Rob Buckland
Rob Buckland has crafted a career around his primary work as a saxophonist that defies categorisation. Moving effortlessly between genres, he is in high demand as a classical soloist, chamber musician, contemporary specialist, improviser, arranger, composer, conductor and producer with an international reputation as an insightful and forward-thinking educator. Renowned for a highly distinctive, original sound, combined with an open-minded approach to repertoire and performance styles, his work takes him around the globe in an astonishing variety of musical settings.
He is leader of the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, and works with his duo partner, pianist Peter Lawson, his Equivox Trio (adding in percussionist Simone Rebello), the Michael Nyman Band, London Saxophonic, the BBC Philharmonic, RLPO and Halle Orchestras. He has performed as concerto soloist with orchestras and bands across the UK, Europe and the Far East, and has worked with a wide variety of jazz, pop and commercial artists, including Michael Buble, Elvis Costello, Jason Rebello, the Storyhouse Big Band, Andy Scott’s ‘Group S’ and John Helliwell’s ‘Super Big Tramp Band’, of which he is the MD. New projects include a major new chamber music collaboration with world-renowned jazz pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock, and the Neoteric Ensemble, a unique brass and saxophone chamber group performing newly commissioned repertoire. Rob is also building a strong reputation as a creative producer, working with a wide range of artists from solo, duo, chamber ensemble, big band and strings to multi-tracked cross-genre studio albums.
Rob has written a major saxophone book ‘Playing The Saxophone’ based on 25 years of teaching at the RNCM. As a composer and arranger, his works feature on the concert stage, on numerous CDs, and on all of the major exam syllabi. He is Professor of Saxophone at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, where, since 1997, he has lead a programme that attracts students from around the world. He is co-Artistic Director of the annual RNCM Saxophone Day, is a solo artist and endorsee for Henri Selmer Paris Saxophones and Vandoren Reeds, and is published by www.astute-music.com
www.robbuckland.com