James Houlik
James Houlik (/ˈhoʊlɪk/ HOH-lik;[1] born December 4, 1942, in Bay Shore, New York) is an American classical tenor saxophonist and saxophone teacher.
Family life
Houlik is married for the third time, and has fathered four children. He has four grand children and four daughters.
Education
He first became a student of the tenor saxophone under the guidance of Harvey Egan during his early years at Islip High School. He studied music education at
The vast majority of classical saxophonists play alto saxophone almost exclusively. Houlik, however, gravitated to the tenor saxophone early in life, and was encouraged by Raschèr to pursue the instrument.
Teaching career
Houlik began teaching at East Carolina University where he built a successful saxophone program.
He later became professor of Saxophone at the
He was for twenty-two years Professor of Saxophone and Chair of Woodwinds at
He has held many summer saxophone study programs, at
Performing career
Houlik began his performing career with a
His Carnegie Hall debut was in 1978 and he played Alice Tully Hall in 1981.[2]
He regularly appears on university campuses throughout the United States as a performer and as a teacher of clinics and master classes.
His concerto performances have included those with the
The
In 1995, Houlik performed for President Clinton in the East Room of the White House at the National Arts Award Ceremony.
He is an artist/clinician for the Yamaha Corporation and D'Addario Reserve reeds.
Saxophone works composed for Houlik
Following the example of Sigurd Raschèr, Houlik has worked closely with many composers to foster the development of a repertoire for the tenor saxophone, an instrument with few concertos in its repertoire.
Over one hundred pieces of music have been composed for, or commissioned by, Houlik. These include:
- Walter S. Hartley, "Poem", 1967
- Walter S. Hartley, Sonatina, 1967
- Robert Ward, Concerto for tenor saxophone
- Morton Gould, Diversions for Tenor Saxophone
- David Ott
- Sherwood Shaffer
- Eric Ewazen, Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra, 1992
- Russell Peck, "The Upward Stream" concerto for tenor saxophone and orchestra, 1986
- Paul Harvey
- Vache Sharafyan Concerto for Tenor Saxophone & symphony orchestra, 2003 (an excerpt can be found on YouTube)
- Dilorom Saidaminova, Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra, 2003
- Michael Cunningham, "Trigon, Op. 31" 1969
Discography
- Russell Peck, "The Upward Stream: Music of Russell Peck"[3]
- "American Saxophone" (music of North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony Orchestra, conductors: Gerhardt Zimmermann, Paul Anthony McRae, Pieter Perret. Audio CD, December 3, 1996, Label: Koch Int'l Classics[4]
- "Robert Ward: Jubilation Overture; Symphony No. 4; Concerto for Saxophone; Sonic Structure"[5]
- "Night Fantasy, Music For Winds" music of Robert Ward[6]
- "Orchestral Music & Concertos by Eric Ewazen", Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Conductor: Paul Polivnick, Audio CD (February 26, 2002), Label: Albany Records[7]
- "Tenor Tapestry" (with pianist [[{Debra Ayers]]), Aerophon Recordings [1]
- "On Wings of Song" (with pianist Vahan Sargsyan), unreleased [2]
- (need other titles)
References
- ^ "James Houlik masterclass (2004)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Saxophone history timeline Archived 2007-02-15 at the Wayback Machine at Potsdam University web site
- ^ Russell Peck CD on amazon.com
- ^ "American Saxophone" CD on amazon.com
- ^ Robert Ward CD on amazon.com
- ^ "Night Fantasy, Music for Winds" CD on amazon.com
- ^ Eric Ewazen CD at amazon.com