Vice Chairman, Concert Band/Orchestra Division
Jeremy S. Brown is Professor and Head of the Music Department at the University of Calgary where he teaches and has taught saxophone, the symphonic band and courses in music education. He is founder of the Summer Music Festival at the University of Calgary. In 1999 he was awarded the University of Calgary Student’s Union Teaching Excellence Award. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Ohio State University. Dr. Brown has published numerous articles in the Instrumentalist, Journal of Band Research, Journal of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Saxophone Symposium, Canadian Band Journal, International Society for the Investigation of Wind Music and Canadian Winds. He is a contributing editor to Canadian Winds. He has performed at the World Saxophone Congresses for the past ten years and has commissioned more than twenty new works for saxophone by Canadian composers. He has also been artist-in-residence and a visiting lecturer at the Banff Centre. Former Artistic Director of the Banff Centre Isobel Rolston calls him “A distinguished teacher and performer.”
In addition to his training as a jazz and classical saxophonist, he has studied flute, woodwinds and conducting in masterclasses or lessons with Eugene Rousseau, Julius Baker, Jean-Marie Londeix, Ramon Ricker, Bonita Boyd, Robert Sprenkle, James Hill, Craig Kirchhoff, Thom David Mason, James Schoepflin, Randall Spicer and Sylvia Baker.
He has recorded for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a solo saxophonist numerous times and premiered Fallibility, Logic and the Return of Wonder by Kelly-Marie Murphy with the Calgary Philharmonic in 2002 and again in the United States premier of the work at the 2003 World Saxophone Congress in Minneapolis. His recordings in recital and on record have been played numerous times across Canada and in the United States on National Public Radio.
As a jazz saxophonist and composer, his ensemble Verismo has recorded for the CBC program Jazz Beat in 2005 that included original compositions by members of VerismoVerismo has also appeared at the Calgary International Jazz Festival and have been in-residence at the Banff Centre. In 2007 they will appear at the Montreal International Jazz festival.
He is the featured soloist on the compact disc recording Scaramouche with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Graf conducting. His performances have met with considerable critical acclaim:
Calgary Herald: “afforded Brown the opportunity to tease a wide variety of tone colors from his instrument and to shape the expressive phrases with delicacy and poise.” (November 10, 2002)
American Record Guide: “Saxophone soloist Jeremy Brown’s creamy smoothness, graceful elegance, and singing tone are ideally suited to Milhaud’s Scaramouche. Maestro Graf offers such a jazzy and spirited orchestral backdrop that for once I did not miss the original two-piano scoring”. (December 2002)
Dr. Brown is Vice-President of the Concert Band division of Musicfest and conductor of the Canadian National Concert Band, a select ensemble of college and high school students form across Canada. He is one of two Yamaha Performing Artists in saxophone for western Canada. He is also conductor of the Alberta Winds and has appeared as guest conductor of the Calgary Civic Symphony and Altius Brass. He is the former music director of the Calgary Concert Band and has conducted the orchestra for Holly Cole.
