Andrew Allen | Vandoren Artist Profile

When did you decide you wanted to be a musician, and what drew you to that decision?

I come from a small town in middle Tennessee, not too far from Nashville, and many people in my extended family were excellent amateur musicians playing in church and in country and bluegrass bands. Music, art, books, and education in general were highly valued in my family, so it was always something I was drawn to, and I loved to sing from a very early age.

I saw an older student in my elementary school playing this beautiful instrument called the saxophone, and I was completely hooked from day one. I started playing in fifth grade, when I was ten, and by eighth grade, I knew I wanted to make music and share it with other people for a living.

By the end of high school, I got hooked up with Phil Barham, who would go on to be my teacher through undergrad, and he did an incalculable amount to shape my drive and desire into something that could carry me into being a professional. I have him and my other fantastic teachers (John Nichol and Clifford Leaman, along with many other less formal mentors), to thank for any success that I now enjoy.

Who have been some of the most influential people in your life?

Certainly my parents and other family members who didn’t bat an eye at my desire to be a musician. Instead, they supported me and encouraged my work, and still do.

Next, my fantastic teachers, who I’ve already mentioned, who all acted as surrogate musical parents. After that come my wonderful students, who continue to teach me every day, and my wife, an incredible, driven, passionate flutist and middle school band director.

What are the greatest challenges you have faced as a musician and how have you overcome them?

The occasional bit of frustration and self-doubt can be a problem for musicians of any level. Learning to put one foot in front of the other, avoiding looking too far into the future, and just getting in the shed and working have gone a long way to taking care of those issues for me.

What is one piece of advice you’ve received that has stuck with you throughout your musical career?

One of my teachers expressed this in slightly more colorful language, but to paraphrase: “Just care a whole lot.” Those are words I live by. With so much cynicism in the world, you have to remind yourself that there are a lot of things worth working and fighting for.

What does your practice routine look like on a typical day?

My warm-up is vital to how I play and teach every day. I have a busy schedule instructing classes and giving lessons, but I try to give myself at least an hour of long-tones and other tonal studies before anything else.

Then, another three or four hours spread throughout the day are dedicated to technique studies, learning and honing repertoire, and learning jazz tunes. The exact proportion of each depends on what sort of gigs or performances I have coming up.

What is your relationship with reeds? Do you have a break-in process?

Always having a great, consistent, reliable reed is essential. That’s why I love Vandoren. Every day, I have the tool that I need to get a great sound, no matter the gig or style of music.

My break-in is fairly simple. I play on each new reed for three or four minutes, slowly, using mid-range scales for the first five days. I then find that I can play them normally after that with no problems.

What is your current Vandoren setup (all saxophones)?

Soprano

Classical: V12 3 Reeds, Optimum SL3 or V5 S27, M|O Ligature

Jazz: V16 2.5 Reeds, V16 S7 Mouthpiece, M|O Ligature

Alto

Classical: Traditional 3 Reeds, Optimum AL3, M|O Ligature

Jazz: V16 2.5 Reeds, V16 A6M (Older, pre-band), Optimum Ligature

Tenor

Classical: Traditional 3 Reeds, Optimum TL3, M|O Ligature

Jazz: V16 2.5 Reeds, V16 T6, M|O Ligature

Bari

Classical: Traditional 3.5 Reeds, Optimum BL3, Optimum Ligature

About Andrew Allen

Saxophone soloist, chamber musician, researcher, and pedagogue Andrew J. Allen has premiered more than two dozen works for his instrument from such composers as François Rossé, Robert Lemay, Fang Man,  Jesse Jones, Greg Simon, and Jay Batzner. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, the University of South Carolina Wind Ensemble, the Oklahoma State University Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Arkansas Wind Symphony, and has given performances throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, and Croatia.  Allen’s recordings include Step Inside: New American Music for Saxophone and Percussion and The Avenging Spirit, both on the Equilibrium label, and he is a featured soloist on Spring Shadows: Electronic Solo Works by Anne Neikirk on Ravello Records. Throughout his career, he has garnered considerable critical acclaim: The Instrumentalist has lauded Allen as “a master of all sizes of saxophone,” while The Saxophonist has hailed his "virtuosic saxophone performance,” and The Saxophone Symposium has cited his “complete control of the instrument.”

As an ensemble musician, Allen has performed with the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, the Lone Star Wind Orchestra, the Bryan Symphony, the Midland Symphony, Symphony Orchestra Augusta, and the South Carolina Philharmonic. Present chamber ensemble activities include The Palmetto Saxophone Quartet, the percussion and saxophone group Rogue Two (with Gordon Hicken), and the flute and saxophone ensemble The Allen Duo (with Elise Naber Allen). As a commercial musician, Allen has served as a sideman with a diverse variety of artists including R&B luminaries The Temptations and country music legend Ronnie Milsap.

Allen is one of the most active scholars and public pedagogues of the saxophone today.  His has written for The Instrumentalist, Music Educators Journal, Teaching Music, The Saxophone Symposium, College Music Symposium, The NACWPI Journal, The American Music Teacher, JazzEd, and School Band and Orchestra, and his transcriptions and arrangements are available through Dorn Publications and Lovebird Music. Allen has presented clinics across the country, including at the state music education conventions of Georgia, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas, and he has given masterclasses and lectures at some of the most prestigious schools of music in the United States, including the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, Bowling Green State University, Duquesne University, and Shenandoah Conservatory, among many others. He is assistant editor of The Saxophone Symposium, the peer-reviewed journal of The North American Saxophone Alliance.

Andrew J. Allen is Associate Professor of Saxophone and Coordinator of Winds & Percussion at Georgia College & State University, and he serves as President of the North American Saxophone Alliance.  His previous academic appointments include positions at Midwestern State University, Valley City State University, and Claflin University. Allen’s students have performed at national and regional conferences of The North American Saxophone Alliance, the American Single Reed Summit, the United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, and at the state music education association conventions of Georgia and Texas. He was the recipient of the 2023-2024 Georgia College & State University College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award, and he has been recognized as both an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and as a Sigma Alpha Iota National Arts Associate.

Allen holds degrees from Tennessee Technological University, Central Michigan University, and the University of South Carolina.  His primary teachers include Phil Barham, John Nichol, and Clifford Leaman, and he has received additional instruction from Joseph Lulloff at the Brevard Music Center; Claude Delangle, Vincent David, and Arno Bornkamp at the European University of Saxophone; and Christine Rall at the Rascher Saxophone Quartet Workshop.  Allen is a Conn-Selmer Artist-Clinician, a Vandoren Performing Artist, and a Key Leaves Endorsing Artist, and he performs exclusively on Selmer Paris saxophones and Vandoren mouthpieces, reeds, and ligatures.