Joseph Connor, LU16
Saxophonist Joseph Connor is active as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, improviser, and educator. Keenly interested in expanding the solo and chamber repertoire for the saxophone, Joseph has worked closely with composers Joanne Metcalf, David Werfelmann, John Mayrose, Zachary Green, JP Merz, Ilan Blanck, and others to create new works for saxophone in various settings. Joseph was recently named the third place prizewinner in the 2018 North American Saxophone Alliance Solo Competition. As a soloist and orchestral player, Joseph has appeared with the Northwestern University, Lawrence University, La Crosse, Fox Valley, Manitowoc, Green Bay Civic, and Oshkosh Symphony Orchestras. In March 2018, Joseph traveled to China and Hong Kong to perform Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. Joseph traveled to Strasbourg, France to perform Silent Sounds: improvised soundtracks for silent films with the Lawrence University Saxophone Quartet and Sumner Truax at the 17th World Saxophone Congress in 2015.
Joseph is currently completing graduate studies in saxophone performance with Taimur Sullivan at Northwestern University, where he serves as a graduate assistant to the saxophone studio. In 2016, Joseph graduated from Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Music Degree in saxophone performance and instrumental music education. His primary teachers were Steven Jordheim, Sara Kind, and José Encarnación.
Watch Joseph Connor perform Jacob Ter Velduis's Tallahatchie Concerto with the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRZj_qtQNa4