Harvey Pittel

Harvey Pittel (born June 22, 1943) is an American saxophonist who performs principally in North America, and is currently the Professor of Saxophone at the University of Texas at Austin Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music in the College of Fine Arts. Pittel and Joe Allard, and obtained his Music Education Major at the University of Southern California (USC), followed by Master degree studies with Fred Hemke at Northwestern University. He performed a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in 1973 as a winner of the Concert Artists Guild competition. He has edited the Saxophone and Piano reduction of the Ingolf Dahl Concerto for Saxophone and Band based on his work with Dahl during his studies at the University of Southern California. His version of the Concerto is the standard version of this piece played today, and has performed the piece under Dahl, as well as Michael Tilson Thomas and Zubin Mehta. Mr. Pittel has performed with many major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony, and Austin Symphony.

Pittel has been critically acclaimed in leading newspapers and magazines by both Harold C. Schonberg and Raymond Ericson in The New York Times, Michael Steinberg in the Boston Globe, and Winthrop Sargeant in The New Yorker, and his many awards include two Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund grants, and a National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist grant.

Film soundtracks on which Pittel has collaborated include for Woody Allen's Manhattan, and he has appeared as a guest on The Today Show and Live From Lincoln Center. Works written for Harvey Pittel include the Paul Chihara Saxophone Concerto, Soprano Saxophone Sonata, and Milton Babbitt's Images for Saxophone and Tape.

Former students include: Dr Jeffrey Benedict (faculty, Department of Music, California State University, Los Angeles), Dr Dan Goble (Dean, School of Visual and Performing Arts, Western Connecticut State University; also plays with the Harvey Pittel Saxophone Quartet), Todd Oxford (faculty, School of Music, Texas State University, San Marcos) Steve Mohacey, Jack Cooper (faculty, University of Memphis, School of Music), Vincent Gnojek (faculty, School of Music, University of Kansas), Roger Greenberg (Retired from University of Northern Colorado), James Rotter (California State University, Fullerton), Robert Medina (Elision Saxophone Quartet), Todd Yukomoto University of Hawaii, Javier Oviedo (faculty, Western Connecticut State University), Paul Haar (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Rami El-Farrah (Faculty, School of Music, University of Texas at San Antonio) Mace Hibbard (Georgia State University), Jeremy Justeson (Kutztown University of Pennsylvania), Allen Won (faculty, The Mannes College for Music), William Graves, James Hairston, Debra McKim (Hastings College). Branford Marsalis and Kenny Garrett are among the most notable jazz saxophonists that have studied with Pittel.