Lawrence S. Gwozdz (/ˈɡwɑːdz/; Polish: [ɡvuɕt͡ɕ]; born April 1, 1953) is an American classical saxophonist, composer, and former professor of saxophone at The University of Southern Mississippi.
[1] Born to Polish-American parents in Niagara Falls, New York, Gwozdz was a pupil and longtime friend of saxophone pioneer Sigurd Raschèr.
He has performed in Beijing, Chicago, Leipzig, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Prague, St. Louis, Warsaw, Zagreb, Zürich, and other cities in the US and abroad.
Composers including Samuel Adler, Walter Hartley, Zdeněk Lukáš, Armand Russell, Robert Starer, Roger Vogel, and John Worley have dedicated new chamber works to him.
Gwozdz has also premiered full saxophone concertos by American composers Stephen Dankner, Alan Theisen, and Randall Snyder.