Ken Radnofsky was born in Bryn Mawr, PA. His earliest musical memories were of his mother playing the organ and of his father singing as unofficial cantorial soloist at Temple Shalom in
Broomall, PA.[2]
A move to Texas at the beginning of
NASA's space program, where his father was head of crew systems division,[3] brought him to Texas' music education system. Radnofsky was inspired by many teachers, including Duncan Hale, David Salge, Harvey Pittel, Joe McMullen, Terry Anderson and Jeffrey Lerner.[4] He attended the
University of Houston for his Bachelor of Music degree.
Radnofsky completed his Master of Music degree at New England Conservatory, where he studied with
Joseph Allard and worked closely with
Gunther Schuller. Schuller appointed Radnofsky to the faculty upon his graduation in 1976 at the age of 23, making Radnofsky the youngest member of the faculty.
Career
Radnofsky has performed throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and has appeared with many orchestras around the world. He made his
New York Philharmonic debut in 1996, under the direction of
Kurt Masur, and made his
Carnegie Hall debut several years earlier with the New York premiere of
Gunther Schuller's Concerto with the National Orchestral Association. He has performed on numerous occasions as saxophonist for the
Boston Symphony,[5][6] including several occasions as
John Williams' soloist in
Franz Waxman's saxophone feature 'A Place in the Sun,'[7] and
Bernard Hermann's 'Taxi Driver' suites. He also recorded 'A Place in the Sun' with the
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under
John Mauceri, and Debussy Saxophone Rhapsody with New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur.[8]
In 2015 Radnofsky and violinist Elmira Darvarova created the Amram Ensemble (violin, saxophone and piano), and commissioned composer David Amram for a new work 'Three Lost Loves.'[14] He has recorded for the
Teldec, Boston Records,
New World, Mode, Albany-Troy, and Philips labels. Among his notable students are
Daniel Bennett,
Jimmy Greene,
Greg Banaszak,
Chien-Kwan Lin, and
Randall Hall.
Alan Hovhanes: Exile Symphony; Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gil Rose conducting (2011, BMOP/sound)[17]
Elliott Schwartz: Voyager, Five Works for Orchestra; New England Conservatory Honors Orchestra, Richard Hoenich conducting (2004, Albany)[18]
Michael Colgrass: Deja Vu, Works for Wind Orchestra; New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, Charles Peltz conducting (2003, Mode Records)[19]
Donald Martino: Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra; New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hoenich conducting (1998,
New World Records)[20]
Hollywood Dreams; Hollywood Bowl Orchestra,
John Mauceri conducting (1991, Philips)[21]