Collaborators

Performers, composers, and conductors whose artistry and long-standing collaboration have shaped the performance and life of Sherwood Shaffer’s music.

Four musicians stand closely together on a small stage, each playing a saxophone in an informal chamber music setting, leaning toward one another as they perform, with a piano and wood-paneled walls visible behind them.

New Century Saxophone Quartet

The New Century Saxophone Quartet commissioned and premiered Sinfonia for Saxophone Quartet, performing the work at their Carnegie Hall debut following their win at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in 1992. The ensemble toured the work extensively for many years, helping establish it as a significant contribution to the saxophone quartet repertoire.

newcenturysax.com

Professional saxophone quartet

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Max Lifchitz

Composer, pianist, and conductor

Max Lifchitz, founder of the North/South Chamber Orchestra, has been a champion of Sherwood Shaffer’s music as both performer and conductor. His recording of Lines from Shelley earned a GRAMMY nomination, bringing wider recognition to Shaffer’s piano music and compositional voice.

University at Albany biography

Bohuslav Martinů

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Composer and teacher

Bohuslav Martinů taught briefly at the Curtis Institute of Music in the fall of 1955 and was a formative influence on Sherwood Shaffer during his studies. Martinů’s approach to structure, rhythm, and expressive clarity left a lasting imprint on Shaffer’s compositional thinking.

An older man in a dark blazer and striped shirt poses against a plain background, holding a gold saxophone upright at his side and looking directly toward the camera.

James Houlik

James Houlik has commissioned and performed numerous works by Sherwood Shaffer and has been a central advocate for his saxophone music. As a master performer and dedicated teacher, Houlik has guided generations of students in the performance of Shaffer’s works, integrating them deeply into contemporary saxophone study and performance.

jameshoulik.net

Tenor saxophonist and educator

An older conductor smiles while leading an ensemble, raising a baton mid-gesture under warm stage lighting, with musicians partially visible in the foreground and a red spotlight glowing behind them.

Peter Perret

Conductor

Peter Perret conducted major performances and recordings of Sherwood Shaffer’s Concerto for Orchestra with the Winston-Salem Symphony. His leadership was instrumental in shaping the work’s interpretation during its early performances and recordings.

Vittorio Giannini

A black-and-white photograph of a composer seated at a piano, turning toward the camera while holding open a book of sheet music on the music stand, with the Steinway & Sons logo visible on the piano.

Composer and educator

Vittorio Giannini taught Sherwood Shaffer at both the Curtis Institute of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. A profound mentor and inspiration, Giannini played a pivotal role in Shaffer’s teaching career, offering guidance and support that led to multiple faculty appointments.

A musician leans over the keys of a grand piano, resting their arms along the edge of the instrument and looking toward the camera, with piano strings and keys visible and a neutral studio background behind them.

Pianist

Vahan Sargsyan

Vahan Sargsyan has performed and recorded many of Sherwood Shaffer’s works and has frequently collaborated as pianist in performances with James Houlik. His musicianship has played a key role in bringing clarity, nuance, and expressive depth to Shaffer’s chamber and solo repertoire.

Carnegie Mellon University biography

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Christopher Deane

Percussionist

Christopher Deane studied with Sherwood Shaffer at the North Carolina School of the Arts and later became a master percussionist and respected composer. He toured extensively with Shaffer’s music and dedicated a major work to him, reflecting a deep artistic and personal connection.