Frederick Hemke facts for kids

Fred Hemke (born Frederick Leroy Hemke Jr., July 11, 1935 – April 17, 2019) was a famous American classical saxophonist and a very important professor at Northwestern University. He helped make classical saxophone more popular. He also helped people recognize the saxophone as a solo instrument, in small groups, and in big orchestras.

For 50 years, from 1962 to 2012, Hemke taught music full-time at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. In 2002, he was given the title of Associate Dean Emeritus of the School of Music. He retired from Northwestern University in 2012.

From the start of his career in the early 1960s, Fred Hemke worked with other American saxophonists like Eugene Rousseau and Donald Sinta. They helped create new music for the saxophone by working with composers like Muczynski, Creston, and Stein. A journalist named Michael Segell once called Hemke "The Dean of Saxophone Education in America." Fred Hemke passed away on April 17, 2019.

Fred Hemke's Education

Paris Conservatory (2007)

From 1955 to 1956, Hemke studied saxophone with Marcel Mule at the famous Paris Conservatory in France. In 1956, he earned the Premier Prix diploma. This was a very special award, and Hemke was the first American saxophonist to ever receive it from the Paris Conservatory.

In 1958, Hemke earned a Bachelor of Science degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Later, in 1962, he earned a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. In 1975, he earned his highest degree, an A.Mus.D., from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Before college, Hemke learned saxophone from Eddie Schmidt, a band director in Milwaukee. Schmidt's recordings of famous saxophonists like Marcel Mule greatly inspired Hemke.

Teaching Career

Hemke taught saxophone at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music for 50 years. He started in 1962 as a teaching associate. By 1964, he became an assistant professor and led the new Winds and Percussion Instruments Department. He became a full professor in 1975 and later led the Department of Music Performance Studies.

From 1995 to 2001, Hemke was the senior associate dean for administration at the School of Music. In 2002, he was named the Louis and Elsie Snydacker Eckstein Professor of Music. He also became an associate dean emeritus. He stopped teaching full-time in 2012.

As a music teacher, Hemke taught hundreds of saxophonists. Many of his students became famous performers and music teachers around the world. From 2013 until his death, Hemke also taught during the summers at the Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute in Maine.

Famous Students of Fred Hemke

Many of Fred Hemke's students became successful musicians and teachers. Here are some of them:

Other Work

Frederick L. Hemke Reeds

Hemke was also known for designing a line of saxophone reeds called "Frederick L. Hemke Reeds." These reeds were made by Rico Reeds starting in 1982. He also worked as an artist-clinician for The Selmer Company, which sells saxophones made by Henri Selmer Paris in France. In 1979, Hemke hosted the Sixth World Saxophone Congress at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Performing Career

Fred Hemke was a world-famous saxophone artist. He performed many solo concerts and gave special teaching sessions called master classes and lectures in the United States, Canada, Scandinavia, and the Far East. He played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and many other orchestras. He also performed the very first public performances of several new pieces for saxophone, including Allan Pettersson's Symphony No. 16 and James Di Pasquale's Sonata for tenor saxophone.

Selected Performances

• Hemke first performed in New York City on April 16, 1962, at Town Hall. He played music by composers like Pascal, Lantier, and Rueff. He also played arrangements by Marcel Mule of music by Bach and Leclair.
• On February 27, 2014, Hemke performed the first public showing of Augusta Read Thomas's Hemke Concerto, Prisms of Light. This piece was for solo alto saxophone and orchestra.
  • "Illuminations" ()
  • "Sunrise Ballad"
  • "Chasing Radiance"
  • "Solar Rings"

Hemke played the saxophone with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, led by William Boughton. This concert was recorded at Woolsey Hall in New Haven, Connecticut. The piece was specially ordered as a retirement gift for Fred Hemke from his students.

Supporting the Tenor Saxophone

In a typical modern saxophone quartet, the soprano and alto saxophones are usually the most popular for solo classical music. However, Hemke spent time focusing on the B♭ tenor saxophone as a classical solo instrument. He showed this with his 1971 solo album, Music for Tenor Saxophone. Even though the tenor saxophone is known in orchestral music, like in Ravel's Boléro, classical tenor saxophone recordings are still a small part of all classical saxophone music.

Selected Recordings

Fred Hemke made many recordings throughout his career.

Solo Recordings

• Contest Music for Saxophone (1962)
• Music for Tenor Saxophone (1971)
• The American Saxophone (1971)
• Simple Gifts (2006)
• Fascinating Rhythm, Sins Of My Old Age (2010) - This album featured music by George Gershwin.
• Premier, February 27, 2014, Augusta Read Thomas, Hemke Concerto, Prisms of Light, for solo alto saxophone and orchestra
  • "Illuminations" ()
  • "Sunrise Ballad"
  • "Chasing Radiance"
  • "Solar Rings"

Hemke, saxophone, with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, William Boughton, conducting

Recorded at Woolsey Hall, New Haven, Connecticut, February 27, 2014

Commissioned as a retirement gift to Fred Hemke by current and former students; the composer, Thomas, had been Hemke's colleague at Northwestern

From the album, A Portrait of Augusta Read Thomas, Nimbus Records (CD) (2014);

Ensemble Recordings

Hemke also recorded with groups like the Eastman Wind Ensemble and The University of Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players.

• Symphony No. 16, by Allan Pettersson, with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (1985)
• Winds of Change – American Music for Wind Ensemble From the 1950s to the 1970s, with the Northwestern University Wind Ensemble (1977)
• Music by Warren Benson, with the Kronos Quartet (1981)
• Incantations, by Ralph Shapey, with the University of Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players (1969)
• Concerto for Saxophone and Winds by Paul Creston, with the Interlochen Arts Academy Wind Ensemble (1978)
• Concerto for Saxophone and Wind Orchestra by Ingolf Dahl, with the University of Wisconsin–Madison Wind Ensemble (1972)

With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Fred Hemke played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on several recordings:

• Pictures at an Exhibition, by Mussorgsky, arranged by Ravel (1968)
• L'Arlésienne Suites Nos. 1 and 2, by Bizet (1967)
• Age of Gold (ballet suite), by Shostakovich (1968)
• Boléro, by Ravel (1977)
• Final Alice, by Del Tredici (1981)

Publications and Commissions

Educational Publications

• The Early History of the Saxophone (1975): This was Hemke's doctoral paper, which explored the history of the saxophone and how it slowly became accepted in orchestra music.
• Teacher's Guide to the Saxophone (1977)
• The Orchestral Saxophone (1975)
• A Comprehensive Listing of Saxophone Literature (1975)

Music Commissions and Dedications

Many composers wrote music especially for Fred Hemke or dedicated their pieces to him:

• "Music for Tenor Saxophone and Piano," by M. William Karlins (1969)
• Symphony No. 16, by Allan Pettersson, was commissioned by Hemke (1979).
• The Dream Net, by Warren Benson, was commissioned by Hemke (1974).
• "Wind Rose", by Warren Benson (1966), was commissioned by Hemke and the Northwestern University Saxophone Quartet.
• Little Suite, by Walter Hartley, was written for Hemke for baritone saxophone and piano (1974).
• 5 Etudes for Alto Saxophone, by Robert Lemay (2000), included a tribute to Fred Hemke.
• Episode, for saxophone quartet, by Jared Tozier Spears, was commissioned by Hemke (1969).
• Symphony for Saxophone and Wind Band, by Gerald Eugene Kemner, was composed for Hemke around 1962.

Music Editions

Hemke also edited many pieces for saxophone solos and ensembles. Twenty-five of these are part of the Frederick Hemke Saxophone Series, published by the Southern Music Company.

Awards and Honors

Hemke's Saxophone and Accessories

Fred Hemke helped design the S-80 mouthpiece, which is made by Henri Selmer Paris. For his alto saxophone, Hemke used a special metal version of the S-80 mouthpiece. The Selmer Mark VII alto and tenor saxophones, released in 1974, were also designed with his advice.

Interesting Facts

• While in graduate school, Hemke borrowed one of the very first saxophones ever made by Adolphe Sax (around 1860) from H. & A. Selmer. Sadly, in 1960, a worker accidentally put the box with the instrument into an incinerator, and it was completely destroyed. The only other one like it was in a museum in Paris.
• Hemke was also a visual artist throughout his life. Some of his artworks are displayed at the Regenstein Hall of Music at Northwestern University, and others can be seen on the covers of his albums.

Audio Samples and Videos

• Symphony No. 16, by Allan Pettersson

Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Ahronovitch conducting, Swedish Society Discofil (1994);

• Sinfonia No. 1, by Claudio Gabriele (composed 2005)

For 12 saxophones

North American premier

Northwestern University Saxophone Ensemble, Hemke conducting

• Sinfonia No. 2, by Claudio Gabriele (composed 2011)

For 9 saxophones

World premiere, 2008, Pick-Steiger Concert Hall, Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University Saxophone Ensemble, Hemke conducting

Hemke Legacy Tribute: May 29 – June 3, 2012, Northwestern University

• On May 31, 2012, at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University, songs by Gershwin were performed.

Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, Robert Hasty conducting

Scenes from Porgy and Bess

1. "Summertime" ()
2. "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" ()
3. "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' " ()
4. "Gone, Gone, Gone" ()
5. "I Loves You, Porgy" ()
6. "Summertime" ()

• Variations on the St. Anthony Chorale by Haydn, arranged by Gary S. Bricault for Fred Hemke.

Northwestern University Alumni Saxo Orchestra, Stephen Alltop conducting

Performed June 3, 2012, at Northwestern University

This performance featured 105 saxophones!

• A Saxophone Life: The Fred Hemke Story, Eric Howell Music (DVD) (2012);