Biography

Praised by The New York Times as "an inventive musician," "fresh and surprising," and "vividly lyrical," Grammy Award-winning concert saxophonist Brian Sacawa has firmly established himself as an important contemporary voice for his instrument. Named the Baltimore CITYPAPER's "Critic's Choice" for Classical Music for his evocative and engaging performances of music by Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sacawa has premiered over forty new works for saxophone by both established and emerging composers, including Philip Glass, Michael Gordon, Bright Sheng, Keeril Makan, Hillary Zipper, and Erik Spangler.

A featured soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician internationally, Sacawa's versatile career has led to performances with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, International Contemporary Ensemble, Other Minds BRINK Series, Bargemusic, SPARK Festival of Electronic Music an Art, and the Harvard Group for New Music. His critically-acclaimed recordings can be heard on the Naxos, Equilibrium, and BiBimBop record labels.

Sacawa holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and the University of Massachusetts--Amherst, where he studied with Donald Sinta, Gary Louie, and Lynn Klock. He is he co-founder of the Hybrid Groove Project with composer/turntablist DJ Dubble8 and the new music duo Non-Zero with percussionist Timothy Feeney. He currently serves on the faculty at the University of Arizona.

Website: www.briansacawa.com. Email: brian at briansacawa.com. Mailing address: Brian Sacawa, 2943 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson AZ, 85719.