About
"I hope the quartet understands how much it means to any composer to have a work treated with this level of dedication and sensitivity."
J. Mark Stambaugh, Composer
Manhattan Saxophone Quartet was first formed in 2008 as an ambitious and promising studio ensemble at Manhattan School of Music; the foursome’s current membership coalesced in 2010 with the goal of creating a freestanding professional quartet committed to the highest artistic standards of performance of saxophone quartet music, both established and experimental, and to the exposure and introduction of saxophone quartet repertoire to new audiences of all ages. With their various musical passions in classical, jazz, theater, and contemporary music, MSQ embodies a diverse canon spanning nearly 150 years, from early original works by Romantic masters to innovative compositions by 21st century contemporary artists.
Composer David Froom has remarked that MSQ plays "with both precision and passion, and always with terrific musicianship!" and composer David Noon has lauded "I am continually inspired, in truth, by [the] quartet's artistry." MSQ has performed across the northeastern United States at venues including Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater at Symphony Space, Citigroup Center, Yale University, Messiah College, Rutgers University, College of New Jersey, New York University, International Saxophone Symposia, and West Point University for the annual North American Saxophone Alliance regional conference. The quartet has premiered works by Marc-Antonio Consoli, Robert McMahan, David Noon, Jeffrey Nytch, Quinn Collins, J. Mark Stambaugh, and Rex Isenberg, among others.
Jordan Smith, soprano saxophone
Aaron Patterson, alto saxophone
Daniel Kochersberger, tenor saxophone
Owen Broder, baritone saxophone
JORDAN SMITH
Soprano Saxophone
Dr. Jordan P. Smith is a New Jersey-based saxophonist and conductor. He completed his D.M.A. at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, where he studied with Dr. Paul Cohen. He holds an M.M. degree in Saxophone Performance from Manhattan School of Music (MSM) and a B.M. in Music Education from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), where he studied with Kathleen Mitchell. He has completed additional studies with Dr. John Sampen, Ken Radnofsky, Jean-Michel Goury, and the Rascher Saxophone Quartet.
With reviews praising his “liquid tone,” saxophonist Dr. Jordan P. Smith has concertized extensively throughout the United States and internationally in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Greece as a soloist, conductor, and chamber musician. As an orchestral member, he has performed with the New World Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and numerous other ensembles under acclaimed conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Robert Spano, H. Robert Reynolds, and Eugene Corporon. During the past decade, Dr. Smith’s performances have led him to Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt, Austria, Betlémská kaple in Prague, Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Auditorium, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami and more. As a chamber musician originally based in New York City and a strong proponent of new music, Dr. Smith has premiered over 30 works by composers from around the world.
As a conductor, Dr. Smith is the director of the renowned Saxophone Program of Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey (YOCJ), the only program of its kind in the United States. At YOCJ, an average of 40 talented saxophonists each year in grades 6-12 perform in a saxophone orchestra setting consisting of sopranino through bass saxophone, and yearly premiere works by composers from around the world, in addition to orchestral transcriptions and saxophone ensemble standards. Dr. Smith is also an Adjunct Professor at Saint Peter's University in Jersey City, NJ where he teaches music history and maintains a large private teaching studio in Hightstown, NJ.
He can be heard on the CD Sculpting the Air: Modern Works for Wind Instruments for the premiere recording of James Adler's Reverie, Interrupted in addition to other recordings on Ravello, Blue Griffin, and Carrier Records.
AARON PATTERSON
Alto Saxophone
Dr. Aaron Patterson, originally of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is a member of the music faculty (woodwind specialist and electives teacher) at Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He completed his D.M.A. in Saxophone Performance at Manhattan School of Music in 2014; his dissertation explored the saxophone orchestrations of the stage and film versions of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story. Aaron holds B.S. Music Education and M.M. Saxophone Performance degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with Dr. Keith Young. In November 2018, he presented a guest alum recital at IUP with collaborative pianist Dr. Christine Clewell entitled "Bursting at the Barlines: A Musical Legacy of Defiance."
Aaron has been a music educator for almost twenty years, working in both public and private schools K-12 in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, and New York. He is regularly involved with Cheslea-based Queer Urban Orchestra (QUO) as an auxiliary clarinetist/saxophonist and program notes author, and has participated in several summer seasons of the New York Music Theatre and Fringe Festivals. Music theatre is one of Aaron's greatest passions: he has performed in or conducted nearly one hundred productions since high school. In 2012 and 2013, he toured a national production of West Side Story across 44 states and Canada. Regular theatre engagements include Totem Pole Playhouse summer stock (Fayetteville, Pennsylvania), Blue Hill Troupe (Upper East Side, Manhattan), and Ridge Chorale community theatre (Brooklyn). Aaron is a member of Local 802 American Federation of Musicians.
Daniel Kochersberger
Tenor Saxophone
Daniel Kochersberger, originally of Canandaigua, New York, is a saxophonist actively participating in the ever-changing New York City contemporary music scene. He is currently the saxophonist for the New York-based ensemble Contemporaneous, and has performed alongside artists such as David Byrne, Sondre Lerche, and Jherek Bischoff in new music venues including, (le) poisson rouge, St. Anne's Warehouse, and Roulette.
In addition to orchestral appearances with the New World Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Mansfield Symphony, Plainfield Symphony, and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Daniel has performed as a soloist, recitalist and chamber player with the Contemporary Music Ensemble of Oberlin, the Chamber Winds Ensemble of Manhattan, the Manhattan Wind Symphony, Symphony Z and the Brooklyn College Wind Ensemble.
Daniel currently teaches saxophone and clarinet at Cornerstone Music Studios in Millstone NJ, and has a thriving private saxophone studio in Central New Jersey.
Daniel received his B.M. at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and his M.M. at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Dr. Paul Cohen.
Owen Broder
Baritone Saxophone
Owen Broder is a saxophonist based in New York City. He runs in a variety of musical circles, leading his own groups and participating in others. Broder’s American Roots Project’s album Heritage (ArtistShare®, 2018) earned him a 2018 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award. The album was praised by DownBeat Magazine as a “transcendental work of art,” and listed as #5 among the Best Music of 2018 [Francis Davis, NPR]. His quintet, Cowboys & Frenchmen, has enjoyed multiple US tours, and seen success in international competitions including the DC JazzPRIX, Umbria Jazz Festival’s Conad Competition, and M-Prize. The group has received critical acclaim for its recordings, including a four-star review from DownBeat Magazine for their 2017 release, Bluer Than You Think.
Broder is a member of the Anat Cohen Tentet and the Manhattan Saxophone Quartet, and has performed with internationally respected artists such as Ryan Truesdell - with his Gil Evans Project, Birth of the Cool tribute through Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Bob Brookmeyer 90th Birthday Celebration - Trio Globo, and YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox. In musical theater, he was a member of the pit orchestras for the German tour of Grease and off-Broadway production For the Last Time, appeared with the band in David Bowie’s Lazarus and the Tony Award® winning musical Tootsie, and originated the woodwind chair in the U.S. Premier tour of The Bodyguard the Musical.
As an educator, Broder visits collegiate music programs and performing arts high schools across the country, hosting masterclasses based in performance as well as music entrepreneurship, preparing students for successful careers in various avenues of the music industry. Programs he has visited include the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Southern Methodist University, Lawrence University, University of Denver, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Baltimore School of the Arts, Contra Costa School for the Performing Arts, and Orange Country School of the Arts.
Broder grew up in Jacksonville, FL, and also has hometown ties to Detroit, MI, and Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master’s from the Manhattan School of Music.