William Street, DM, Certificat d'Aptitude (Saxophone)

Area of Study / Keywords

Saxophone and Wind Music

About

William Street, saxophonist, has performed and lectured in Belgium, Canada, the Federation of Russia, France, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, and the USA. He tours frequently with pianists Viktoria Reiswich-Dapp, Roger Admiral, and the Quatuor International de Saxophones emphasizing the importance of both solo and chamber music-making. 2020 chamber music performances took place throughout Japan, as well as in the US mid-west in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Illinois.  Solo performances and lectures took place in California.USA, Bordeaux and Strasbourg, France, and Shanghai, China. William serves as Chair of the Department of Music of the University of Alberta.

Strongly influenced by his former teachers George Etheridge, Frederick Hemke and Jean-Marie Londeix, Street has sought to make heard the music of today’s composers in his concerts. He can be heard on compact disc recordings Sunthesis: Les Septs Iles with the Ensemble International de Saxophones, At Your Service with pianist Sylvia Taylor and the Centaur recording of Evolution V for five saxophonists by Marilyn Shrude, with the Chicago Saxophone Quartet. His recording of Tre Vie, Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra by Malcolm Forsyth with Grzegorz Nowak and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra was nominated for a 1999 Juno award and was re-issued in 2009. Other recordings include Quatuor International de Saxophone LIVE, heliosaxo, MY VERY FIRST SOLO, Westwind, Canadian Music for Saxophone with Roger Admiral and Hard Rubber, Hard Elastic (2008), featuring Music for Alto Saxophone and Piano by Howard Bashaw. The release of a compilation of music written for the Quatuor International de Saxophone, featuring Daniel Kientzy was recorded in France and released in 2020 entitled MIYABI.

Street has also participated as a jury member and organizer for numerous international competitions in Belgium, France, Malta, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States. Currently in progress is the 6th Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition in Bangkok, Thailand (2021) where William serves as International Coordinator. He served as President of the North American Saxophone Alliance from 1992-1994. 

His published work includes the English translation of Hello! Mr. Sax, ou les Paramètres du Saxophone (Leduc) by Jean-Marie Londeix, Elise Boyer Hall; and The Life of Elise Boyer Hall; in Les États Géneraux Mondiaux du Saxophone. Anna and William Street translated into English the Méthode d'etude de Saxophone, by Jean-Marie Londeix published by Éditions Henry Lemoine in Paris. William also served as editorial consultant for the biography Jean-Marie Londeix, Master of the Modern Saxophone by James Umble (Roncorp, 2000). He has recently translated from French to English volume two of Pour une histoire du Saxophone et des saxophonists by Jean-Marie Londeix, Volume three is still in the process of being translated for publication in Spring 2022.

Research

Solo and ensemble wind literature, with emphasis on contemporary classical music for saxophone.

Teaching

Solo saxophone, undergraduate and graduate; chamber music.