Frederick Hemke

Quality 0.50 · 0 views · Updated 2 months ago

American musician (1935–2019)

title: "Frederick Hemke" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-classical-saxophonists", "american-male-saxophonists", "musicians-from-evanston,-illinois", "musicians-from-milwaukee", "university-of-wisconsin–madison-college-of-letters-and-science-alumni", "university-of-wisconsin–milwaukee-alumni", "northwestern-university-faculty", "1935-births", "2019-deaths", "classical-saxophonists", "distinguished-service-to-music-medal-recipients", "21st-century-american-saxophonists", "classical-musicians-from-illinois", "classical-musicians-from-wisconsin", "21st-century-american-male-musicians", "20th-century-classical-musicians", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "20th-century-american-saxophonists"] description: "American musician (1935–2019)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Hemke" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American musician (1935–2019) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist "]

FieldValue
nameFred LeRoy Hemke Jr.
backgroundnon_vocal_instrumentalist
birth_nameFred LeRoy Hemke Jr.
birth_date
birth_placeMilwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
death_date
instrumentSaxophone
genreClassical
occupationSaxophonist
University professor
years_active1962–2019
associated_actsNorthwestern University
website
::

| name = Fred LeRoy Hemke Jr. | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_size = | caption = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Fred LeRoy Hemke Jr. | birth_date = | birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | instrument = Saxophone | genre = Classical | occupation = Saxophonist University professor | years_active = 1962–2019 | associated_acts = Northwestern University | website =

Frederick L. Hemke (né Fred LeRoy Hemke Jr.; July 11, 1935 – April 17, 2019) was an American virtuoso classical saxophonist and influential professor of saxophone at Northwestern University. Hemke helped increase the popularity of classical saxophone, particularly among leading American composers, and raised recognition of the classical saxophone in solo, chamber, and major orchestral repertoire throughout the world. Throughout his career, Hemke built American saxophone repertoire through many composers including Muczynski, Creston, Stein, Heiden, and Karlins.

For half a century (1962 - 2012), Hemke was a full-time faculty member at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. In 2002, he was named Associate Dean Emeritus of the school. He retired in 2012.

Journalist and author Michael Segell, in his 2005 book, The Devil's Horn, called Hemke "The Dean of Saxophone Education in America."

Hemke died April 17, 2019.

Formal education

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Conservatoire_de_Paris.JPG" caption="Paris Conservatory (2007)"] ::

From 1955 to 1956, Hemke studied saxophone with Marcel Mule at the Paris Conservatoire National de Musique et de Declamation, earning in 1956 the Premier Prix diploma. Hemke holds the distinction of being the first American saxophonist to earn a Premier Prix diploma from the Paris Conservatory. In 1958, Hemke earned a Bachelor of Science degree in music education from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. In 1962, he earned a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. In 1975, Hemke earned a D.M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

In primary and secondary school, until the start of college, Hemke studied saxophone with Eddie Schmidt, a band director in Milwaukee, and a close friend of Ralph Joseph Hermann (1914–1994) — musician, composer, songwriter, and music publisher. Hemke was highly influenced by Schmidt's recording of Marcel Mule — and also of his recordings of Al Gallodoro, and Freddy Gardner. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Hemke studied with Jay Morton, teacher of woodwinds. Hemke did not have a formal saxophone teacher at Eastman, but while there, studied reeds with clarinetist Stanley Hasty (1920–2011), flute repertoire with Joseph Mariano (1911–2007), and oboe repertoire with Robert Sprenkle (1914–1988).

Teaching career

Hemke taught saxophone at Northwestern's School of Music for fifty years. He began in 1962 as a teaching associate. In 1964 he became an assistant professor and was appointed chairman of the newly formed Winds and Percussion Instruments Department. In 1967 Hemke was elevated to associate professor; on September 1, 1975, Full Professor; and on September 1, 1991, chairman of the Department of Music Performance Studies at the School of Music. Hemke served as senior associate dean for administration in the School of Music from 1995 to 2001. In 2002, Hemke was named the Louis and Elsie Snydacker Eckstein Professor of Music and also named Associate Dean Emeritus of the School of Music. He retired from full-time teaching in 2012.

As a music educator in higher education, Hemke taught hundreds of saxophonists, many of whom have flourished as performing artists and music educators of international rank. From 2013 until his death, Hemke served as artistic director and taught during summers at the Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute, located at Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney, ME.

Other positions

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Saxophone_reeds-alto,_tenor.jpeg" caption="Frederick L. Hemke Reeds"] ::

Hemke was well known as the designer of a line of reeds which bear the trademark "Frederick L. Hemke Reeds." D'Addario began making the brand in 1982. Hemke was an artist-clinician for The Selmer Company, the North American distributor of saxophones made in France by the Paris firm, Henri Selmer Paris. In 1979 Hemke was host for the Sixth World Saxophone Congress held at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

Performing career

Hemke was known worldwide as one of the great classical saxophonists. He performed extensively as a solo artist, conducted master classes and delivered lectures in the United States, Canada, Scandinavia, and the Far East. He also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and many other orchestras.

Hemke premiered several works for saxophone including Allan Pettersson's Symphony No. 16 (February 24, 1983) and James Di Pasquale's Sonata for tenor saxophone. Di Pasquale, a prolific composer, had studied saxophone with Hemke and Sigurd Rascher.

;;Selected performances

  • Hemke made his New York debut on April 16, 1962 at the Town Hall, a storied concert venue that had its first-ever classical saxophone performance on February 5, 1937 — by Cecil Leeson. Hemke performed compositions by Pascal, Lantier, Rueff, Hartley, and Stein and arrangements by Mule of Bach and Leclair.
  • Premier, February 27, 2014, Augusta Read Thomas, Hemke Concerto, Prisms of Light, for solo alto saxophone and orchestra
  1. "Illuminations" ()
  2. "Sunrise Ballad"
  3. "Chasing Radiance"
  4. "Solar Rings" : Hemke, saxophone, with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, William Boughton conducting : Recorded at Woolsey Hall, New Haven, Connecticut, February 27, 2014 : Commissioned as a retirement gift to Fred Hemke by current and former students; the composer, Thomas, had been Hemke's colleague at Northwestern : From the album, A Portrait of Augusta Read Thomas, Nimbus Records (CD) (2014);

Advocacy for B{{music|b}} tenor saxophone

Among the instruments in a traditional modern saxophone quartet — B soprano, E alto, B tenor, and E baritone saxophone — classical solos were, and still are, mostly written for the soprano and the alto. Hemke decided to focus on the tenor as a classical solo instrument, as evidenced by the release of his 1971 solo album Music for Tenor Saxophone.

In orchestral music, the tenor saxophone is one of three saxophones heard in Ravel's Boléro — they were originally scored for two players, one on E sopranino and the other alternating between the tenor and the soprano as required. Recordings by tenor saxophone virtuoso James Houlik and others notwithstanding, classical tenor saxophone music is still a very small portion of classical saxophone repertoire and discography.

Selected discography

;;Solo recordings

  • Contest Music for Saxophone, Lapider Records M 249-04, distributed by H. & A. Selmer, Elkhart (LP) (1962) :: (stereo) (LP) :: (mono) (cassette) :: (mono) (LP) :: (mono) (LP) :: (LP) :: (LP) :: James Jacobs Edmonds (1931–2002), piano :: Hemke performed on a Selmer Mark VI

: Side 1 :: Matrix N° XCTV-87627 (mono) :: Matrix N° RG 576A (stereo) : {{ordered list|start=1 | Chanson et Passepied, Op. 16, by Jeanine Rueff, Leduc (©1951); | Sicilienne, by Pierre Lantier, Leduc (©1944); | Chant Corse, by Henri Tomasi, Leduc (©1932); , | Elegie, by Hermann Reutter, Leduc (©1957); | Villageoise, by Marcel Bitsch, Leduc (©1953); | Suite, by Paul Bonneau, Leduc (©1944);
| Variations on a Theme by Claude Le Jeune, by Franz Tournier (1923–2010), Leduc (©1955); | Cantilena et Danse, by Denis Joly (fr), Leduc (©1949); : Side 2 :: Matrix N° XCTV-87628 (mono) :: Matrix N° RG 576A (stereo) : {{ordered list|start=9 | An Abstract, by David Ward, Southern Music Co. (©1963); | Cantilena, by Warren Benson, Boosey & Hawkes (©1954); | Petite Suite, by Walter Hartley, Fema Music Publications (©1962); | Violin Sonata No. 2, Op.1, by Jean-Marie Leclair | Prelude to Cantata No. 12, by Bach, arr. by Sigurd Raschèr, Chappell (©1938);
| Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068, by J.S. Bach | Adagio, by Arcangelo Corelli, arr. by Marcel Mule, Leduc (©1939); | Le Fete du Village, by François-Joseph Gossec, arr. by Marcel Mule, Leduc (©1937);

  • Music for Tenor Saxophone, Brewster Records BR 1204 (LP) (1971); :: Milton Lewis Granger (born 1947), piano :: Album cover art: Fred Hemke :: Notes by Charles (Chuck) Brewster Hawes, PhD (born 1945)
  1. Sonata, for tenor saxophone and piano, by James Di Pasquale
  2. A Ballad in Time and Space, by William Duckworth
  3. Poem, for tenor saxophone and piano, by Walter Hartley
  4. Music for Tenor Saxophone and Piano, by Martin William Karlins
  • The American Saxophone, Brewster Records BR 1203 (LP) (1971); :: Milton Lewis Granger (born 1947), piano :: Album cover art: Fred Hemke :: Notes by Alan Burrage Stout (born 1932)
  1. Concerto, for alto saxophone, by Ingolf Dahl
  2. Farewell, by Warren Benson
  3. Concerto, for alto saxophone, Karel Husa
  4. Aeolian Song, by Warren Benson

  • Music for Tenor Saxophone (1971) and The American Saxophone (1971) was :: Re-issued as a compilation under the title: ::The American Saxophone, EnF Records 1203-2 (CD) (2006);

  • Simple Gifts, EnF Records (CD) (2006); :: Douglas Cleveland, organ :: Recorded at Alice Miller Chapel, Northwestern University on the Æolian-Skinner Organ and at Trinity United Methodist Church, Wilmette, Illinois, on the 2001 Reuter Organ

  • Fascinating Rhythm, Sins Of My Old Age, EnF Records (CD) (2010); :: The Music of George Gershwin :: Hemke, Alto Saxophone :: Figard String Quintet: Tracy Figard, violin; Catherine Price, violin; Kristin Figard, viola; Sam Norlund, cello; Douglas Nestler, double bass :: Notes by Jonah L. Blum (born 1976) (in English) and Hemke :: Cover art by Hemke

  • Premier, February 27, 2014, Augusta Read Thomas, Hemke Concerto, Prisms of Light, for solo alto saxophone and orchestra

  1. "Illuminations" ()
  2. "Sunrise Ballad"
  3. "Chasing Radiance"
  4. "Solar Rings" : Hemke, saxophone, with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, William Boughton, conducting : Recorded at Woolsey Hall, New Haven, Connecticut, February 27, 2014 : Commissioned as a retirement gift to Fred Hemke by current and former students; the composer, Thomas, had been Hemke's colleague at Northwestern : From the album, A Portrait of Augusta Read Thomas, Nimbus Records (CD) (2014);

;;Ensemble recordings : Hemke has recorded with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and The University of Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Selected publications

Educational publications

  • The Early History of the Saxophone (DMA dissertation), by Hemke, University of Wisconsin (1975); , : The dissertation explores in depth the saxophone's history and gradual acceptance in the realm of symphonic music
  • On Reading Music: An Information Processing Analysis, by Gilbert Koreb Krulee (born 1924) & Hemke (1980); ;;The Selmer Series, Elkhart, Indiana: :* "Teacher's Guide to the Saxophone," by Hemke, Elkhart, Indiana: Selmer (1977); :* The Orchestral Saxophone, by Hemke & Walker L Smith, Elkhart, Indiana: Selmer (1975); :* A Comprehensive Listing of Saxophone Literature, by Hemke, Elkhart, Indiana: Selmer (1975);

Commissions and dedications

Music editions

  • Hemke has edited works for saxophone solos and saxophone ensembles, twenty-five of which are part of the Frederick Hemke Saxophone Series published by the Southern Music Company.

Awards and honors

::data[format=table]

2013Honorary Alumni Award, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois
::

Influence on saxophone design

Hemke was a primary design consultant for the S-80 mouthpiece manufactured by Henri Selmer Paris, and he used a custom version of it on alto saxophone. The mouthpiece is metal with a square chamber.

He was also a design consultant for the Selmer Mark VII E alto and B tenor saxophones, introduced in 1974.

Audio samples and videography

Hemke Legacy Tribute: May 29 – June 3, 2012, Northwestern University

:: 7:30 , May 31, 2012, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University :: Songs by Gershwin, arranged by Jonah L. Blum (born 1976) :: Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, Robert Hasty conducting :: Scenes from Porgy and Bess :# "Summertime" () :# "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" () :# "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' " () :# "Gone, Gone, Gone" () :# "I Loves You, Porgy" () :# "Summertime" ()

:: (Brahms's Variations on the St. Anthony Chorale by Haydn) :: Arranged by Gary S. Bricault (born 1952) at the request of Fred Hemke :: Northwestern University Alumni Saxo Orchestra, Stephen Alltop conducting :: Performed June 3, 2012, at Northwestern University :: 105 saxophones: 3 E sopraninos, 23 B sopranos, 35 E altos, 25 B tenors, 12 E baritones, 6 B basses, and 1 E contra bass tubax

  • , Eric Howell Music (DVD) (2012);

Notes

References

References

  1. ''[https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/42002/ubc_2012_spring_nolan_julia.pdf Fostering Artistry and Pedagogy: Conversations With Artist-Teachers Frederick Hemke, Eugene Rousseau, and Donald Sinta] {{Webarchive. link. (October 18, 2014 ,'' (PhD dissertation), by Julia Nolan, [[University of British Columbia]] (2012))
  2. "An Interview with Frederick Hemke," by Jonathan Helton, ''The Saxophone Journal'', Vol. 31, No. 1, pps. 26–31 (2006)
  3. "Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute".
  4. [http://www.augustana.edu/x57193.xml "Alumni recognition awards for 2013,"] {{Webarchive. link. (October 19, 2014 [[Augustana College (Illinois)). Augustana College]], June 5, 2013
  5. ''[http://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/catalog/inu-ead-nua-archon-746 Frederick L. Hemke Papers],'' [[Northwestern University Library]]
  6. [http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/Journal/JNL14/JNL14.Conr.html "The Paris Conservatory: Its Oboe Professors, Laureates (1795–1984)"] {{Webarchive. link. (October 11, 2014 (explaining First Prize), by George Arnold Conrey, [[Doctor of Fine Arts). DFA]] (1919–1994), ''[[International Double Reed Society. IDRS Journal]],'' Vol. 14, No. 8, July 1986; {{ISSN. 0092-0827
  7. ''[http://www.kkytbs.org/forms/KKPsiGuidetoMembership.pdf Guide to Membership for the 2011–2013 Biennium –] {{Webarchive. link. (January 2, 2013 '' Chapter: "Distinguished Service to Music Medal," Nick Smith (ed.), [[Kappa Kappa Psi]]/[[Tau Beta Sigma]], pps. 57–59)
  8. ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of American Music]]'' (Hemke is in vol. 2 of 4), [[H. Wiley Hitchcock]] & [[Stanley Sadie]] (eds.) [[Macmillan Press]] (1986); {{OCLC. 13184437
  9. ''International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, 1990–1991'' (12th ed.), [[International Who's Who in Music]] (1990); {{OCLC. 632053332
  10. (1983). "Who's who in American Music: Classical". [[R.R. Bowker Company]].
  11. ''Who's Who in Entertainment 1998–1999'' (3rd ed.) [[Marquis Who's Who]] (1997); {{OCLC. 38740408
  12. ''[[Cambridge Companions to Music. The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone]],'' [[Richard Ingham]] (ed.), [[Cambridge University Press]] (1998), pps. 46, 166; {{OCLC. 38748296
  14. (fr)]] (2007), pg. 106; {{OCLC. 716568162
  15. [https://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/about/support/news/dr-fred-hemke-wins-conn-selmer-centerstage-lifetime-achievement-award// "Dr. Fred Hemke Wins the Conn-Selmer Centerstage Lifetime Achievement Award,"] {{webarchive. link. (October 13, 2014 (press release), [[Conn-Selmer]], June 12, 2013)
  16. "Fred Hemke at Town Hall," ''[[New York Times]]'' April 17, 1962
  17. [https://www.courant.com/2014/02/27/a-light-breeze-premiere-of-a-new-sax-symphony-at-nhso/ "A Light Breeze: Premiere Of A New Sax Symphony At NHSO,"] by Christopher Arnott, ''[[Hartford Courant]]'', February 27, 2014
  18. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rXQw5PugkDoC&pg=PA256 The Saxophone]'', by Stephen Cottrell, [[Yale University Press]] (2012), pg. 256; {{OCLC|785865144}}
    Cottrell is a saxophonist and professor of music at [[City University London]]
  19. [http://www.warrenbenson.com/list-of-works/chamber/ List of Chamber works with audio mp3 samples] {{webarchive. link. (October 18, 2014 , Warren Benson {{URL). www.warrenbenson.com
  20. School of Music, Theatre & Dance]] Publications, by the [[University of Michigan]], January 19–21, 1978
  21. (2008). "Classical Saxophone Transcriptions: Role and Reception". [[Florida State University]].
  22. (April 24, 2019). "Frederick Hemke (1935-2019)".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

american-classical-saxophonistsamerican-male-saxophonistsmusicians-from-evanston,-illinoismusicians-from-milwaukeeuniversity-of-wisconsin–madison-college-of-letters-and-science-alumniuniversity-of-wisconsin–milwaukee-alumninorthwestern-university-faculty1935-births2019-deathsclassical-saxophonistsdistinguished-service-to-music-medal-recipients21st-century-american-saxophonistsclassical-musicians-from-illinoisclassical-musicians-from-wisconsin21st-century-american-male-musicians20th-century-classical-musicians20th-century-american-male-musicians20th-century-american-saxophonists