BIOGRAPHY
GARY LOUIE, saxophonist
Biography 2019-2020
Internationally recognized as one of the leading saxophone virtuosi of our time, GARY LOUIE possesses a lively interpretive imagination coupled with a refreshingly understated artistry and a warm, supple tone, qualities that have earned him consistent praise from audiences and critics alike.
In a professional career that has spanned 40 years, Gary Louie has long been praised by his successful efforts to break boundaries and integrate the saxophone and its repertoire into the mainstream of classical music life, both here and abroad. He has appeared as soloist with Hugh Wolff and the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the batons of Daniel Hege, David Lockington, Juanjo Mena and Yan Pascal Tortelier, in performances of Milhaud’s La création du monde, Debussy's Rhapsody for Saxophon íe and Orchestra and Glazunov's Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra.
In recital, Gary Louie has been presented by prestigious institutions from coast to coast: New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Alice Tully Hall and The Frick Collection; California's La Jolla Chamber Music Society; Boston's Jordan Hall; The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, The Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art; The Phillips Collection and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. International performances have been given in Paris at L'Opera Comique, in Rome at the Villa Medici, in Hong Kong, throughout Spain and in Russia with Vladimir Lande and the St. Petersburg Symphony and Germany’s Philharmonisches Orchester Augsburg, under the baton of Peter Leonard.
An avid supporter and interpreter of contemporary music, Gary Louie is actively involved in the commissioning and performing of new scores for the saxophone. He has premiered new works by the distinguished American composers William Albright, John Harbison, Michael Hersch, Lori Laitman, John Anthony Lennon and Jonathon Leshnoff to name a few. Last spring he premiered a new chamber cantata by Michael Hersch at the OJAI Festival in California and at the Aldeburgh Festival in England. This season’s highlights include recording releases of Michael Hersch’s of ages manifest (2012), a recording of Lori Laitman’s Living in the Body with soprano Maureen McKay and Laitman’s Journey with pianist Kirsten Taylor.
Gary Louie’s career was launched in 1986, when he won the coveted Pro Music is International Sponsorship Award. In 1988 he was selected as a “Young Artist to Watch” by Musical America. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including having been chosen by the United States Information Service for its "Arts America" program and a National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist Grant. Mr. Louie has also served on the National Screening Committee for the Fulbright Awards.
Gary Louie began serious studies on the saxophone with George Etheridge in Washington, DC, and went on to study at the University of Michigan with the legendary saxophonist/teacher, Donald Sinta. He currently serves as Professor of Saxophone at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland with his wife, pianist Kirsten Taylor, where they enjoy sailing and hiking with their sons, Warren and James.