Biography

Allison Adams, DMA, is Professor of Saxophone at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she shares her excitement for music with the next generation of music educators and performers. She is co-author of the method book, Playing and Teaching the Saxophone: A Modern Approach (Oxford University Press, 2023). Her solo album, Flames Will Grow (Albany Records, 2024), is available on all major music streaming platforms. 

An avid performer, Adams was featured at the 2025 Big Ears Festival, performing Tyshawn Soree’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning work “Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith)”. In 2023, she was a featured concerto soloist at The International Saxophone Festival Bellas Artes Cali in Colombia.

She is also a frequent performer and presenter at events such as the World Saxophone Congress, the International Saxophone Symposium, and the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference.

Adams balances her solo playing with chamber work as a member of The Estrella Consort, a saxophone quartet that specializes in making new music accessible to all types of audiences. The group performed as part of Pittsburgh’s “Music in a Great Space” concert series and was the ensemble-in-residence at the 2022 Alba Music Festival in Italy, a position it will reprise in 2027. Their debut album Glow, features a recording of “Xas” by Iannis Xenakis.

In addition to her work as a teacher and performer, Adams’ research centers around performance injuries and the integration of yoga into music performance. A chapter on her recovery from focal dystonia is available in the collection Notes of Hope (Mountain Peak Music). 

Allison Adams is a Selmer and D’Addario Artist. Find her online at allisondadams.com.

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Education

• DMA, Music Performance – Arizona State University (2012)
• MM, Music Performance – University of Minnesota (2008)
• BM, Music Education and Performance – Ithaca College (2006)