The Saxophone Repository

This is a work-in-progress collection of music, books, methods, and other resources for saxophonists. I’ve never been satisfied with repertoire or standard works lists, so this is not that. Existing standard repertoire lists tend to canonize the music of white, academic, cis-male composers of past generations, thus excluding work by living artists, women, people of color, non-westerners, and anyone outside of the academy. I find this to be problematic. Equally problematic is the lack of gender and racial diversity (not to mention parity) in the saxophone world. The Saxophone Repository is intended to feature and focus on living, historically marginalized composers, musicians, authors, and others who have contributed to the field.

As our country continues to grapple with systemic racism, I continue to examine the ways in which I can take action through my own teaching and performing. While The Saxophone Repository was originally intended as a resource for my own students, I realized that sharing it widely would have a much greater impact. My hope is that saxophonists everywhere will purchase scores, books, and recordings listed here, thus directly benefitting those who are doing incredible work to enrich the arts in relevant and meaningful ways.

The open-ended, all-encompassing concept of a repository has been quite refreshing and already so fulfilling. It’s not intended to be an exhaustive list, because there is SO MUCH excellent stuff out there, but I will keep chipping away at this ongoing project.

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I will soon have a form available for anyone who would like to suggest additional resources and music for the repository.

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For a limited time, you can access the handout for my NJMEA presentation on “Ways to Improve the Sound of your Saxophone Section!”