"Astonishing – remarkable synchronies"
- MILTON BABBITT, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
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"A force that will help shape music – a ballet of sound – precise and impressive - unfettered by the mechanics or the technique"
- SAXOPHONE JOURNAL
Biography of Quartet
A uniquely versatile ensemble, the Joseph Wytko Saxophone Quartet treats audiences to exciting programming in a wide variety of musical styles. Described by EL UNIVERSAL (MEXICO) as a "remarkable ensemble," the quartet has toured Mexico as American representatives during the XVII Festival Internacional Cervantino, and again under bi-national sponsorship from the government of Mexico and the Arizona Commission on the Arts, when they performed in such cities as Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Veracruz, and Morelia, among others.
Following an invitation from the office of the President of the United States, the quartet performed in the historic East Room of the White House in 1993, and has appeared as Guest Resident Ensemble during the Ernest Block Composer's Symposium in Newport, Oregon. The Joseph Wytko Saxophone Quartet has performed at many universities throughout the United States. Milton Babbitt of Princeton University commented on the the "astonishing...remarkable synchronies" of the ensemble, while composer M. William Karlins of Northwestern University lauded the quartet's "communicative power and accuracy – a composer's dream come true." Composer Michael Iatauro, from New Mexico Tech, described the quartet as "incredible...total structural and stylistic grasp of each movement...a musical magnifying glass."
The quartet has been featured as Guest Solo Ensemble with the Phoenix Symphony Pops Orchestra, and with the Sierra Vista Symphony of Arizona. Additionally, the ensemble has appeared on several television network affiliates, including FOX, CBS, and ABC, and has been broadcasted live in concert from Arizona State University's Grady Gammage Auditorium by KAET Television and KBAQ Radio (Tempe, AZ). The quartet has also been presented nationally on National Public Radio's Performance Today.
The Wytko Saxophone Quartet, which has been featured as a part of the Audio Entertainment Program for America West Airlines, has recorded on such record labels as ACA Digital and TimeGrabber Digital. The ensemble's most recent compact disc release, EnTangoment, features the music of Astor Piazzolla, J. S. Bach, Pierre Max Dubois, Greg A Steinke, and others.
Those familiar with the quartet will not be surprised by the eclectic programming so typical of this critically acclaimed ensemble. But a blending of Piazzolla with J. S. Bach? Scarlatti with Steinke? And programs titled From Pre-Bach To Be-Bop? And Alexander Glazunov, Glenn Smith, George Gershwin, Scott Joplin, the Beatles, and...? Yes, of course! Just like Mexico's LA JORNADA remarked following one of the ensemble's concerts: "a magnificent sound – a perfect program."
JOSEPH WYTKO, soprano saxophone, is one of America's foremost saxophone soloists and teachers. He has performed as solo artist throughout the United States, and in France, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Canada, and Macedonia. Orchestras with which he has appeared as Guest Soloist include, for example, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the World Saxophone Congress Orchestra (Minneapolis), and orchestras in Europe and Mexico. He serves as orchestral saxophonist with the Phoenix Symphony and has performed as guest orchestral saxophonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Grant Park Orchestra of Chicago, and the Chicago Civic Orchestra. He holds degrees from Northwestern University (DM, MM) and West Virginia University (BME), and is Professor of Music Emeritus at Arizona State University. Dr. Wytko is an Artist-Clinician with the Selmer Company, and is a past recipient of the prestigious Solo Recitalist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Senior Scholar Grant from the International Research and Exchanges Board, Washington, D. C.
ANNA MARIE WYTKO, alto saxophone, is a member of the full time faculty at Kansas State University, where she teaches saxophone, chamber music, and music theory. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota, where, as the recipient of the prestigious Berneking Fellowship, she also earned her Master of Music Degree in Saxophone Performance and served as Saxophone Instructor (elective studio instruction) and Assistant to her teacher, Dr. Eugene Rousseau. Additionally, Ms. Wytko has served as a member of the faculty for the Eugene Rousseau Saxophone Workshop at Shell Lake Arts Center in Shell Lake, Wisconsin. She is currently completing her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Minnesota. Ms. Wytko has performed guest artist recitals at the Rousseau International Saxophone Master Class, in Poland during the IV Miedzynarodowy Festiwal Saksofonowy, in Vancouver, B.C., and at the World Saxophone Congress in Minneapolis. She has premiered works by Greg A Steinke and Craig Weston, and will perform as guest soloist with the KSU Orchestra in England and Scotland in 2008. Anna Marie Wytko is a Yamaha Performing Artist–Clinician and performs on E. Rousseau Mouthpieces.
MICHAEL LAMONICA, tenor saxophone, holds both the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Arizona State University, where he served as a Faculty Associate in saxophone and chamber music. He has done post graduate study at Indiana University and is currently teaching elementary general music and band in the Mesa (AZ) public schools. Mr. LaMonica is an accomplished musical instrument repair technician and and active arranger of early music and the music of such composers as Scott Joplin and Cole Porter. He has performed as guest soloist with the Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra, and as orchestral saxophonist with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Mesa Symphony and the Indiana University Symphony Orchestra.
KEVIN GORMAN, baritone saxophone, holds a DMA in saxophone from Arizona State University and a MM degree in saxophone performance from Northwestern University. Additionally, he received a MA degree in music history and literature and a BM degree in saxophone from ASU. He has also served as a Faculty Associate in saxophone and chamber music at ASU. A repeated winner in the prestigious Carmel and Coleman Chamber Music Competitions, Dr. Gorman has performed as orchestral saxophonist with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the Sun City Symphony, the Mesa Symphony (AZ), the Sierra Vista Symphony, the ASU Symphony Orchestra, and the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. His playing is featured on the Summit Records and TimeGrabber Digital Labels, and he appears as soloist on the companion discs to the internationally released Standard of Excellence: Festival Solos series. Currently Dr. Gorman is the Instructor of Saxophone at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has taught at Grand Canyon University and Southwestern College. He also tutors privately in the Phoenix area at the PLACe Music Academy and Foothills Music.
Press — Reviews for the Joseph Wytko Saxophone Quartet
