WALIMAI
Jonathan Wintringham

Since his professional debut at the age of seventeen, Jonathan Wintringham has been described as "nothing short of a virtuoso" ('The Sax' magazine, Japan) whose "brilliant play" (Green Valley News) has captivated audiences worldwide. "Possessing a confidence and grace that comes from somewhere beyond experience...he delivers a lovely sound that is graceful and exciting" (Arizona Daily Star). He has given recitals, master classes and residencies throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan. An advocate of contemporary music, Jonathan is constantly working with composers to commission and premiere new works. As a soloist, Jonathan has received first place awards in numerous competitions including the 2009 Tucson Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the 2009 University of Arizona President's Concerto Competition and the 2008 Tucson Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition. In May of 2010 Jonathan performed Henri Tomasi's Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, in February of 2010 he performed Takashi Yoshimatsu's Cyber–Bird Concerto with the Arizona Symphony. Other awards include the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Young Artists Competition and the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition.

REVIEWS

American Record Guide – September/October 2011

Jonathan Wintringham, sax
Hindemith, Chambers, Djupstrom, Lynch, Nagao with Timothy McAllister, sax; Erika Tazawa, Michael Djupstrom
Equilibrium® 98 — 70 minutes

In his first release, New Jersey native and University of Arizona graduate Jonathan Wintringham invites his teacher Timothy McAllister, Japanese pianist Erika Tazawa, and Philadelphia-based pianist and composer Michael Djupstrom for a recital of contemporary saxophone music that concludes with Wintringham's arrangement of the Hindemith Viola Sonata, Opus 11:4. The rest of the program consists of Japanese composer June Nagao's La Lune en Paradis (1995), written for Nobuya Sagawa; Djupstrom's Walimai (2005), based on a short story by the Chilean-American author Isabel Allende; University of Michigan composition professor Evan Chambers's Deep Flowers (1992) for solo alto saxophone and Greensilver (1990) for two alto saxophones; and British composer Graham Lynch's Spanish Café (2004), written for the London groupTango Volcano.

Wintringham has been a major force in the saxophone world for several decades. He has a nice and resonant sound; he boasts an excellent set of fingers and articulation; he phrases with an artistic awareness well beyond his years; and he tackles the postmodernist content of his program with extreme volume shifts, daring color changes, and a deft command of glissandos and slap tongue. Still, he has room to grow. His timbre can be a little reedy; his high register can be a bit thin; his low register could use more clarity; and his intonation sometimes goes awry at the loud end. His vibrato is thoughtfully rendered, always warm and well placed; but even so, it could use more subtlety. Tazawa is a superb collaborator, boldly undertaking the demanding keyboard parts with boundless technique, dynamic range, and expressive understanding.
HANUDEL