Dr. Dan Graser - Associate Professor of Saxophone

DMA - University of Michigan

MM - University of Michigan

BM - Crane School of Music at Potsdam

-Saxophone Performance

-Music Theory/History

 

 

Professor of Saxophone at Grand Valley State University, Dan Graser is one of the most active performers and pedagogues of his generation. A recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan, Dan served as Teaching Assistant to legendary saxophone pedagogue Donald Sinta having completed undergraduate work in performance and music history/theory with saxophone virtuoso Timothy McAllister at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.

 

As soprano chair of the world-renowned Sinta Quartet, Dan has been featured internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. SQ are among the most successful ensembles on the chamber music competition circuit having received the Gold Medal of the Fischoff Chamber Competition, 1st Prize of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition (the first time awarded to a saxophone group), 1st Prize in the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, the Alice Coleman Grand Prize at the Coleman Competition and 1st Prize at the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition. SQ have performed in Japan, France, Greece, Switzerland, the UK, throughout the US, and were the featured soloists with the Michigan Symphony Band during an historic tour through China. SQ have also been featured as concerto soloists with the Reno Philharmonic, Dupage Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Wind Symphony, Paris Garde Republicaine, and the Michigan Symphony Band.  DSQ have performed at several festivals and series including Bravo! Vail, Chautauqua, Great Lakes, Princeton, Market Square Concerts, Music From Angel Fire, Detroit Institute of the Arts, Rockport, Lancaster, Purdue Convocations, Lake George Music Festival, as well as multiple performances at Carnegie Hall. In addition to performing great string quartet works and saxophone standards, SQ sponsor an annual composition competition for young emerging composers. This competition has generated the premieres of dozens of new works for saxophone quartet. Concert Artists Guild manages SQ internationally. Their recordings can be heard on the CAG and Bright Shiny Things labels. www.sintaquartet.com

 

As a soloist, Dan has been featured with the GVSU Symphony Orchestra, GVSU Concert Band, University of Michigan Symphony Band, Oakland Wind Symphony, Crane Wind Ensemble, South Oakland Concert Band and in recital at the Kennedy Center as part of the Millennium Stage series. As an orchestral performer, Dan has performed on numerous occasions with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin. For several years Dan was the saxophonist with the New World Symphony in Miami under Michael Tilson Thomas, Teddy Abrams, John Adams, and J.D. Gersen, and performed several chamber works, premieres, and large orchestral works with that prestigious group. Dan has also performed as saxophonist with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Royal Oaks Symphony, as well as the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

A highly sought-after pedagogue, Dan has given master class performances and clinics at numerous schools throughout the world including the Paris Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, Beijing Central Conservatory, China Conservatory, Versailles Conservatory, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina Greensboro, West Virginia University, and Oakland University. Dan has also held teaching positions at Oakland University, Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts, and the Expressions Music Academy. 

​

In addition to being the author of the renowned "Chops" series of saxophone methods, Dan is a Selmer Paris artist and performs on Selmer Saxophones and Mouthpieces exclusively.