Anderson Twins

Identical twin brothers Peter & William Anderson recently both received their B.M. & Masters degrees from Juilliard, and performed together at top venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Blue Note, Birdland, the Village Vanguard, the David Koch Theater, London’s 100 Club, the Montreal Jazz Festival, and in Scotland, Japan, and Costa Rica. Leading their own quintet, they have performed at such venues as NY's Dizzy's Coca-Cola Club, Smalls Jazz Club, The Iridium, DC's Blues Alley, as well as internationally. Will and Peter often play with the The Village Vanguard Orchestra, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and Vince Giordano's Nighthawks.

In May 2010, Peter & William co-led and produced a two-week long off-Broadway musical tribute to clarinetist Artie Shaw's Centennial at Manhattan's famous 59e59 theaters. The successful run received several rave reviews - The New York Times called the Andersons “virtuosos on both clarinet and saxophone,” and Blogspot.com proclaimed, “You will not hear anything better musically on a New York stage this month.” Jazz greats Sol Yaged and Joe Wilder attended the show and performed with the band. Jazz inside magazine describes another show of the Anderson Twins as “exhilarating... the audience response reflected that energy.” They currently perform at the 59e59 theater's E:BAR every Thursday night from 10pm until 12am. In the Summer of 2011, the Anderson Twins were guest speakers/performers at the Jacob Burns Film Center, guest artists at Stonybrook University's clarinet seminar “Clarinetopia,” and were featured reedmen in the Buckhill- Skytop Music Festival's Production of “Carmen.” This fall, they Anderson Twins lead their own group at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the ArtsQuest center in Bethlehem, PA, Manhattan's famous Symphony Space, were featured artists at the 8th annual Buffet/Vandoren “Clarinet Spectacular” at Michigan State University, and were interviewed on the famous Joe Franklin radio show.

PETER ANDERSON - TENOR SAXOPHONE, CLARINET

Peter Reardon-Anderson, a native of Bethesda, Maryland, has played clarinet and tenor saxophone since the age of nine. While in high school, he was a member of the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellows, a resident of the Jazz Aspen Summer Sessions and the Dave Brubeck Summer Colony, a two-time contestant in the Fish-Middleton Scholarship competition, and a Downbeat Magazine outstanding soloist. He has performed at such venues as The Blue Note, Birdland, and Carnegie Hall in New York, at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and internationally at London’s 100 Club, the Whitley Bay Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, and in Scotland, Japan, and in the Middle East.

He has studied with Barry Harris, Frank Wess, and Chris Byars. He has played in bands led by Jimmy Heath, Teddy Charles, Valery Ponomarev, Arturo O’Farrill, and with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Village Vanguard Orchestra, Jon Hendricks, Billy Taylor, and Clark Terry. He currently studies at the Juilliard School’s jazz program, where he studies clarinet with Alan Kay, and has performed with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony and the Lawyer's Orchestra.

He co-leads the Anderson Twins Quintet with his twin brother Will Reardon-Anderson-that has performed at New York’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Smalls, Fat Cat, Cleopatra’s Needle, and D.C.’s Blues Alley and Twins Jazz, and Baltimore’s Haven Lounge. Recordings include Sharel Cassity’s Just for You (2008, DW Records), The Benny Carter Centennial (2007, Evening Star), and Alex Brown’s Montrose Towing (2006 Foxhaven Records). Most recently, he participated in the 2009 Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program, a two-week residency in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center.

WILL ANDERSON - SAXOPHONE, CLARINET, FLUTE

A native of Bethesda, MD, Will Anderson has been playing clarinet and saxophone since the age of 9. During high school, Mr. Anderson performed and recorded with a Metropolitan area jazz band, specializing mainly in the music of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, and Jelly Roll Morton. At the age of 14, he toured with the band throughout the United Kingdom playing at festivals and clubs. In 2005, the band attended the Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Academy, and was selected to play at the North Sea Jazz Festival.


While earning his Bachelor's and Master's Degree at the Juilliard School’s Jazz Studies program, Mr. Anderson studied with many artists including Loren Schoenberg, David Berger, Frank Wess, Benny Golson, Joe Wilder, Hank Jones, and Kenny Washington. He studied saxophone privately Joe Temperley and Ron Blake, clarinet with Alan Kay and Victor Goines, and flute with Mark Vinci and Barli Nugent. During his time at Juilliard, Will was awarded the Concert and Instrumental Music Teaching Fellowships as well as the Gluck Community Service Fellowship for four consecutive years. The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra housed Mr. Anderson as its lead alto saxophonist, performing several of his original compositions and arrangements. With the JJO, Will traveled to Japan, Costa Rica, Qatar, and all over the U.S. performing for mass audiences, as well as facilitating jazz clinics to inspire young and underprivileged musicians. From 2009-11, Will served on the faculty of Juilliard's “Music Advancement Program,” teaching private music lessons, ensembles, and theory classes to aspiring students.

In May 2010, Will co-led a two-week long tribute to Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman at the famous 59e59 Theaters in Manhattan. The successful run received several rave reviews. The New York Times called Mr. Anderson a “virtuoso on both clarinet and saxophone”. Blogspot.com proclaimed, “You will not hear anything better musically on a New York stage this month.”
 Recently in 2009, Will was selected for the “Betty Carter Jazz Ahead” and the “Young Artists Ravinia” jazz residencies, which culminated with multiple performances of his original compositions at the Kennedy Center and the Ravinia Jazz Festival. In 2006, Will won second place in the Fish-Middleton Scholarship Competition at the East Coast Jazz Festival, and received an outstanding jazz soloist award from Downbeat magazine. He is a two-time Honorable Mention recipient from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA) talent search. Will co-leads the “Anderson Twins Quintet” with his brother Peter. This group has performed at many venues including Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, the Iridium, Smalls, and D.C.'s Blues Alley. Will has recently appeared with the the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, David Berger's “Sultan's of Swing”, the Jimmy Heath Big Band, Vince Giordano's Nighthawks, the Teddy Charles Tentet, the Chris Byars Octet, and lead alto with The Loren Schoenberg Big Band.

On clarinet, Will has been a featured soloist with the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra and the Stan Rubin Orchestra playing the music of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, and others. In the classical field, Will has performed with the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, the New Juilliard Ensemble, and the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony. At Juilliard, Will has performed clarinet solo works by Debussy, Mozart, Weber, Brahms, Copeland, C.P.E. Bach, and Joseph Horovitz. His clarinet teachers have included Laura Flax, Alan Kay, and David Jones.