Bobby Streng

Bobby Streng is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, and music director based in Ann Arbor. For over 25 years, he has written, performed, and recorded music of all genres. 2019 saw the release of his sixth album of original music, “Safe and Loved”.

Bobby’s love and curiosity for music started at an early age. After discovering his father’s old Elkhart alto, piano lessons were augmented with saxophone studies. By age 14, he was leading his own jazz sextet. Not realizing that you could buy arrangements and lead sheets, Bobby meticulously transcribed and arranged the group’s entire library. This began his life-long obsession with chart writing and was the start of his diverse career path in music. This path continued through both the University of Dayton and the University of Michigan, where he was a concerto competition winner and studied with the renowned saxophonist Donald Sinta.

Bobby recorded under Maestro Lenard Slatkin on William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and Experience. The performance was released on Noxos Records and won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Classical Recording.

From 2007-2011, Bobby enjoyed the privilege of traveling nationally and internationally while playing lead alto with the Harry James Orchestra led by Fred Radke. This included tours of the US, Canada, and South America, two consecutive years performing at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and double tours with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. In addition to his work with HJO, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra featured Bobby in the lead alto role of Jimmy Dorsey on a 31 concert tour in 2009.

With the birth of his twin daughters in 2011, Bobby traded the traveling gigs for a successful freelance career close to home in the metro Detroit area. When not leading his own ensembles such as the Bobby Streng Group, the House Big Band, and Saxomble, Bobby can be heard playing with Will Sessions, Bobby Murray, Theo Gridiron Spight and Friends, the Woodward Horns, and others. He has also performed with Motown legends such as The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Aretha Franklin.

Bobby is a proud Conn Selmer performing artist and performs exclusively on Selmer saxophones.

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