!
A special thank you to Taimur Sullivan for speaking with us and giving permission to reproduce this material. Please visit his website taimursullivan.com to learn more.
MAKING WAVES
Sunday, April 14, 2024, 3:00 p.m.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Evanston, IL
Learn more about the Northshore Concert Band at www.northshoreband.org
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