Dan Graser

DMA - University of Michigan MM - University of MichiganBM - Crane School of Music at Potsdam

Saxophonist Daniel Graser is emerging as one of the most innovative and influential performers and pedagogues of his generation. Currently Assistant Professor of Saxophone at Grand Valley State University (gvsu-saxophone.com), Dan was a recipient of the Doctorate of Musical Arts and Masters in Music from the University of Michigan where he served as Teaching Assistant to legendary pedagogue Donald Sinta. Dan previously earned Bachelors degrees summa cum laude in music theory/history and saxophone performance as well as the Honors in Performance while a student of Dr. Timothy McAllister at the Crane School of Music. Greatly in demand as an educator, Dan has presented masterclasses, clinics and recitals throughout the world including the Paris Conservatory, Versailles Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, Beijing Central Conservatory, China Conservatory, the Kennedy Center, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Grand Valley State University, University of North Carolina Greensboro, West Virginia University, Texas A&M Commerce, and many others. Dan has previously served on the faculties of Oakland University, Mpulse Saxophone Institute, Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts, and the Expressions Music Academy.

As an orchestral performer, Dan has been featured with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions under Leonard Slatkin. Dan also performed as saxophonist with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas and John Adams. With NWS, Dan gave premieres and performances of works by John Adams (performed with the composer), Julia Wolfe, Giacinto Scelsi, and Alex Orfaly. A recent review of a world premiere by Orfaly with New World Symphony: "a jazzy interlude spotlights a virtuosic, big band saxophone solo, played with dazzling agility and panache by Daniel Graser." - South Florida Classical Review

Additional credits include the Hot Springs Festival Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Oakland Symphony, Orchestra of Northern New York, and solo performances with the Oakland Wind Symphony and South Oakland Concert Band. As an undergraduate, Dan was invited to perform as principal saxophone with the National Wind Ensemble in Carnegie Hall under the baton of H. Robert Reynolds. As a member of the Donald Sinta Quartet, Dan has received numerous accolades including the 1st Prize of the Concert Artists Guild Competition, Grand Prize of the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, and 1st Prize of the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition. Dan also received 1st Place in the Crane Concerto Competition and was a three-time 1st Place winner of the Crane Chamber Music Competition. At UM Dan performed as saxophonist with the University Symphony Orchestra, University Philharmonia Orchestra, and Contemporary Directions Ensemble and as principal saxophonist with the legendary Michigan Symphony Band. He was featured numerous times as soloist with that ensemble in the works of Colgrass, Smith, and Bolcom, including featured concerto performances with DSQ during the historic 2011 tour to China and Los Angeles. As aforementioned, Dan was Teaching Assistant to Don Sinta and was responsible for teaching undergrad music education classes, coaching quartets, and initiating and teaching a class for extended techniques to saxophone majors. Dan was selected by the University of Michigan to perform as the featured saxophonist in recital at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as part of the Millennium Stage series.

Dan maintains a private studio in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor and his students have won numerous concerto competitions and gained admission to prestigious saxophone studios around the country in performance, jazz studies, and education degree programs. Dan was recently added to the Selmer Paris Artist Roster and performs on Selmer saxophones and mouthpieces exclusively.

Joe Girard

Dr. Joseph Girard, Visiting Lecturer in Music—Saxophone at the Schwob School of Music, enjoys a rising career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. His performances have taken him from Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Walt Disney Hall, Meyerson Symphony Center, Krannert Center, and Kravis Center all the way to St. Andrews, Paris, Versailles, Strasbourg, Montreux, Geneva, Thessaloniki, Beijing, Shanghai, and Osaka. Additionally, he has appeared at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Music From Angel Fire, and the Lake George Music Festival. As an active chamber musician, and tenor saxophonist of the Donald Sinta Quartet (DSQ), he received First Prize at the 2013 Concert Artists Guild (CAG) Victor Elmaleh Competition in New York City. As a result, DSQ presented their Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall inNovember 2014 and is now professionally managed by CAG. DSQ also received the Alice Coleman Grand Prize at the 2013 Coleman Chamber Music Competition and First Place at the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition in 2012. DSQ can be heard on the premiere recording of William Bolcom’s Concerto Grosso for Saxophone Quartet and Band with the University of Michigan Symphony Band and conductor Michael Haithcock on the 2011 recording Artifacts. The group has been featured on WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase with Bob Sherman, in addition to their live performances being broadcast regularly on American Public Media’s Performance Today. DSQ is dedicated to community engagement and education and has presented clinics in Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas, and for the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.

Joe has been active in commissioning new music with the DSQ as well as with Houston Symphony violist, Jarita Ng. He has worked with David Biedenbender, William Bolcom, Paul Dooley, Daniel Knaggs, Kristin Kuster, and Roger

Zare. In addition to expanding concert saxophone repertoire Joe is passionate about masterpieces written for

winds and strings, regularly performing transcriptions by Bach, Barber, Bruch, Dvořák, Grieg, and Shostakovich.

Dr. Girard received his Doctorate from Michigan State University where he served as a teaching assistant to Joseph Lulloff and was awarded a Dissertation Completion Fellowship. He completed his Master and Bachelor of Music at the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Donald Sinta, serving as teaching assistant during his Master’s studies. Additionally, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and applies many of the concepts from the sciences to his teaching and performing. Joe is a Selmer Performing Artist and performs exclusively on Selmer Paris Saxophones.

Zach Stern

Zach Stern enjoys a career as a saxophone soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Performances have taken him all over the world, including to such venues as Carnegie Hall, Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. As both a soloist and chamber musician, Zach has received top prizes at many of the country's most respected competitions including the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Fischoff and Coleman Chamber Music Competitions, the University of Michigan Concerto Competition, and the Young Texas Artists Competition. He has performed as a featured soloist with the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, the French Republican Guard Band, the Dallas Winds, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra, the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and the South Oakland Concert Band (MI).

Zach maintains a private studio while also teaching at the Eastman Community Music School in Rochester, NY. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music with Professor Chien-Kwan Lin. Zach also serves as a teaching assistant for the Eastman saxophone studio.

Prior to his studies at Eastman, Zach earned his Master of Music degree and his Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance and Music Education at the University of Michigan, where he served as the teaching assistant to Professor Donald Sinta and received the Laurence Teal Scholarship Award. He has also studied with Dr. Scott Plugge.

Zach has presented master classes at Columbus State University, SUNY-Potsdam Crane School of Music, Wright State University, the University of Miami Frost School of Music, the Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands, Grand Valley State University, Brevard Music Center, as well as other universities, high schools, and middle schools around the country, and he has served as saxophone instructor at the Expressions Music Academy in Novi, MI. Zach currently presents saxophone and clarinet clinics at public schools and universities throughout the state of New York as a clinician for the D’Addario Woodwinds Method Program. He is a Conn-Selmer Artist and performs exclusively on Selmer-Paris saxophones and mouthpieces.

Danny Hawthorne-Foss

Prior to moving to Ann Arbor, Danny Hawthorne-Foss was active in the San Francisco music scene, playing at local jazz clubs, hotels, restaurants, street fairs, and public buildings as a member of jazz, salsa, and folk bands as well as classical chamber groups. In 2011 Danny earned his Bachelor's degree in saxophone performance from the University of Michigan. During his time in Ann Arbor, he has played with the University of Michigan Symphony Band, the University of Michigan Jazz Ensemble, and the Ann Arbor Symphony. A proponent of new music, Danny has premiered pieces at the 2009 and 2010 Midwest Composers Symposium at the Universities of Michigan and Cincinnati respectively. In addition to the UM Symphony Band Album "Artifacts", Danny can be heard as a soloist on the album "Music in Pluralism" by New York composer William Zuckerman. Danny has taught at summer marching band camps in Michigan, and regularly runs sectionals at local elementary, middle and high schools in Ann Arbor and surrounding areas. He has also guest taught for the students of the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles. He maintains a private studio in San Francisco, and now teaches private lessons at the Arts in Motion Dance and Music Studio in Ann Arbor. He received his Bachelor of Music and Master's degree in saxophone performance from the University of Michigan where he studied with Donald Sinta.