Allison Adams

Dr. Allison Adams is Associate Professor of Saxophone at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

She is currently co-authoring a saxophone method, titled “Playing and Teaching the Saxophone: A Modern Approach,” with saxophonist Brian Horner. This book focuses on saxophone pedagogy for collegiate method class students and band directors. Its expected release date is Spring 2023, through Oxford University Press.

A versatile performer in addition to a pedagogue, Adams has been a featured soloist at venues across the country and is a frequent performer at conferences such as The World Saxophone Congress, The International Saxophone Symposium, and The North American Saxophone Biennial Conference, and the International Clarinet Association Conference.

In addition to her solo work, Adams is the tenor player for the Estrella Consort, a saxophone quartet that has toured both locally and abroad. In May 2022, the quartet was featured as the ensemble-in-residence for the Alba Music Festival Composition Program in Italy. They have also held a residency at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ and toured Ecuador as part of a cultural exchange. Adams' love of contemporary music is further explored in her collaborations with Nief Norf, a mixed chamber ensemble that focuses on the avant-garde work of living composers. As the saxophonist of the group, she also serves on the faculty of the Nief Norf Summer Festival.

Besides her study of the saxophone, Adams’ main area of research centers around performance injuries, wellness for musicians, and the integration of yoga into music performance. A chapter on her recovery from focal dystonia is available in the collection Notes of Hope, published by Mountain Peak Music. She has also authored an essay on yoga for musicians, which can be found in the multi-media resource Cross Training for Musicians (available through Mountain Peak Music as well).

Adams holds a B.M. in Music Education and Performance from Ithaca College, a M.M. in Music Performance from the University of Minnesota, and a D.M.A. from Arizona State University. Her main saxophone teachers have included Steven Mauk, Eugene Rousseau, and Timothy McAllister.

Adams is a performing artist for both the Selmer and D'Addario companies.