Messiah College
Triforia Winds; Junction Saxophone Quartet
Dr. Todd Goranson is an Associate Professor of Music (Saxophone/Bassoon/Jazz) at Messiah College, having served previously on the faculties of Texas A&M University-Commerce and Frostburg State University. Lauded by Fanfare Magazine as “an agile and characterful soloist”, Goranson has enjoyed a performance career playing saxophone and bassoon in a wide variety of settings and genres. In addition to his own performing groups, he has appeared in concert with a diverse list of artists including Ray Charles, Johnny Mathis, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Sandi Patti, and performed extensively with the Billy Price Band.
His orchestral bassoon credits include over a dozen professional orchestras in the US and Mexico, and his classical saxophone engagements include performances with the Utah Symphony, Dallas Wind Symphony, Plano Symphony, Philadelphia Wind Symphony, and many others. He has performed under acclaimed conductors including Thierry Fischer, John Nelson, Marvin Hamlisch, Michael Butterman, Larry Rachleff, and Jerry Junkin.
Goranson is a founding member of the Junction Saxophone Quartet and Triforia Winds, and he has given recitals and/or clinics at numerous music schools, colleges and conservatories throughout the U.S. and in Puerto Rico, Canada, United Kingdom, Thailand and Sweden. He joined the faculty of the MasterWorks Festival in summer 2015.
He authored the book "New Latin American Music for Bassoon", published by TrevCo Music, as well as articles for "The Double Reed", "Scrapes" and “ACAS (Australian Clarinet and Saxophone) Magazine”. Goranson was also featured in a recent article in Vandoren USA’s “Wave” publication.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Dr. Goranson performed at the 2013 and 2015 International Saxophone Symposiums, the 2014 NASA Biennial Symposium (University of Illinois), 2012 ICA ClarinetFest and the 2012 International Double Reed Society Conferences. Other solo and chamber performance venues for Goranson since 2009 have included the SMM Sommarmusikskola in Jonkoping, Sweden; Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand for the World Saxophone Congress XV; Birmingham Conservatoire in Birmingham, UK for IDRS 2009 Conference, and the Dallas Wind Symphony Summer Music Institute. Past solo and chamber performances have been broadcast live on KPBX and WRR radio. Goranson has additionally presented world premiere performances of works by composers including Rodolfo Ledesma, Daniel Adams, Mattias Arveheim, Ted Hansen, Biljana Bozinovska-Bozivic, as well as North American or Asian premieres of pieces by Eduardo Morales-Caso, David Gillingham, and Catherine McMichael. Other commissioned/co-commissioned projects include works by James Stephenson, Katherine Hoover and Bill Douglas.
Dr. Goranson presented lectures on conditioned response and coping with performance anxiety at the 2015 TMEA Conference (San Antonio, TX), 2013 IDRS Conference (University of the Redlands) and 2012 NASA Biennial Symposium (Arizona State University).An active clinician and adjudicator, he currently adjudicates regularly for Music in the Parks Festivals. He served as a saxophone quartet and solo adjudicator for the Texas State Solo & Ensemble Competition from 2005-2012. He was the director/clinician for many TMEA and ATSSB region and area jazz ensembles and jazz festivals. His top jazz ensemble at TAMU-C headlined the Crescent City Jazz Festival in New Orleans in 2011, and he served two terms as the jazz representative for the College Music Society South Central Region Board. Goranson founded and hosted the Northeast Texas Saxophone Symposium.
Dr. Goranson’s major teachers for saxophone include Robert W. Miller, Curtis Johnson and Barry Bergstrom, with additional studies with Andy Wen. His bassoon teachers have included Ronald Klimko, Terry Ewell, Susan Hess and Winston Collier. Goranson can be heard on the recent Klavier CD release "Stained Glass Windows" with the Messiah College Wind Ensemble (solo saxophone, Claude T. Smith "Fantasia" for Alto Saxophone & Wind Band; solo bassoon, "Concertino for 11 Instruments & Wind Band" by Joseph Turrin), available on iTunes, Naxos and ArkivMusic.
Dr. Goranson is an endorsing artist for Yanagisawa Saxophones (Conn-Selmer, Inc.), Hercules Stands, and is a Vandoren Paris Regional Artist. He performs with a Heckel Crest bassoon.