Brian Rodesch

Minneapolis, MN based saxophonist Brian Rodesch is an avid soloist, chamber musician, improviser and educator comfortable in a wide array of styles and genres. His playing has been described as having “a strong technical foundation, a beautiful tone, and a clear emotional connection to the music and to the audience.” (Erik Applegate, Univ. of Northern Colorado) Rodesch has performed both nationally and internationally, including appearances at the Montreux and North Sea jazz festivals, as well as serving as a featured soloist with the University of Northern Colorado Wind Ensemble on their acclaimed 2011 tour of China. He was a featured performer on the inaugural season of the Aquila Summer Concert Series (Greeley, CO), a series dedicated to furthering contemporary music by presenting programs in unconventional venues that are more accessible to a broader audience. Additional appearances include regional and national gatherings of the North American Saxophone Alliance, as well as engagements with the Boulder Philharmonic and Blue Lake Festival orchestra.

Brian has presented lectures, clinics, and master classes at South Dakota State University, the University of Northern Colorado, Brenau University, the University of Wisconsin-Superior Tri-State Jazz Festival, the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA) All-State Festival, as well as numerous middle and high schools around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. He currently is a member of the Nexus Duo, a chamber group dedicated to the performance of contemporary repertoire for clarinet and saxophone, serves as the soprano chair in the Caprice Saxophone Quartet, and is a former member of By the Numbers Soundpainting Ensemble under the artistic direction of Mike Gersten. He regularly performs as a freelance musician around Minneapolis, MN, having appeared with the Jerry O’Hagan Big Band and the NOVA Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, as well as a multi-instrumentalist in a variety of stage productions.

Brian serves on faculty at the University of Minnesota-Morris as a teaching specialist in saxophone. He has held additional positions at MacPhail Center for Music, the University of Northern Colorado, East Carolina University, the Mount Olivet School of Music, Apple Valley High School (MN), and served as an assistant director with the Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands (MYJB). Brian holds a Doctor of Arts degree with an emphasis in saxophone performance and secondary emphasis in jazz pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado, where he was a student of Dr. Andrew Dahlke. He holds additional degrees from East Carolina University (M.M.) and the University of Minnesota (B.M). His primary teachers have included Dahlke, Dr. Jeffrey Bair, Prof. Eugene Rousseau, Mr. Brian Grivna, and Mr. Greg Keel.

Brian is a Dahlke Mouthpiece performing artist and performs exclusively on the Virtuoso Series RS alto saxophone mouthpiece. More information can be found at www.brianrodesch.com.