BRIAN HANDELAND
BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Brian is a saxophonist/woodwind doubler and Minnesota native.  He studied saxophone/woodwinds and jazz at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Eau Claire and the University of North Texas (UNT), where he played/recorded with a large variety of ensembles including the DownBeat award-winning UW-Eau Claire Jazz Ensemble 1, the DownBeat award-winning UNT Latin Jazz Ensemble and the Grammy-nominated UNT 1 o’clock Lab Band. After UNT, Brian worked as a touring pit orchestra musician for NETworks Presentations, where he played flute/clarinet/saxophones on the International tour of Shrek the Musical, as well as on North American tours of Elf and Flashdance.  Brian also performed with pianist Lorie Line and her Pop Chamber Orchestra on her 2016 Holiday Tour. Brian currently works as a freelance woodwind doubler/educator/lesson instructor around the Twin Cities.  He frequently can be seen performing with various jazz/rock/folk bands around the Twin Cities area, including the JazzMN Orchestra, the Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra, Machinery Hill, the Brass Barn Polka Band, The Soul Shack, and the Brian Handeland Quartet, as well as in pit orchestras at the Orpheum Theater and the Children’s Theater Company.  Brian also teaches private lessons on clarinet, flute and saxophone, both independently and as a contractor through David Thomas School of Music, and he also has experience as a guest instructor/performer with a variety of different middle and high schools around Minnesota and Wisconsin.