Frederick Hemke

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Fred LeRoy Hemke Jr.
Birth nameFred LeRoy Hemke Jr.
Born(1935-07-11)July 11, 1935
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedApril 17, 2019(2019-04-17) (aged 83)
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Saxophone artist
Music pedagogue
Instrument(s)Saxophone
Years active1962–2019
Websitewww.fredericklhemke.com/home.htm

Frederick L. Hemke,

Muczynski, Creston, Stein, Heiden, and Karlins.[9][10] Journalist and author Michael Segell, in his 2005 book, The Devil's Horn, called Hemke "The Dean of Saxophone Education in America."[11][12] Hemke died on April 17, 2019.[13]

Formal education

Paris Conservatory (2007)

From 1955 to 1956, Hemke studied saxophone with

D.M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[1]

In primary and secondary school, until the start of college, Hemke studied saxophone with Eddie Schmidt, a band director in Milwaukee, and a close friend of

Stanley Hasty (1920–2011), flute repertoire with Joseph Mariano (1911–2007), and oboe repertoire with Robert Sprenkle (1914–1988).[14][15]

Teaching career

Hemke taught saxophone at Northwestern's School of Music for fifty years. He began in 1962 as a teaching associate. In 1964 he became an assistant professor and was appointed chairman of the newly formed Winds and Percussion Instruments Department. In 1967 Hemke was elevated to associate professor; on September 1, 1975, Full Professor; and on September 1, 1991, chairman of the Department of Music Performance Studies at the School of Music. Hemke served as senior associate dean for administration in the School of Music from 1995 to 2001. In 2002, Hemke was named the Louis and Elsie Snydacker Eckstein Professor of Music and also named associate dean emeritus of the School of Music. He retired from full-time teaching in 2012. As a music educator in higher education, Hemke has taught hundreds of saxophonists, many of whom have flourished as performing artists and music educators of international rank.[1] From 2013 until his death, Hemke served as artistic director and taught during summers at the Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute, located at Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney, ME.[16]

Other positions

Frederick L. Hemke Reeds

Hemke was well known as the designer of a line of reeds which bear the trademark "Frederick L. Hemke Reeds."

Paris firm, Henri Selmer Paris. In 1979 Hemke was host for the Sixth World Saxophone Congress held at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
.

Performing career

Hemke was an internationally acclaimed saxophone artist. Hemke has appeared extensively as a solo artist and has given

Sigurd Rascher
.

Selected performances
  1. "Illuminations" (sample at 1:14 on
    YouTube
    )
  2. "Sunrise Ballad"
  3. "Chasing Radiance"
  4. "Solar Rings"
Hemke, saxophone, with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, William Boughton conducting
Recorded at Woolsey Hall, New Haven, Connecticut, February 27, 2014[19]
Commissioned as a retirement gift to Fred Hemke by current and former students; the composer, Thomas, had been Hemke's colleague at Northwestern
From the album, A Portrait of Augusta Read Thomas,
OCLC 889352260

Advocacy for B♭ tenor saxophone

In a traditional modern saxophone quartet — B♭ soprano, E♭ alto, B♭ tenor, and E♭ baritone saxophone — repertoire and popularity for solo classical was, and still is, dominated by B♭ soprano and E♭ alto saxophone. Bucking the trend, Hemke spent time focusing on the B♭ tenor as a classical solo instrument, as evidenced by the release of his 1971 solo album, Music for Tenor Saxophone. In orchestral music, the tenor is known as one of the three saxophone voices in Ravel's Boléro — originally performed by two saxophonists, one on E♭ sopranino and one on tenor doubling on B♭ soprano. Recordings by tenor saxophone virtuoso James Houlik and others notwithstanding, classical tenor saxophone recordings make up a small portion of the classical saxophone repertoire and discography universe.

Selected discography

Solo recordings
  • Contest Music for Saxophone, Lapider Records M 249-04, distributed by
    H. & A. Selmer, Elkhart (LP) (1962)[c]
OCLC 70304864 (stereo) (LP
)
cassette
)
OCLC 9439934 (mono) (LP
)
OCLC 82478166 (mono) (LP
)
OCLC 682038662 (LP
)
OCLC 3249596 (LP
)
James Jacobs Edmonds (1931–2002), piano
Hemke performed on a Selmer Mark VI
Side 1
Matrix N° XCTV-87627[d] (mono)
Matrix N° RG 576A (stereo)
  1. Chanson et
    OCLC 4257200, 77295149
Side 2
Matrix N° XCTV-87628[d] (mono)
Matrix N° RG 576A (stereo)
  1. An Abstract, by David Ward,
    OCLC 317456709
Milton Lewis Granger (born 1947), piano
Album cover art: Fred Hemke
Notes by Charles (Chuck) Brewster Hawes, PhD (born 1945)
  1. Sonata, for tenor saxophone and piano, by James Di Pasquale
  2. A Ballad in Time and Space, by William Duckworth
  3. Poem, for tenor saxophone and piano, by Walter Hartley
  4. Music for Tenor Saxophone and Piano, by Martin William Karlins
  • The American Saxophone, Brewster Records
    OCLC 4256573
Milton Lewis Granger (born 1947), piano
Album cover art: Fred Hemke
Notes by Alan Burrage Stout (born 1932)
  1. Concerto, for alto saxophone, by Ingolf Dahl
  2. Farewell, by Warren Benson
  3. Concerto, for alto saxophone, Karel Husa
  4. Aeolian Song, by Warren Benson
  • Music for Tenor Saxophone (1971) and The American Saxophone (1971) was
Re-issued as a compilation under the title:
The American Saxophone, EnF Records
OCLC 111103801
Douglas Cleveland, organ
Recorded at Alice Miller Chapel, Northwestern University on the Æolian-Skinner Organ and at Trinity United Methodist Church, Wilmette, Illinois, on the 2001 Reuter Organ
  • Fascinating Rhythm, Sins Of My Old Age, EnF Records
    OCLC 696220898
The Music of George Gershwin
Hemke, Alto Saxophone
Figard String Quintet: Tracy Figard, violin; Catherine Price, violin; Kristin Figard, viola; Sam Norlund, cello; Douglas Nestler, double bass
Notes by Jonah L. Blum (born 1976) (in English) and Hemke
Cover art by Hemke
  1. "Illuminations" (sample at 1:14 on
    YouTube
    )
  2. "Sunrise Ballad"
  3. "Chasing Radiance"
  4. "Solar Rings"
Hemke, saxophone, with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, William Boughton, conducting
Recorded at Woolsey Hall, New Haven, Connecticut, February 27, 2014[19]
Commissioned as a retirement gift to Fred Hemke by current and former students; the composer, Thomas, had been Hemke's colleague at Northwestern
From the album, A Portrait of Augusta Read Thomas,
OCLC 889352260
Ensemble recordings
Hemke has recorded with the
The University of Chicago
Contemporary Chamber Players.
Recorded at the Stockholm Concert Hall, October 17 & 18, 1984[h]
  • Winds of Change – American Music for Wind Ensemble From the 1950s to the 1970s,
    OCLC 221635446, 855950059
Northwestern University Wind Ensemble, John Philip Paynter (1928–1996) (nl) conducting
Recorded November 1976
4th work: Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra of Wind Instruments, by Ross Lee Finney, Hemke, alto saxophone
Hemke, E♭ alto saxophone
With the
Hank Dutt, viola; Joan Jeanrenaud
, cello
Recorded November 27, 1978, Kresge Recording Studios, Eastman School of Music
First work: The Dream Net, quintet for saxophone and string quartet, commissioned by Hemke
  1. "Slow" (audio)
  2. "Quick" (audio)
  3. "Flexing" (audio)[20]
  • Incantations (in four movements), by
    OCLC 221615298
Notes by Carter Harman
For
gongs
Bethany Beardslee, soprano, Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago
Ralph Shapey conducting
Re-released
OCLC 33428323
Re-released
OCLC 793773808, 842067254
Interlochen Arts Academy
Wind Ensemble, Dennis L. Johnson (born 1946) conducting
33rd Annual Midwestern Conference on School Vocal and Instrumental Music
Performed live, January 21, 1978,
Ann Arbor
  1. "Meditative"
  2. "Rhythmic"[21]
  • Concerto for Saxophone and Wind Orchestra by
    OCLC 49941229
University of Wisconsin–Madison Wind Ensemble, (H. Robert Reynolds) conducting

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

"The Old Castle" on
YouTube
Jean Martinon conducting
Re-released RCA Camden Classics Victrola CCV 5011 (LP) (1971)
Re-released
OCLC 6033704, 221592686
Re-released
OCLC 4310870
Re-released RCA LPS 9845 (LP)
Stokowski conducting
Recorded February 20–21, 1968, Medinah Temple, Chicago
Re-released
OCLC 79804294, 4663689
Re-released
OCLC 11646599
Re-released
OCLC 16697745
Re-released
OCLC 39096777
Also re-released with several various compilations
Martinon conducting
Solti conducting
Recorded May 1976, Medinah Temple, Chicago
Original release Decca (1977)
Original release
OCLC 869375711
Re-released
OCLC 23366204
Boléro on
YouTube
Re-released
OCLC 52087462
Re-released
OCLC 178786394
Boléro on
YouTube and orchestral scores of Boléro at: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
tenor banjo; Herman Troppe, accordion; Solti
conducting
Recorded twice. Once in 1976 after World Premier and again 1978, after second live performance series before Solti and his exacting standards would allow release. Medinah Temple, Chicago
Re-released on
OCLC 226380109

Selected publications

Educational publications

The dissertation explores in depth the saxophone's history and gradual acceptance in the realm of
symphonic
music
The Selmer Series, Elkhart, Indiana

Commissions and dedications

2000;
OCLC 63046841
Revised 2006;
OCLC 76879388
Commissioned by Jean-François Guay
Homage to
Fred Hemke, Daniel Deffayet
Funded in part by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

Music editions

Awards and honors

1956 Premiere Prix
Paris Conservatory, and other well-known European conservatories known for classical saxophone, including the Royal Conservatory of Brussels
1976–1978 Founding coordinator of the North American Saxophone Alliance; later awarded Honorary Life Membership
1999–2001 Distinguished Service to Music Medal, Kappa Kappa Psi, for Instrumental Music Education[23]
2004 Appointed the Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University
2013 Centerstage Lifetime Achievement Award, Conn-Selmer[24]
2013 Honorary Alumni Award, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois[25]

Hemke's saxophone and accessories

Hemke had been a primary design consultant for the S-80 mouthpiece manufactured by Henri Selmer Paris. For alto saxophone, Hemke uses a custom version of the S-80. The mouthpiece is metal with a square chamber.

The Selmer Mark VII E♭ alto and B♭ tenor saxophones, introduced in 1974, were designed in consultation with Hemke.

Audio samples and videography

OCLC 45586363
For 12 saxophones
North American premier
Northwestern University Saxophone Ensemble, Hemke conducting
For 9 saxophones
World premiere, 2008, Pick-Steiger Concert Hall, Evanston, Illinois
Northwestern University Saxophone Ensemble, Hemke conducting

Hemke Legacy Tribute: May 29 – June 3, 1912, Northwestern University

7:30 pm, May 31, 2012, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University
Songs by
Gershwin
, arranged by Jonah L. Blum (born 1976)
Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, Robert Hasty conducting
Scenes from Porgy and Bess
  1. "
    YouTube
    )
  2. "
    YouTube
    )
  3. "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' " (at 4:42 on
    YouTube
    )
  4. "Gone, Gone, Gone" (at 6:40 on
    YouTube
    )
  5. "
    YouTube
    )
  6. "
    YouTube
    )
(
Haydn
)
Arranged by Gary S. Bricault (born 1952) at the request of Fred Hemke
Northwestern University Alumni Saxo Orchestra, Stephen Alltop conducting
Performed June 3, 2012, at Northwestern University
105 saxophones: 3 E♭ sopraninos, 23 B♭ sopranos, 35 E♭ altos, 25 B♭ tenors, 12 E♭ baritones, 6 B♭ basses, and 1 E♭ contra bass tubax[k]

Further reading
Academic offices
Preceded by Full-time faculty, saxophone
Bienen School of Music
Northwestern University
1962–2012 		Succeeded by

Notes

  1. ^
    protégé, Hemke, greatly helped transform classical saxophone in America, a country that led the world in the use of saxophones. When Hemke began teaching saxophone in 1962 at Northwestern University
    , few American universities and conservatories had full-time saxophone-only faculty members. The role was typically filled by other orchestral woodwind experts who doubled on saxophone. By 1970, many reputable music institutions of higher learning had a dedicated saxophone professor. As of 2014, most major universities, and all comprehensive music institutions of higher learning, have a least one dedicated saxophone instructor.
  2. ^
    H. & A. Selmer, Inc. — its successors and affiliates — are now part of Conn-Selmer
    .
  3. ISSN 0027-4321
  4. ^ a b The alpha matrix prefix "XCTV" was an imprint of Columbia Custom Records of Columbia Records. The prefix was designated for LP mono. The matrix numbers XCTV-87627 (side A) and XCTV-87628 (side B) were handwritten on the stamper and appear in the runout areas of both sides of this particular pressing.
  5. ^ David Ward, born 1936, earned a Bachelor of Music from Oklahoma City University, and Master of Music (1960) and Doctor of Musical Arts (1966) from the Eastman School of Music.
  6. ^ a b Brewster Records was a label with a mailing address of 1822 Monroe Street, Evanston, Illinois. It was founded in 1967 by Charles Brewster Hawes, PhD (born 1945), who was also its chief engineer. Other engineers included James S. Hill and Robert E. Diehl. All three were saxophone students at Northwestern University
  7. ^ a b c The acronym EnF (for EnF Records) reflects the initials of the first names of Elizabeth and Fred. Elizabeth is Fred's daughter.
  8. OCLC 45586363
    .
  9. ISSN 0097-1138
    )
  10. Hal Leonard Corporation
    .
  11. ^ The E♭ contrabass tubax, made by Benedikt Eppelsheim Instruments in Munich, is pitched one octave lower than a standard E♭ baritone saxophone

References

  1. ^ a b c Frederick L. Hemke Papers, Northwestern University Library
  2. OCLC 13184437
  3. OCLC 632053332
  4. OCLC 956675732. Retrieved June 28, 2021 – via Internet Archive
    .
  5. OCLC 38740408
  6. OCLC 17225213. Retrieved June 28, 2021 – via Internet Archive
    .
  7. OCLC 44972043. Retrieved June 22, 2021 – via Internet Archive
    .
  8. OCLC 36111932
  9. OCLC 38748296
  10. City University London
  • OCLC 63047414
    )
  • OCLC 668117435
    . Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  • ^ "Frederick Hemke (1935-2019)". Northwestern Bienen School of Music: News. April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  • ^ Fostering Artistry and Pedagogy: Conversations With Artist-Teachers Frederick Hemke, Eugene Rousseau, and Donald Sinta, (PhD dissertation), by Julia Nolan, University of British Columbia (2012)
  • ^ "An Interview with Frederick Hemke," by Jonathan Helton, The Saxophone Journal, Vol. 31, No. 1, pps. 26–31 (2006)
  • ^ "Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute". Snow Pond Music Festival. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  • OCLC 716568162
  • New York Times
     April 17, 1962
  • ^ a b "A Light Breeze: Premiere Of A New Sax Symphony At NHSO," by Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, February 27, 2014
  • ^ List of Chamber works with audio mp3 samples Archived October 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Warren Benson www.warrenbenson.com
  • School of Music, Theatre & Dance Publications, by the University of Michigan
    , January 19–21, 1978
  • ISSN 0092-0827
  • ^ Guide to Membership for the 2011–2013 Biennium – Archived January 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Chapter: "Distinguished Service to Music Medal," Nick Smith (ed.), Kappa Kappa Psi/Tau Beta Sigma, pps. 57–59
  • ^ "Dr. Fred Hemke Wins the Conn-Selmer Centerstage Lifetime Achievement Award," Archived October 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (press release), Conn-Selmer, June 12, 2013
  • ^ "Alumni recognition awards for 2013," Augustana College, June 5, 2013
    • Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frederick_Hemke&oldid=1218260374"