Art Woodbury plays jazz saxophone and
has performed with the Fred Radke Orchestra and
as a freelance musician. He has performed on a variety of instruments,
including the tenor, alto, soprano, and baritone
saxophones, clarinet, flute, piccolo, bassoon, piano, and various electronic instruments including the computer.
During his freelance career, he has appeared with many prominent
performers: Lionel Hampton, Mel Torme, Les
Elgart, Harry James, Sammy Davis Jr., Ray Price,
Skitch Henderson, Al Hirt, Doc Severinson, Fred Radke, Gina
Funes, Howard Keel and Anne Blythe (in Showboat), José Ferrer (in
Man of La Mancha), Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Temptations, Carol Channing,
Gene Kelly, Johnny Carson, Marilyn McCoo, Redd Foxx, Fats Waller,
Jr., Rosemary Clooney, Jimmy Dean, Tammy Wynette, Blue Cheer and
many others, and in a variety musicals: Jesus Christ
Superstar, Showboat, Man of La Mancha, 42nd Street, The Sound of
Music.
Although Art's current arena is jazz, he
performed and taught classical and avant garde music for many years. He
performed as bassoonist for the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra for 9
years, as well as the Sonoma Symphony Orchestra, the Grande Ronde
Symphony Orchestra, and as a guest artist with The Florida Gulf Coast
Orchestra, and many
others.
He is a retired Professor of Music
from the University of South Florida and taught previously at the
University of California at Davis---tenured at
both institutions. As a post-graduate, he studied at the University of
California at Berkeley and was part of the Artificial Intelligence
Project at Stanford University. Art was a founding member of the New
Music Ensemble at the University of California
at Davis, and performed and recorded with them.
During this time he was Associate Editor for the music
journal Source: Music of
the Avant Garde and as such, worked with many internationally
recognized composers, including John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, David
Tudor, Harry Partch, and Larry Austin.
Art is a published and recorded
composer, arranger, and performer, and has toured internationally as
a composer and artist-in-residence. His
biography can be found in such references as Baker's Biographical Dictionary of
Musicians, Composers On Record, Contemporary American Composers: a
Biographical Dictionary, Contemporary Composers: Vol. III,
International Who's Who in Music and Musicians, Who's Who in
American Music: Classical, and Who's Who in Entertainment.
He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Music Honor
Society.
