Dr. Anna Marie Wytko

University Distinguished Professor
Saxophone
Email: wytko@ksu.edu
Office: 131 McCain Auditorium

Biography

World-renowned saxophonist Anna Marie Wytko, whose playing has been described by The Absolute Sound as “extraordinary” and the Uruguayan Press as “impeccable,” is University Distinguished Professor of Saxophone within the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at Kansas State University. A Yamaha Performing Artist-Clinician and KSU International Educator of the Year Award Winner, Dr. Wytko is a globally acclaimed recording, performing, and teaching artist, as well as a globally praised author of multiple books, articles, and other publications. Anna Marie’s internationally released music albums, which are in high demand around the world, feature CD/Digital Download performances of traditional and contemporary music. These recordings, which are utilized as model teaching tools worldwide, include numerous premiere recordings of significant music literature. Sample albums include When Night Came, Anna Marie Wytko – Saxophonist, The Loveliness of Air – I Can’t Breathe, Phraseology, Muddle, Timbres of Disquietness, and a recording of Paul Hindemith’s Konzertstück.

Published by RJ Upmarket Press, Dr. Wytko authored pedagogy books The Saxophonist As Rank Beginner and Beyond: A Guide for Saxophone Methods Class, Band Directors, and Private Instructors and The Saxophonist As Musician First – A Sampling Of Resources. These exceptional scholarly books are in high demand globally and are utilized as textbooks at numerous universities, colleges, and conservatories.

Anna Marie has performed as concerto soloist and solo recitalist on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and in some of the world’s most illustrious venues. This includes, but is not limited to, Carnegie Hall, San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, located within the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, Queen Charlotte Hall of England, the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, the Teatro Popular Melico Salazar, the Juan Santamaría Museum, the San Ramón Museum, and the Centrum Kultury Przeźmierowo of Poland, for instance.

As concerto soloist, Anna Marie has performed in Carnegie Hall in the famous Stern Auditorium on the esteemed Perelman Stage, and in the historic National Theatre of Costa Rica with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. She has performed as concerto soloist with the Polish Air Force Wind Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Banda Sinfónica de Montevideo in Uruguay, and with the National Bands of San José and Alajuela in Costa Rica. Additionally, she has performed as concerto soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of the West Valley of Arizona, the Topeka Symphony, the Encore Wind Ensemble of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the University of Wisconsin at River Falls Wind Ensemble, and with orchestras throughout England and Scotland, as examples.

Dr. Wytko has performed as concerto soloist for the American Bandmasters Association Convention, for the Dr. Lawrence R. Sutherland California Wind Festival, for the College Band Directors National Association Conference, for the Minnesota Music Educators National Conference in Minneapolis, for the American Band College of Southern Oregon University, for the Best of the West Music Festival in Colorado, for the Kansas Music Educators Association, and with the Avon Saxophone Ensemble of Indianapolis, among many others. Anna Marie has performed as orchestral saxophonist with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra Sinfónica UANL of Monterrey, Mexico.

Internationally, Professor Wytko has performed as guest recitalist and taught as guest professor at prestigious institutions such as the Royal College of Music in London, the Royal Birmingham Conservatory of Music, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, the Conservatoire Aulnay sous Bois de Paris, and the Centre Cultural La Bouvèche Paris. She has performed and taught at the Conservatorio Nacional Superior de Música of Buenos Aires, the University of Zagreb Academy of Music, the Akademia Muzyczna of Poznan, Poland, the Universidad de Costa Rica, and at major conservatories throughout Italy such as the National Conservatory of Milan, the National Conservatory of Bologna, the National Conservatory of Perugia, and the National Conservatory of Florence, as examples.

Anna Marie has performed and taught at conferences such as the World Saxophone Congress, the Latin American Alliance for Saxophonists, the North American Saxophone Alliance, the International Saxophone Festival of Uruguay, the Vancouver International Saxophone Festival, the Miedzynarodowy Festiwal Saksofonowy of Poland, the Congreso Internacional de Saxophon of Mexico, and Sax Fest Costa Rica International. Dr. Wytko has presented concerto performances, solo and chamber music recitals, and various master classes for multiple world congresses in various Latin American countries. Her residencies have included guest performances as soloist with Argentine saxophone ensemble Cuarteto 4MIL and Costa Rican saxophone-percussion quintet Sonsax.

Internationally, and per invitation of the North American Saxophone Alliance, Dr. Wytko has served as Faculty Mentor for the North American Saxophone Alliance Women’s Mentoring Program. Additionally, and also per invitation of the North American Saxophone Alliance, she served as one of three adjudicators from within North America for the live rounds of the semi-final and final stages of the collegiate solo competition as part of the NASA Biennial Conference.

Nationally, Anna Marie has performed and taught at numerous institutions and venues across the United States. Sample recent institutions/venues include: Northwestern University, Roosevelt Conservatory of Music, the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of North Texas, San Francisco State University, DePaul University, VanderCook College of Music, Chapman Conservatory of Music, California State University, St. Olaf College, Baylor University, Arizona State University, San Diego State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado State University, the University of Denver, the University of Illinois, the University of Georgia, the University of Nevada, the Kerr Cultural Center, George Fox University, Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, as just a few examples. She has also performed as part of the prestigious Abiquiu Chamber Music Series.

The winner of numerous awards and prizes, Anna Marie is a Yamaha Young Performing Artist First Prize Winner, Jennings Butterfield Young Artists Concerto Competition First Prize Winner, International Incentive Grant award recipient, Nelson Performing and Teaching Artist award recipient, Mortar Board National Honor Society for “Exemplary in Instruction and Dedication to the Students’ Experience” award recipient, and the recipient of numerous KSU awards and grants, including, but not limited to, a Design, Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities award, a Faculty Enhancement Program award, and multiple faculty development and research grants.

Dr. Wytko is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she also earned her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees, and where she was the recipient of the prestigious Berneking Fellowship.