Honorary Member: Cecil Leeson
Born December 16, 1902 in Candon, North Dakota, Cecil Leeson’s family soon moved to Arizona. While studying mechanical engineering at Arizona Normal College (now Arizona State University), Leeson became interested in the saxophone through the recordings of Rudy Wiedoeft. He received the Honorary Fellow degree from Dana’s Musical Institute in Warren, Ohio in 1925 and presented his first recital in Arizona the same year. Leeson taught saxophone as director of his own school in Cleveland’s Carnegie Hall and as director of the Hollywood Conservatory of Music in California.
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Honorary Member: Donald Sinta
Born June 16, 1937 in Detroit, Michigan, Donald Sinta has concertized widely in the United States, has made concert appearances in Europe and Canada, and is a clinician for the H. and A. Selmer Company. His recording American Music for Saxophone is known throughout the world. Sinta has premiered more than 40 works by American composers. In 1969 he was the first elected chair of the World Saxophone Congress. A pupil of Larry Teal, he holds degrees from Wayne State University and the University of Michigan.
Honorary Member: Eugene Rousseau
Born August 23, 1932 in Blue Island, Illinois, Eugene Rousseau has performed across America and on five continents since his Carnegie Hall debut in 1965. His teaching includes guest professorships and master classes throughout the world, including the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, the Paris Conservatory, and yearly courses at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and Ticino Musica in Lugano. Rousseau is Honorary Professor at the Prague Conservatory and at the Instituto G. Braga in Italy. His Deutsche Grammophon recording in 1971 is the first complete disc of saxophone concertos with orchestra.