Don New Sax/Woodwind player all styles, former member of The Airmen of Note USAF Jazz

I'm an experienced woodwind player and have played most styles of music. I toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and was the bari sax player for the Airmen of Note for 21 years. Double on all flutes, clarinets, and saxes.

In 2000 I retired from a twenty-one-year career with the Premiere Jazz Ensemble of the United States Air Force, The Airmen of Note. Immediately following my Air Force retirement, I was hired at McDonogh School in Maryland as a music instructor. In my position at McDonogh, I have designed and developed two popular Upper School programs -- Jazz Band and Music Technology. In 2014 I added the Upper School Concert Band to my responsibilities. The goal for my students is to learn and love music performance and creation, no matter what their ability or instrument of choice.

I am very proud to recognize some of my McDonogh students who have gone on to become professionals in the music field. They include Drew Taubenfeld who worked with Demi Lovato, Salena Gomez, and Music Director for Megan Trainor, Evan Taubenfeld of Avril Lavigne fame, recording his own titles and A&R person for Crush Music; Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak and Bon Iver, and sitarist/vocalist Ami Dang.

My professional music career spans over 50 years. At age 14, I started playing my saxophone on gigs. I led high school bands and participated in the Mummer's String Band Parades in Philadelphia. As I entered my college years, I attended Berklee College of Music as a saxophone performance major. I continued at West Chester University where I earned my B.S. in Music Education. During college I took some time off to perform, tour, and recorded with the Glenn Miller Orchestra; traveling internationally to perform the popular music of the Big Band era.

After college, I auditioned for and was hired into the Airmen of Note – the Premiere Jazz Ensemble of the United States Air Force. The Airmen of Note was created in 1950 to carry on the original military tradition of the Glenn Miller Army Air Corp band. The "Note" has an international, prestigious reputation of being one of the best big bands of its kind. As part of the band, I played all over the world on concert tours, for dignitaries in historic events, as well as Head of State venues.

The *Note* performed with such greats as Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Louis Bellson, Henry Mancini, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, and Frank Sinantra, Jr., to name just a few. I participated regularly as a clinician and adjudicator in many different jazz festivals, including international events in Brazil, Chili, Sweden, and Japan. In 2000 I retired from an amazing twenty-one-year career with the Airmen of Note.

I have had many opportunities to play with excellent musicians and bands. I also have performed in famous venues such as The White House (as seen above), Carnegie Hall, and The Kennedy Center to name a few. Recently I joined Livingston Taylor on stage as well in a student musician clinic. I was a part of the Radio King Orchestra swing band that performed on the popular TV series *The West Wing*.

Throughout the years of my music career, I have studied with Joe Viola at Berklee College of Music, Ted Hegvik at West Chester University, and Lenny Hambro for jazz sax and clarinet. In addition to receiving such notable instruction, I have recorded albums in well-known studios. Some of these are Capitol Records Studio in Hollywood, California; A&M Records in Santa Monica, California, Omega Studios in Rockville, Maryland, and Bias Studios in Springfield, Virginia.

I currently perform regularly in the Jewish community with Kol Chayim Orchestra. Further information on this band can be found by linking to the respective website. I also can sometimes be found on stage with the 80s band, Making Waves.

I work with and contract various musicians for concerts, weddings, and parties, including duets, trios, quartets, combos, wedding bands, and any ensemble needed. I also work with and contract in the Jewish community with Simcha bands. There are two locations where I teach group/ensemble lessons, private saxophone, clarinet, and flute lessons as well as music technology.