Greg Banaszak, Saxophone Virtuoso
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Romances for Saxophone and Orchestra CRC #2889 / #2990
NOW AVAILABLE!! — February 26, 2008 Featuring the works of Hovhaness, Bozza, Raman, Morgan, Villa Lobos, Bruzdowicz and others. |
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"This Concerto For Soprano Saxophone and String Orchestra Opus #344 was the most romantic concerto my husband ever composed. It was wrtitten for soprano saxophone, but as it were for my high coloratura voice. Mr. Banaszak, the soprano saxophone soloist, performs this concerto true to the composer's insight — a bird-like singing line played with Banaszak's rich plentiful tone. I am glad, finally, that the premiere recording of this concerto has been made by such a superb musician."
"It is a pleasure to have Mr. Banaszak record the first orchestration of Eugene Bozza`s Aria for Alto saxophone and String Orchestra! I wish him great Success!"
"Greg Banaszak is a very talented person who has a wonderful career as a saxophone soloist!"
"Greg Banaszak exhibits extraordinary control and dexterity on the saxophone, but above all his skill and sensitivity is always in service of the music and the composer. Beautiful compositions and truly virtuosic perfromances!"
"I really enjoyed your new 2 cd set and your wonderful interprettion of my largo for soprano saxophone and orchestra. Great work and congratulations!" | ||
Mr. Banaszak is one of the most sought after orchestral saxophone soloists of his generation. His upcoming concerto engagements are scheduled well into the twenty-first century worldwide. As one of the few saxophonists active in both the classical and jazz mediums, Mr. Banaszak includes a combination of concerto performances, solo and chamber music recitals, and jazz festival appearances. He has presented recitals in such prestigious concert halls as Vienna's Bosendorfer Concert Hall, the Royal Palace Wilanów in Warsaw, Poland, and New York's Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Hall. He has presented masterclasses at Austria's Musik Hochschule, the Cairo Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, and the Tanglewood Institute. Mr. Banaszak was the first saxophone concerto soloist to appear with orchestras in both The Middle East and Korea, including performances with the Cairo Symphony and the Taegu City Symphony. Mr. Banaszak has been under the baton of such conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Philippe Entremont and Randy Newman.
Mr. Banaszak's most recent critically acclaimed 2-CD Set, Romances for Saxophone and Orchestra With The Beethoven Academy Orchestra, is available on the Centaur Records label. He has also recorded on Chanson and Open Loop labels.
Mr. Banaszak was recently appointed to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences as a voting member for the annual Grammy Awards ceremony. He is on the faculty of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music/Case Western Reserve University, and Kent State University. He serves as a Vandoren Performing Artist, Selmer saxophone clinician and Rovner Products consultant, and endorses Lawton mouthpieces and Oleg Products. He has performed as saxophonist for the Cleveland Orchestra.
Mr. Banaszak is a B.M. Cum Laude graduate of the Hartt School of Music. Mr. Banaszak was the first American to be allowed to study behind the "Iron Curtain" in communist controlled Poland where he earned a M.M. degree "with distinction" from the Chopin Academy of Music. He also holds an Artist diploma from the Centre Musical d'Annecy in France. He cites his successful career on having studied with such prominent masters as Vincent Abato, Monsieur Daniel Deffayet and jazz legend Jackie McLean, as well as David Pituch, and David Schiavone.
Greg Banaszak, one of today's leading saxophonists, has performed with orchestras and at concert halls throughout the world. He has appeared as concerto soloist and recitalist throughout the United States, Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including the countries of France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, Egypt, South Korea, The Dominican Republic and Japan.