ALLISON ADAMS, CONCERT SAXOPHONIST

 Concerto for Soprano Sax and Wind Ensemble  by John Mackey
  V. Finale
  University of Tennessee-Knoxville Wind Ensemble                                                                           Dr. Gary Sousa, conductor
  Live Recording                                                                                                                                           Performed on April 21, 2016

 Rumination and Manifestation  for tenor saxophone and piano by Keane Southard

  Andrea Lodge, piano

   Recorded by Four/Ten Media                                                                                                                                            June 2017

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 Sonata for alto saxophone and piano by William Albright
  I. Two-Part Invention
  Dr. Kevin Class, piano                                                                                  Faculty Recital at University of Tennessee-Knoxville
  Live Recording                                                                                                                                      Performed on October 9, 2013

   Scholarly/Creative Activity Summary
   Dr. Allison Adams

   Throughout my five years at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, my scholarly and creative
   activity has reflected both my passion for promoting wellness among musicians and my love for
   contemporary music.

   As a second-year masters student, I dealt with a severe performance injury called focal dystonia.
   Many people who are diagnosed with this condition are never able to perform professionally, but I was
   one of the lucky few. This experience opened my eyes to the prevalence of performance injury and the
   need for more available resources and public dialogue regarding the issue. It has therefore become one of
   the main focuses in both my teaching and my creative output, beginning with my doctoral dissertation in
   2012, and continuing through my time at University of Tennessee.

   In 2014, I was approached by the editor of Mountain Peak Music to share my story of recovery
   from focal dystonia as a chapter in his book, Notes of Hope, published later that year. He also asked if I
   would be a consultant and contributor for an online multimedia resource called "Crosstraining for
   Musicians." This publication features movie and audio clips, walking the user through a variety of
   exercises that can be performed in between practice sessions, as well as essays such as the one I
   contributed about yoga for musicians.

   As a certified yoga instructor, I have been asked to teach Yoga for Musicians courses in a variety
   of contexts, from two-week sessions for Ithaca College's Summer Music Academy, to single classes
   offered at the events of colleagues here at the university. I have also been invited to present at conferences
   hosted by the North American Saxophone Alliance and the International Saxophone Symposium. As an
   extension of this topic, I have recently become interested in how pregnancy affects professional female
   saxophone players. Since beginning my position at UT, I have had two children and found very little
   research that addresses how the physical and emotional changes experienced during pregnancy affect
   saxophonists. My research led to a presentation at the 2018 Biennial North American Saxophone Alliance
   Conference on this topic and I plan to publish it as an article in the near future.

   As a performer, I have had many wonderful opportunities to present new music, both as a soloist
   and as a chamber musician. I will premiere a new solo work by Dr. Andrew Sigler at the World
   Saxophone Congress in Croatia this July, along with another piece for tenor saxophone and piano that I
   commissioned in 2013. In 2017, I was invited to be a featured solo performer for San Diego New Music
   and also performed at the International Clarinet Association Conference in Orlando, Florida with my
  colleague Dr. Victor Chavez. A D'Adarrio performing artist, I have performed at several International
   Saxophone Symposiums and am currently recording a CD of new works for saxophone.

   I am also a member of Nief Norf, a mixed chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of
   contemporary music. As part of this group, I have served on the faculty of the Nief Norf Summer Festival
   for four years and have had performance opportunities such as collaborating with the Bang on a Can All-
   Stars.

   My professional saxophone quartet, Estrella Consort, is dedicated to the performance of new
   music as well. We have regularly premiered new works at North American Saxophone Alliance
   Conferences. In 2017, we recorded Xenakis’ Xas, for future release on an album, and will do the same in
   June 2018 with Elliott McKinley’s new work, Aria, for saxophone quartet and electronics. During our
   concert tours, we have performed and worked with students at many high-profile schools around the
   country, including Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and Arizona State University,
   but we also take pleasure in exposing audiences outside the academic community to contemporary
   music in an approachable way. This attribute led to a residency at the Musical Instrument Museum in
   Phoenix, AZ in 2016.

Please find more information about my creative and other activity on my Curriculum Vitae:

“How Dystonia Brought Balance to My Life” from Notes of Hope
By Allison Dromgold Adams

Compiled by David Vining

Published by Mountain Peak Music, 2014

 L'Incandescence de la Bruine for soprano saxophone and piano by Bruno Montovani
 
   Andrea Lodge, piano                                                                                           Guest Artist Recital at The University of Georgia
  Live Recording                                                                                                                                  Performed on February 25, 2016