Matt Levy (tenor saxophone), hailed by the Saxophone Journal as "a complete virtuoso of the tenor saxophone" and by the New York Times for his "energetic and enlivening" performances, is distinguished as both an interpreter and composer of contemporary music. He has been a frequent guest artist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has performed throughout the Americas and Europe, including in Milan's La Scala Opera House where he worked under Karlheinz Stockhausen in the critically acclaimed production and premiere of Samstag aus Licht, released on Deutsche Grammophon Records. Most recently, he has collaborated with Group Motion Dance Company in a series of interdisciplinary productions by Manfred Fishbeck. Matt holds three degrees from the University of Michigan where he studied saxophone with Donald Sinta; composition with William Bolcom, William Albright, Fred Lerdahl; and was the first recipient of the Lawrence Teal Award.

Comfortable in a wide range of musical settings, Matt has composed works for orchestra, choir, musical theater, dance, jazz and electronic music ensembles. His music has been described as "gorgeous and ethereal" by Classical Magazine and "pulsing and wittily colored" by the Philadelphia Inquirer and has been broadcasted on NPR’s "Performance Today" from Washington DC; WQRS’s "Around Town" from Detroit; WQXR’s "The Listening Room" from New York City; WFMT’s "Dame Myra Hess Series" from Chicago; CBC and "Voice of America." He has also scored four motion pictures, including PBS’s "Diary of a City Priest" by Emmy nominee Eugene Martin, featured at the Sundance Film Festival. Matt may be heard on Koch International, CRI, Innova, Deutsche Grammophon, Grammavision, and Tzadik. He serves as director of the Philadelphia Music Project, an Artistic Initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
levy@prismquartet.com

Timothy McAllister (soprano saxophone) has been hailed for his “flaymboyant” playing (Los Angeles Times), "lyrical modern touch" (American Record Guide), “impeccable musicianship” (Fanfare Magazine), "virtuoso artistry" (Saxophone Journal), and "beautifully rounded tone" (Ann Arbor News). He has appeared in important venues throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom. He has been featured multiple times on National Public Radio's "Performance Today", Dutch National Radio, BBC, WNYC, Chamber Music Minnesota's televised "Music da Camera" series, and PBS affiliates throughout the U.S. His work is highlighted in the Deutsche Grammophon DVD release of John Adams’ CITY NOIR, filmed as part of Gustavo Dudamel’s Inaugural Concert as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Tim has been a recent soloist with the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Texas Festival Orchestra at Round Top, Hot Springs Festival Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Royal Band of the Belgian Air Force, The United States Navy Band, and the Dallas Wind Symphony. In addition, he has performed as saxophonist in the wind sections of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Houston Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, and the Dogs of Desire Chamber Orchestra of the Albany Symphony, among others.

Tim is responsible for over 100 premieres for saxophone. His critically-acclaimed recordings can be heard on the Centaur, Equilibrium, Naxos, Albany, Einstein, G.I.A., AUR, Summit, and Innova record labels. Tim is professor of saxophone at the Herberger Institute at the Arizona State University, and received degrees from The University of Michigan. A student of Donald Sinta, he was awarded the music school’s highest honors, including the Laurence Teal Award, the Earl V. Moore Award, and the Albert A. Stanley Medal. He also received the Paul C. Boylan Alumni Award from Michigan for his significant contributions to the field of music. Additionally, he has served as a guest professor at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris, and serves on the summer faculty of the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
mcallister@prismquartet.com

Zachary Shemon (alto saxophone) has been recognized nationally as both a soloist and chamber musician. He made his orchestral debut at the age of eighteen, performing Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera with the Plymouth, MI symphony. As a soloist, Zach has been extremely successful in competition, winning the Lansing Matinee Musicale Woodwind Artist Competition in 2005, the Hixon Saxophone/Clarinet Award in 2004, and being invited to compete in the Heida Hermann’s International Woodwind Competition in 2003. He was a two-time concerto competition finalist at the University of Michigan and has performed concertos by Michael Colgrass and William Bolcom with the UM Bands. He has also been a featured soloist on multiple occasions with the Plymouth, MI Symphony and the Ann Arbor Concert Band. In addition to his appearances as a soloist, Zach has performed with the Windsor, ON symphony and was featured with the University of Michigan Symphony Band at Carnegie Hall in 2005. As a chamber musician, he was prize winner in the 2005 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition and performed William Bolcom’s Concerto Grosso with his former quartet, Twelve-Ten. About the performance of his piece, Bolcom wrote, “Twelve-Ten did a stellar job on the saxophone quartet solo part…they inhabited the spirit of the piece with perfect comfort”. Zach currently maintains a private saxophone studio in the Ann Arbor, MI area. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan in both Saxophone Performance and Engineering. His primary teachers have been Donald Sinta and Jay Berckley.
shemon@prismquartet.com

Taimur Sullivan (baritone saxophone) is active internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. He has recently been presented in his Carnegie Hall Debut as a soloist with the National Wind Ensemble, and performed at Montreal’s Festival Lanaudiere as a soloist with the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. Of his New York debut in Merkin Hall, he was acclaimed by the New York Times for his "...seductive breadth of tone and considerable technical agility," and has received subsequent praise as "outstanding...his virtuosity supreme" (New York Times) and "not only dedicated and skilled, but also talented, fearless and sensitive... the sounds he made…were fully and deliciously drawn" (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Taimur has also been featured as a soloist at New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Kings College, and Germany’s EarMarks Festival. An active proponent of contemporary music performance, Taimur has premiered over 100 works by both established and emerging composers.

At home in the jazz as well as the classical world, he has performed behind the Platters, the Drifters, Louis Bellson, Cecil Bridgewater, Bunky Green and Jimmy Heath, and has also toured extensively throughout the former Soviet Union. He has recorded for the Mode, Albany, Capstone, Innova, Mastersound and Zuma labels, and holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Michigan State University where he has studied with James Forger, Joseph Lulloff and Debra Richtmeyer. His recent recording activity includes Jason Eckardt’s Tangled Loops on the Mode label, and Martin Bresnick’s Tent of Miracles which will be released by New World Records. Taimur has performed with Ensemble 21, Ensemble Sospeso, Mark Morris Dance Company, Speculum Musicae, Concordia Orchestra, Riverside Symphony, and the Bang On A Can All-Stars, among others, and is a director of the ThreeTwo Festival. He serves on the artist/faculty of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
sullivan@prismquartet.com