Mike Anklewicz is a versatile musician who performs, composes, arranges, and teaches in many different areas of music, ranging from classical to jazz to klezmer to the avant-garde. He has recorded and performed with distinguished artists in all of these genres. Mike leads KlezFactor, a "klezmer-fusion" band that plays both traditional and original compositions fusing Eastern European Jewish folk music with jazz, rock and classical musical techniques.

At Queen's University, Mike won prizes in composition and saxophone performance, studying composition with Kristi Allik, Norman Sherman and Marjan Mozetich. He studied saxophone with Peter Freeman and clarinet with Gordon Craig.

While at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, studying saxophone with Kenneth Radnofsky, Mike was at the cutting edge in the performance of new music for various ensembles. Mike commissioned Colin Stack's Perpetual Deja Vu for saxophone quartet, and participated in the world premiere performance of Stack's “Several Shades of Reflection”. While at NEC, Mike also studied jazz arranging with composer Ken Schaphorst, and jazz theory with George Russell, and was a teaching assistant with the Music History Department for 3 of his 4 semesters.

Specializing in contemporary saxophone music, Mike continues to commission and perform new music across Ontario. In January of 2004, Mike premiered Matthew Tozer's Fours, Threes and Twos. In April 2007, Mike gave world premieres of Christien Ledroit's "Diamond Dust" and Renee Michele Walraefen's "101-76". Mike also gave the US premiere of Roddy Ellias’s “Whale Spirit Rising” for baritone saxophone and string orchestra in April of 2003. Ellias wrote of Anklewicz’s performance that “it was both technically excellent and … musical.” Ellias also wrote that he was “very impressed … by his imagination and fluidity in improvising”.

Mike has also successfully taught masterclasses with university students at Queen's University and the University of Toronto.

Mike is on faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music teaching studio saxophone. Please refer to the Conservatory for information about booking saxophone lessons.

To find out more about Mike Anklewicz as a teacher, performer or composer/arranger, please email info@mikeanklewicz.com