One of today’s leading performers and pedagogues of the saxophone, Kenneth Fischer has served as Professor of Saxophone at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music since 1979 and as Visiting Professor of Saxophone at the Indiana University School of Music during the 2000-2001 academic year. Fischer was awarded the Doctor of Music Degree With Distinction in Saxophone Performance from the Indiana University School of Music, studying with Dr. Eugene Rousseau. Dr. Fischer has appeared as Soloist, Chamber Musician, and Master Teacher throughout the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic, China, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Fischer has been on the jury of numerous competitions including the PREMIERE CONCOURS INTERNATIONAL DE SAXOPHONE-ADOLPHE SAX in Dinant, Belgium and the North American Saxophone Alliance Classical Saxophone Competition. In addition to presenting numerous master classes and clinics at major universities throughout the United States, he has presented master classes at the Brussels, Prague, and Pardubice Conservatories of Music in Europe, the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in China, the University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada, and the University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada. During November of 2005 he was invited to present a week-long residency at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, China. He has been a featured clinician at the Siskiyou Saxophone Workshop of the Britt Music Festival, Ashland, Oregon. Many composers have dedicated works to him including Jindřich Feld, Frederick Fox, Lewis Nielson, Roger Vogel, William Davis, Robert Linn, Tommy Joe Anderson, Fisher Tull, Juan Orrego-Salas, John Harbison, Gunther Schuller, Michael Colgrass, and Howard Buss. Although an artist performer of all of the saxophones, Kenneth Fischer has become an internationally recognized specialist of the soprano. Dr. Fischer presented the World Premiere performance of the CONCERTO for Soprano Saxophone and Wind Orchestra by the American composer Robert Linn at the national meeting of the Music Educators National Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana. He later gave the European Premiere of this CONCERTO at the World Saxophone Congress XI, Valencia, Spain. The AMERICAN CONCERTINO for Soprano Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra by the Czech composer Jindřich Feld, dedicated to Kenneth Fischer, was premiered by him at the World Saxophone Congress XIII, Minneapolis, Minnesota with Glenn Cortese conducting. He then presented the European Premiere of this CONCERTINO with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Leoš Svárovský, in the Czech Republic, December 2004. Fischer has been the recipient of both a National Endowment for the Arts Soloist Recording Grant and a National Endowment for the Arts Consortium Commissioning Grant. Kenneth Fischer’s recordings are available internationally on ACA Digital Recordings, Arizona University Recordings, Musicians Showcase Recordings, Centaur Recordings, and Coronet Records. Fischer’s third CD will be released during 2006. He has been invited to perform regularly as both a soloist and with the KENNETH FISCHER SAXOPHONE QUARTET at numerous meetings of the World Saxophone Congress and the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA). Fischer has served both NASA and the Comite International du Saxophone as President. Dr. Fischer’s students teach at numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States. Kenneth Fischer is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Dr. J. Scott Turpen
J. Scott Turpen is Director of Jazz Studies and Assistant Professor of Music- Saxophone at the University of Wyoming. Originally from Nampa, Idaho, he earned the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Boise State University, the Master of Music degree in Woodwind Performance, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance from The University of Georgia, studying with Dr. Kenneth Fischer. In demand as a performer and clinician of jazz and classical music, Dr. Turpen has performed throughout the United States and Europe. He has performed as a guest soloist at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and at several national and regional meetings of the North American Saxophone Alliance. In addition, Dr. Turpen represented the United States when he performed at the XI, XII, and XIII World Saxophone Congresses held in Valencia, Spain, Montreal, Canada, and Minneapolis, Minnesota respectively. His orchestral experience includes the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Macon Symphony Orchestra, the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, and the Augusta Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Turpen has recorded music for the television series National Geographic Explorer and has performed and taught clinics at several music events including The Gene Harris Jazz Festival, The Siskiyou Saxophone Workshop, the Wyoming Music Educator’s Conference, the Georgia Music Educator's Association Conference, and the Georgia Governor's Honor Program. In 2001 he performed Alexander Glazounov's Concerto with the Macon Symphony under the direction of Adrian Gnam. Dr. Turpen has served on the Executive Board for the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators and is currently serving as the editor of the NASA Update for the North American Saxophone Alliance. His first classical saxophone CD entitled Tableaux was released in 2003. Scott Turpen is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Dr. John Bleuel
John Bleuel is Associate Professor of Music - Saxophone at the University of West Georgia. He earned the Doctor of Mujsical Arts Degree in Saxophone Performance at the University of Georgia, the Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. His principal teachers were Kenneth Fischer (saxophone) and Thomas Dvorak (conducting). As a member of the Bleuel Duo with pianist Linda Li-Bleuel he has performed on the Bridge New Music Series at Lincoln Center, the Eleventh World Saxophone Congress in Valencia, Spain, and throughout the Eastern United States, Europe, and Japan. They have premiered several works for saxophone/piano duo and have recorded for Arizona University Recordings and ACA Digital Recordings. He has performed as saxophone soloist with numerous bands and orchestras in the Midwest and Southeast, including a performance of Ingolf Dahl¹s Concerto for Saxophone and Wind Orchestra with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in April, 2002. Dr. Bleuel was Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1989-1994 and taught at Georgia Southern University for the 1996-97 academic year. John Bleuel is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Kenneth Fischer, John Bleuel, and Scott Turpen