Professor of Music Thomas Erdmann had two articles published in the professional saxophone journal Saxophone Today.
Professor of Music Thomas Erdmann had two 6,000-word articles published in the May/June 2017 issue of Saxophone Today.
The first article is on saxophonist and Lawrence University Conservatory of Music professor Steven Jordheim. With degrees in saxophone performance from the University of North Dakota and Northwestern University, Jordheim has performed concertos with ensembles such as the Orchestre Symphonique du Rhin in France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, and the Ravenna Italy Festival Orchestra, to list just three examples.
Among the many locations where he has been invited to perform recital and solo performances include the World Saxophone Congress in Washington, D.C., the International Clarinet and Saxophone Festival in China, and the Paris Conservatory for and with composer and pianist Lucie Robert in her final year on the faculty of the Conservatoire (the Jordheim/Robert collaboration led her to compose Dialogue Symphonique for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra).
As a teacher Jordheim’s been awarded the Lawrence University Excellence in Teaching Award, recently completed an appointment as project director of the New Retention and Graduation Initiative designed to substantially increase the college’s retention and graduation rates, especially among at-risk student groups (a project supported by a five-year $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education), and has been a guest lecturer/professor and masterclass clinician throughout the world including at the Indiana University School of Music, the International Saxophone Festival in Faenza, Italy, and Xi’an Conservatory of Music in China, to reference just a few.
The second article is about saxophonist, vocalist, actor, writer and comedian (he’s a member of the New York Friars Club) Danny Bacher. Raised in Wayne, New Jersey, Bacher started on the alto saxophone at the age of 10 before moving on to tenor, soprano and baritone.
Studying with William Paterson University faculty and playing alongside college musicians while still in high school eventually led Bacher to bigger opportunities. Graduating with a degree in theater and music from New Jersey City University, Bacher quickly started working not only stateside but also internationally performing original works. Settling on the soprano as his instrumental voice, he also took vocal lessons from acclaimed artists like Grammy-nominated singer and educator Rosanna Vitro. All of this helped Bacher develop a strong multifaceted musical style.
Early work as a comedy team with his brother, Josh, eventually traversed into a solo career as a singer-saxophonist-entertainer. Since then Bacher has developed a fervent following among not only lovers of music but also today’s best musicians.
Big-name artists like cornetist Warren Vaché, saxophonist Houston Person, trombonist and arranger Pete McGuinness, and Phil Woods’ long-time drummer Bill Goodwin, among others, make Danny’s debut album “Swing That Music!” a can’t-miss recording. The critics are, as well, suitably impressed, with the New York Times stating Bacher “(reveals himself) to be a… prodigiously talented musical preservationist.” The Times went on to say, “in his bebop solos he revealed enough of his inner wild man to suggest a maniac behind the cool.” Jazziz magazine seconds that, “(Bacher) pulls plenty of fire from his sax.”