A native of greater Washington, DC, saxophonist GARY LOUIE has earned an admired niche in American concert life for his dedication to championing the artistic possibilities and expanding the repertoire of his instrument. Today, critics regularly compare him to Richard Stoltzman and Heinz Holliger for popularizing the artistic expressiveness of the saxophone as they did the clarinet and oboe, respectively. Gary Louie’s current season is highlighted by a recital in Baltimore and a concerto performance with the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra. Recent seasons have heard Gary Louie with Juanjo Mena, David Lockington and Daniel Hege and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in performances of Milhaud’s La création du monde, Debussy's Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra and Glazunov's Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra, respectively; with the Ohio Chamber Orchestra in Cleveland; and with the Washington Chamber Symphony and National Chamber Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, playing Ibert's Concertino da camera. He has also appeared with the orchestras of Allentown, Annapolis, Harrisburg, Long Island, Olympia, Pensacola, Richmond, Roanoke and Southeast Texas as well as the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has recorded. In recital he has been presented by prestigious institutions from coast to coast: New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Alice Tully Hall and The Frick Collection; California's La Jolla Chamber Music Society; Boston's Jordan Hall, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, The Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art; The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. International performances have been given in Paris at L'Opera Comique, in Rome at the Villa Medici, in Hong Kong, throughout Spain and with the St. Petersburg Symphony and Germany’s Philharmonisches Orchester Augsburg, under the baton of Peter Leonard. He has also been heard on Spanish National Radio, Radio France and, throughout the United States, on National Public Radio and Public Television. In 1994, Gary Louie released his first solo CD on the Newport Classic label. Titled "Pastorale," it features romantic works for saxophone and piano, with Kirsten Taylor. With Richard Auldon Clark and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra he has recorded Alec Wilder's Suite for Tenor Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra and Ibert's Concertino da Camera (on Newport Classic) and Henry Cowell's Air and Scherzo (on KOCH International). An avid supporter and interpreter of contemporary music, Gary Louie is actively involved in the commissioning and performing of new scores for the saxophone. In 1993, saxophonist John Sampen and he were awarded a grant from the Meet-the-Composer/Reader's Digest Commissioning Fund, which resulted in William Albright's Rustles of Spring, 1994, which Mr. Louie premiered with Houston's Rice University Contemporary Music Ensemble. In 1996, he jointly premiered John Harbison's new work for saxophone and piano, San Antonio. He is currently involved in a commission for saxophone and string quartet by John Anthony Lennon. Gary Louie was the recipient of a 1993 Solo Recitalist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1992, he was selected by the United States Information Service for its "Arts America" program. In 1986, he won the coveted Pro Musicis International Sponsorship Award. Gary Louie's past teachers include George Etheridge and Don Sinta. He currently serves on the faculty of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
AMRAM, David Ode to Lord Buckley BEN-HAIM, Paul 3 Songs Without Words (chamber orchestra) BENNETT, R.R. Concerto for Alto Saxophone & Strings COWELL, Henry Air and Scherzo CRESTON, Paul Concerto for Saxophone & Orchestra, Op. 26 DAHL, Ingolf Concerto (with orchestra winds) DEBUSSY Rapsodie for Saxophone & Orchestra GLAZUNOV Concerto in Eb, Op. 109 HUSA, Karel Elegie et Rondeau IBERT Concertino da Camera LENNON, J.A. Symphonic Rhapsody LOUIE, Gary "Carmen" Fantasy after Bizet's Opera MARTIN, Frank Ballade (string orchestra) MILHAUD Scaramouche, Op. 165c (arranged by composer) MUCZYNSKI, Robert Concerto (chamber orchestra) SCHULLER Concerto SCHWANTNER, Joseph Concertino (chamber orchestra) SIROTA, Robert Concerto for Saxophone & Orchestra TORKE, Michael Concerto for Saxophone & Orchestra VILLA-LOBOS Fantasia for Soprano Saxophone & Chamber Orchestra (1948) CHAMBER MUSIC TRIOS HINDEMITH, Paul Trio, Op. 47 (tenor sax, viola, piano) KOECHLIN, Charles Epitaphe de Jean Harlowe (alto sax, flute, piano) STEIN, Leon Trio (alto sax, clarinet, piano) Trio Concertante (alto sax, violin, piano) QUARTETS GLASER, Werner Wolf Kvartett (alto sax, violin, viola, cello) WEBERN, Anton Quartette, Op. 22 (ten. sax, violin, clarinet, piano) WOLPE, Stefan Quartet #1 (tenor sax, trumpet, perc., piano) QUINTETS ALBRIGHT, William Rustles of Spring, 1994 (written for G. Louie) (alto sax, flute, violin, cello, piano) STEIN, Leon Quintet (alto sax, string quartet) KARLINS, M. Williams Quintet (alto sax, string quartet) SEXTETS BASSETT, Leslie Wind Music (alto sax, woodwind quintet) VILLA-LOBOS, Heitor Sextour Mystique (alto sax, flute, oboe, guitar, harp, celeste) WALTON, William Facade (alto sax, flute, clarinet, trumpet, perc., cello, narrator)