Dale Wolford - soprano saxophone
Dale Wolford has performed as a soloist with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra in San Francisco as well as on tour in Copenhagen, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. He is also currently a member of the Wolford/Rosenblum Duo with whom he has three solo recordings. In addition he has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, San Francisco Opera and Sun Valley orchestras, Philip Glass, the Morosco Saxophone Quartet, the San Francisco Saxophone Quartet, the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra. He is on the faculty of San Jose State University. He has also taught at the University of California at Berkeley, California State University, East Bay, California State University, Stanislaus, and Chabot College. Dale is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Kevin Stewart - alto saxophone
Kevin J. Stewart is from the greater metropolitan area of Detroit, and now calls the San Francisco Bay area home. Since graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Woodwind Performance, Kevin has maintained an active performance career, touring throughout North America, Europe, & Asia. Kevin has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, New American Chamber Orchestra, Detroit Civic Symphony, San Francisco Opera and Ballet. As a chamber musician, he has performed with the San Francisco Saxophone Quartet, Nuclear Whales Saxophone Ensemble and Morosco Saxophone Quartet. In addition to performing, Kevin is in high demand as a teacher, currently Director of Saxophone Studies at California State University, Stanislaus, and University of California, Davis.
David Henderson - tenor saxophone
David Henderson grew up in Hartford City, Indiana, and has degrees from the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School. In 1980, he gave his Carnegie Recital Hall solo debut as a winner of the East and West Artists competition, with the New York Times stating “an exceptionally accomplished instrumentalist with something to say, his work is poised, cultivated, and expressive.” In 1981, he received a first prize in saxophone from the Conservatoire de Bordeaux as a recipient of a Fulbright-ITT grant to study in France. Since moving to San Francisco in 1988, he has played regularly with the San Francisco Symphony, including many tours and recordings under maestro Michael Tilson Thomas. He has been seen in several PBS Great Performances broadcasts by both the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Ballet. He has also toured with the BBC Symphony under Andrew Davis and performed with the New World Symphony, the San Francisco Opera, the Bolshoi Ballet and Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival and the International Contemporary Ensemble under John Adams. He plays regularly with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony and has appeared as soloist with the Oakland/East Bay Symphony and the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony.In 1989, he joined the San Francisco Saxophone Quartet as tenor saxophonist and keyboard player. Starting out as street musicians in downtown San Francisco, the group was discovered on the street by the president of Angel/EMI records in 1990, and subsequently recorded many CDs and toured most of the 50 states as well as Japan. In 2005, he joined the Premiere Saxophone Quartet, artists-in-residence at San José State University. He has worked as a musician at Disney World and Great America theme parks, and played both on and off-Broadway, including the original productions of Nunsense and March of the Falsettos. Mr. Henderson currently teaches saxophone at the University of the Pacific and Stanford.
Aaron Lington - baritone saxophone
Grammy Award-winning baritone saxophonist and composer Aaron Joseph Lington (b. 1974) received his BM in music education from the University of Houston, Moores School of Music, and both his MM in jazz studies and DMA in saxophone performance from the University of North Texas where he studied with James Riggs. His performing and compositional credits include collaborations with the University of North Texas One O’clock Lab Band, the San Francisco Symphony, Maynard Ferguson, the BBC Radio Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, Doc Severinsen, Bo Diddley, Joe Lovano, Jamie Davis, Tommy Igoe, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, and many others. In addition, he has won awards for both his playing and writing from Downbeat Magazine, ASCAP, and was the 2003 recipient of the Sammy Nestico Award. He was named the 2011 “Jazz Educator of the Year” by the California Music Educators Association, and has been recognized multiple times in the both the Downbeat Magazine Critic’s Poll and Reader’s Poll. The San José Mercury News praises Dr. Lington’s playing as “revelatory…he obviously relishes the beautiful, blustery bark of his instrument…” and that he possesses a “…finely honed melodic sensibility…” Josh Davies from the International Trumpet Guild states that Lington “...[shows] a true command of his instrument with a very studied and soulful essence.” Cadence magazine declares “Lington and compatriots come up with a wonderful and totally American jazz sound, [resulting in] a solid mainstream set based on some sweet melodic improvisation.”In addition to his position as professor at San José State University where he serves as Coordinator of Jazz Studies, Dr. Lington is also a member of the faculty at the Texas Music Festival Jazz Institute, hosted by the University of Houston. Aaron Lington is a Saxophone Performing Artist for Selmer Saxophones and is a D’Addario Performing Artist and performs exclusively on Rico Reeds.