Presidio Saxophone Quartet 

Michael Keepe, soprano

Daniel Bell, alto

Jonathan Wintringham, tenor

Ryan McCormick, baritone

Presidio’s goal is simple: to enjoy and perpetuate a distinctive heritage of concert saxophone performance. Lauded for their varied and entertaining programming, Presidio draws from a very unique and imaginative saxophone quartet repertoire. Invariably, a Presidio concert will include dazzling French masterworks, more adventurous contemporary American fare, and numerous fun and familiar works such as a medley from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess or and organ fugue by J. S. Bach. The music of this remarkable combination of soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones is sure to resonate with audiences of diverse tastes and backgrounds.

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Soprano Saxophonist Michael Keepe lives in Tucson, Arizona with his lovely wife Jessica, and beautiful daughter Temperance where he is in high demand as a performer and music educator.

 In addition to performing and touring with PSQ, Mike performs locally with the Arizona Opera, the Tucson Symphony, and The Rodriguez & Keepe Duo: a classical piano and saxophone duo active since 1992.  He is Adjunct Instructor of Saxophone and Music Industry at Pima College in Tucson, and has been an independent instructor of saxophone for over 20 years. He is an active member in local and national teachers associations and is Immediate Past President of the Tucson Music Teachers Association. Mike’s involvement with public and private schools has led him to serve as clinician, adjudicator, and band director for the Tucson Unified School District and the Arizona Music Educators Association.

In addition to performing and teaching, Mike is also a Producer at Arizona University Recordings: an international recording label promoting today’s most talented performers and composers from around the world, and owner of MLKEEPE Publications (ASCAP): a music publishing company dedicated to promoting the finest of today’s concert saxophone repertoire.

Mr. Keepe he has received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Education and Saxophone Performance at the University of Arizona and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Saxophone Performance with a minor in Music Business at U of A.  He is a Performing Artist and Clinician for the Selmer Company, and can be heard on the Albany and AUR recording labels.

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Alto saxophonist Daniel Bell performs with the Presidio Saxophone Quartet and teaches saxophone and flute at the Music Academy of Tucson. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Arizona in 2004, where he studied with Elizabeth Zinn Ervin. An example of Dr. Bell’s scholarly work appears in the peer-reviewed journal The Saxophone Symposium (2004) titled “The Saxophone in Germany 1924-1935: A Cultural History.” A person with diverse interests, Dan teaches Introductory Astronomy at the AmeriSchools College Preparatory Academy in Tucson, and has spent ten seasons conducting wildlife surveys throughout Southern Arizona and New Mexico. Dan was a founding member of the acclaimed saxophone quartet SaxMania, winner of two consecutive Downbeat awards. Prior to Arizona, he studied music at the University of Michigan and at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he won Drake’s Young Artist Concerto Competition.

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Tenor saxophonist Jonathan Wintringham made his professional debut at the age of seventeen as a soloist with the New Jersey Greater Shore Symphonic Band. Currently, he is active as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. Jonathan has performed in recitals, residencies, and master classes throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan. Jonathan is also an advocate of contemporary music, and is constantly working with composers to commission and premiere new works. 

As a soloist, Wintringham was a participant in the 2008 MTNA National Young Artist Competition, having won at both the state and regional level.  He was awarded third place, finishing as the top saxophone entrant in the country.  In April of 2008, he performed as a soloist with the Tucson Chamber Orchestra, having won the TCO Young Artist Concerto Competition earlier that year.  Additionally, Wintringham was awarded honorable mention in the 2008 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition.  In the summer of 2008 during his studies in Japan, he was awarded 2^nd place in the 14^th Annual Hamamatsu International Wind Instrument Academy and Festival Competition as a student of saxophonist Nobuya Sugawa.                               

As a chamber musician, Wintringham has performed in concerts throughout the Tucson metropolitan area including at the University of Arizona’s Centennial Hall, in the Festival Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado Internacional in Alamos, Mexico, and in the Chamber Music Sedona 2006-2007 concert series. As a former member of the Catalina Quartet, he was named the winner of the MTNA Southwest Regional Collegiate Chamber Music Competition in both 2007 and 2008.  During the 2008 National Conference held in Denver, the Catalina Quartet was awarded third place among the top American chamber ensembles.   Wintringham’s former quartet can be heard on Arizona University Recordings’ “America’s Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax, Volume XIV” presenting the North American premiere recording of Gavin Bryar’s “Alaric I or II”.
Wintringham is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in saxophone performance at The University of Arizona, under the instruction of world-renowned concert saxophonist Dr. Timothy McAllister. In addition to short-term studies with Nobuya Sugawa, Hitomi Hara, and Masataka Hirano, he has studied extensively with Masato Kumoi, Asako Inoue, Marshall Taylor, and Scott Wright.

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Baritone saxophonist Ryan McCormick is a significant emerging talent with a devoted interest in exploring contemporary music and is a frequent performer at both the World Saxophone Congress and North American Saxophone Alliance conferences.  He has performed locally as a soloist with the Catalina Chamber Orchestra and internationally with the Arizona Ambassadors of Music.  Ryan has also worked with and premiered pieces by noted composers such as Scott Winshop, Jason Biggs, Alisha Nichols, and Kip Haaheim.

In addition to performing with the Presidio Saxophone Quartet, Ryan maintains a thriving private instruction studio in Tucson and is an adjunct faculty member in music at Pima Community College. Mr. McCormick holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Saxophone Performance from the University of Arizona, where he studied under Dr. Kelland Thomas.

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The program should include:

Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578
by J.S. Bach arr. J. Michael Leonard

 Allegro de Concert
by J.B. Singelée

 Cascades
by Scott Joplin arr. Arthur Frackenpohl

Valse Erica
by Rudy Weidoeft arr. Bill Holcombe

Quark
by Mike Mower

Ulla in Africa
by Heiner Wiberny

I N T E R M IS S I O N 

Quatuor pour Saxophones
by J. et M. Jeanjean
Gaieté Villageoise

The Pale Dancer
by Graham Lynch

Drastic Measures
by Russell Peck

Time, date, and program subject to change.