Eugene Rousseau

One of the great saxophonists of the world, Eugene Rousseau has performed across North America and on five continents since his Carnegie Hall debut in 1965. The legendary saxophonist Marcel Mule described Eugene Rousseau as "a brilliant saxophonist and distinguished artist"; critics the world over have echoed Mule's praise.

Rousseau's artistry has inspired many "firsts." Recently he has performed two world premieres: Bernhard Heiden' s Fantasia Concertante and a chamber work by Michael Schelle, and the New York premiere of Frederick Fox's Shaking the Pumpkin. He gave the first solo saxophone recitals in several major cities: Paris; Berlin; Vienna, Austria; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and London. Other engagements include performances in Minneapolis and Toronto, Ontario, Canada; a recital in Anchorage, Alaska, with radio personality Karl Haas; a per­formance of the Feld Concerto with the Prague !Czechoslovakia) Symphony; and he just made his 35th musical trip to Japan. He has also appeared with the Min­nesota Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin, the Pan-American Festival Orchestra under Lukas Foss, and the Indianapolis Symphony in the United States, as well as with the BBC London Concert Orchestra; the Janacek Philharmonic (with whom he recorded Ibert's Concertina da Camera); the Kansai Philharmonic in Osaka, Japan; Santiago Philharmonic; Austrian Radio Orchestra; and the Bayrische Rundfunk Orchestra. He was recently featured on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition."

Rousseau's discography displays his unique versatility not only as a rare classical artist but as a featured jazz soloist. His recordings include a recent collaboration with jazz great David Baker in a Big Band Spectacular featuring Rousseau on the saxophone. He also recorded the first saxophone album on compact disc jSaxophone Colors with Hans Graf, piano, on Delos, 1986), the first solo album of saxophone with orchestra jConcertos for Saxophone on Deutsche Grammophon, 1971) which is considered a classic by saxophone affi­cionados, and numerous other recordings on the Coronet, Crystal and Golden Crest labels.

The Chicago-born Rousseau's service to the saxophone community is of long-standing. Since 1972 he has been the Yamaha Corp.'s chief consultant for saxophone research, contributing to the development of artistic and acoustical improvements in saxophones and mouthpieces. In 1985 he recorded a video program for Yamaha, Steps to Excellence. Rousseau co-founded the World Saxophone Congress in 1969, served as President of the North American Saxophone Alliance from 1978 to 1980 and was President of the Comité International du Saxophone (1982-85). He has also published a number of transcriptions, editions, saxophone methods and scholarly works.

Rousseau is a Distinguished Professor of Music at the renowned Indiana Uni­versity School of Music and has served as guest professor at the Prague Con­servatory, Arizona State University and the Hochschule fiir Musik in Vienna.