BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Dr. Noah Getz made his Carnegie Hall debut as the recipient of the National Alliance for Excellence Grand Prize.   He has presented solo recitals for the Dame Myra Hess Series, World Saxophone Congress XIII, the Stella Adler School Concert Series in New York, Copland School of Music Recital Series, Johns Hopkins University, St. Peter's Musical Arts Concert Series, and the Church of the Epiphany Concert Series in Washington, DC.   Dr. Getz received a first-round nomination for a Grammy Award in 2002 for his contribution with the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet to America's Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax, Vol. V, and has also been featured on albums including The American Muse, and Leo Kraft: Chamber Symphony 2.   In 2006, he performed the debut of Fernando Benadon's Hidden Charges with the Empyrean Ensemble in CA. During 2007, Dr. Getz will release an album of contemporary classical music for the saxophone.

Dr. Getz has performed with numerous orchestras, including the New World Symphony, the Harrisburg Symphony, and the Juilliard Orchestra.   After an extensive audition process, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Henry Brant selected Dr. Getz to perform his Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra for the first time in 50 years. In 2007, he performed Warren Benson's Concertino for Saxophone and Wind Ensemble with the Metropolitan Winds at the Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage.

In addition to performing classical repertoire, Dr. Getz maintains an active schedule performing jazz.   He is the alto saxophonist in the Levine School Jazz Combo, an Artist-In-Residence ensemble at The Levine School of Music. This combo has performed at Blues Alley and played a pre-concert performance for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Symphony with a Twist concert in 2007. Dedicated to education, this ensemble has re-created the legendary Jazz at Massey Hall concert that featured bebop greats Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie as part of the Encore Concert Series at Lang Recital Hall in Washington, DC and the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet featured at THEARC's Spring Into Modernism festival. Dr. Getz has also played with the Baltimore-based Dave Tucker New Big Band and performed at the 2005 Presidential Inauguration Ball and at Middlebury College with jazz vocalist John Signorelli.

Dr. Getz is the Saxophone Musician-In Residence at American University where he instructs private students, coaches saxophone chamber music and leads the American University Jazz Workshop. In addition, he is the Jazz Saxophone Instructor at the Levine School of Music in Washington, DC.  Recently, American University's Jazz Workshop was featured at Twins Jazz and the Saxophone Quartet performed a tribute concert to Marcel Mule at the Woodrow Wilson House in Washington, DC. In March 2005, Dr. Getz organized and presented the first Saxophone Symposium at American University in collaboration with the Levine School of Music, which featured lectures, demonstrations and concerts by saxophone and composition professors from around the country.   The event highlighted the relationship between composer and performer in creating new works for the instrument, and Dr. Getz performed a tribute concert to Brian Minor as the culminating performance.

Dr. Getz has published articles on a variety of topics in the Saxophone Symposium, Saxophone Journal and the Saxophone Aspect.   He has presented lectures and recitals at North American Saxophone Alliance National Conventions in Chicago and Austin, and in 2005 presented a lecture at The United States Navy Band Saxophone Symposium in Washington, DC.

Dr. Getz obtained his undergraduate degree in Saxophone Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, and a Masters degree from The Manhattan School of Music.   He was awarded the Doctorate of Music in Saxophone Performance from The Florida State University.   Dr. Getz has studied with David Bilger, Paul Cohen, Patrick Meighan, and Chris Vadala.