SAXsational with Rob Verdi

Date/Time
Date(s) - March 20, 2026
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Location
Northland Pines High School

Band students from the Northland Pines School District will have a unique opportunity to perform onstage with world-class saxophonist, Rob Verdi. SAXsational not only highlights the saxophone’s charm but also inspires young musicians by sharing the stage in a celebration of timeless and contemporary music.

Rob Verdi, a graduate of Arizona State University’s School of Music, began his career as a junior high band teacher before joining the Walt Disney Company’s Entertainment Division in Los Angeles. For over two decades, he performed at Disneyland with his jazz band, the Side Street Strutters, and toured theaters and symphony halls across the U.S. and Europe.

In 2008, Rob launched Saxophobia, a one-of-a-kind show featuring rare saxophones and honoring iconic jazz legends. Building on its success, he introduced SAXsational, a vibrant concert experience that brings local school bands on stage to perform alongside him. The show celebrates swing-era jazz, movie themes, pop hits, and saxophone classics like “Tequila” and “Yakety Sax,” with music from legends like Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Bruno Mars.

The Sax-Sational performance is sponsored by a local memorial fund, the David E. Anderson Fine Arts Student Outreach Fund. Anderson was a beloved educator who taught high school band and chorus for 32 years in the Northland Pines School District in Eagle River. With a lifelong focus on his faith, family, and music, Mr. Anderson was also a co-founder of the Headwaters Council for the Performing Arts and strongly believed in its efforts to bring first-class fine arts performances to the Northwoods.

After his passing, his advocacy for students inspired the Anderson family to form the Fine Arts Student Outreach Fund, which has supported the efforts of HCPA in seeking opportunities to promote student outreach. HCPA will honor Anderson with a tribute display of memorabilia collected during his tenure with the school district and its students.

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