Rick Hirsch (b.1970) is an award-winning composer, arranger, saxophonist and educator who began his career as a personal music copyist for Toshiko Akiyoshi and Bob Mintzer. Hirsch has written music for jazz icons Yusef Lateef, Tito Puente, Eddie Henderson, and the Yellowjackets; the Capitol Quartet; and dozens of school ensembles nationwide.

Hirsch’s music has been performed by the US Navy Commodores, the Birdland Big Band, the Sydney Jazz Orchestra and countless others around the world. His jazz and saxophone ensemble music has been featured numerous times at JEN and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. Over one hundred of his works are published by Alfred Music, HirschMusic, FJH and others.

Hirsch has performed with jazz greats Max Roach, Tito Puente, Phil Woods, Carl Fontana, Ben Wolfe, Billy Test, Andre Heyward, Claudio Roditi, Aaron Kimmel and Paquito D’Rivera; with the Four Tops, the Temptations and accordion phenom Alex Meixner; and with hundreds of great under-the-radar musicians you probably never heard of!

Hirsch is also known for his inspiring and easy-going teaching style. He has conducted All-State Jazz Bands in New York, Maryland, Iowa, Kentucky, Wyoming and his native Delaware; and a whole bunch of PMEA District Jazz Bands.

Hirsch is presently an artist-in-residence in the jazz department at Penn State University. He has also held residencies at the University of Kentucky, Ithaca College, the University of Maryland, Bucknell University, Kutztown University, Mansfield University, Millersville University, the Marin School of the Arts, and dozens of others. And he maintains an active local teaching studio built around his successful after-school saxophone program, the Fraser Street Saxes.

Rick Hirsch graduated from UMass-Amherst (B.A. summa cum laude) and Northern Illinois University (M.M). His most influential teachers were Yusef Lateef, Ron Modell, Boysie Lowery, Bill Byerly, Lynn Klock and Jeff Holmes,.

Hirsch lives in State College, PA with his wife (children’s author Rebecca Hirsch), their daughters, and assorted animals.

Hirsch’s 2017 album Pocono Git-Down (Rick Hirsch’s Big Ol’ Band) is on all major streaming and download platforms. And he has been a devoted Finale user since version 3.0, on a Mac SE with a 9” screen. Yeow!

www.RickHirschJazz.com

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