Saxophonist Matthew Fox is an avid performer and educator from New York who currently resides in the Lansing, MI area. Having shared the stage both virtually and in person with performers such as Sean Jones, Roxy Coss, Ben Wendel, Robert Young, and many others, Fox has performed with musicians of the highest level. Fox has given masterclasses and recitals at various public schools and universities throughout the United States, and strives to promote chamber music playing amongst young musicians.
Soprano Saxophone- Matthew Fox
As a chamber musician, Fox has earned awards at the Coltman, North American Saxophone Alliance, New Orleans Chamber Festival, and Music Teachers National Association chamber competitions, as well as earning a silver medal at the nation’s largest chamber music competition, Fischoff. He is currently the soprano player in a saxophone quartet entitled Sound Session. An active solo artist, Fox has competed and earned awards in many competitions such as the Music Teachers National Association, North American Saxophone Alliance, Vandoren Emerging Artist, and Saxiana International Solo Competitions.
The sharing and promoting of new music is of utmost importance to Fox, as he is actively commissioning new works for solo saxophone, saxophone duets, saxophone quartets, and other mixed chamber ensembles by composers such as Chris Evan Hass, Eileen Snyder, Matthew Howell, and more.
Fox currently studies at Michigan State University under the direction of Joseph Lulloff as a University Distinguished Fellow receiving both his Masters of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts. Fox holds his Bachelor's in Music from Arizona State University under the direction of Dr. Christopher Creviston.
Jacob Nance is a saxophonist and musician based out of East Lansing, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Music and is currently at Michigan State University working on a Masters in Music. Through pursuing experience in many genres and avenues of music, Jacob has made a name for himself in many musical circles.
As a classical saxophonist, Jacob has achieved success through merging his own creative aesthetic with the aesthetic presented by composers. These achievements can be evidenced through numerous competition accolades including: winning second place in the Music Teacher’s National Association’s Young Artist Woodwind competition in the Spring of 2021, winning the University of Oklahoma’s Young Artist Competition in 2018, and performing as a featured soloist with the Conroe Symphony Orchestra in 2018.
Alto Saxophone- Jacob Nance
As a proponent of jazz music, Jacob has released an album with his combo The Way Out. He is active in Michigan State University’s jazz program, being involved with the jazz orchestra and jazz combo programs. He has performed with the Harry James Orchestra. Jacob is an avid jazz composer as well, having composed and performed over a dozen original works with The Way Out.
An emerging composer, Jacob has harnessed his propensity for the merging of popular music’s stylings within the realm of art music to create music to connect with a broad audience. With his premiere work for saxophone and piano, No Way Home, Jacob made a splash in the saxophone community that has led to numerous commissions and projects.
With an ear for music from all genres, Jacob can be heard creating music in a pop style as well. His work can be seen on his album From Then Until Here on Out, which released on Spotify in October of 2021. His songwriting is strongly influenced by the indie-rock movements as well as folk music and classic rock.
Jacob’s primary teachers include Professor Joseph Lulloff, Dr. Jonathan Nichol, Professor Jay Wilkinson, and Dr. James Barger.
Jeffrey Allardyce is an aspiring saxophone performer, music theorist, and teacher from West Michigan. Currently a graduate teaching assistant pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance and Master of Music in Music Theory Pedagogy at Michigan State University, he is under the tutelage of Joseph Lulloff and Michael Callahan, respectively.
At Michigan State University, Allardyce is active in both the saxophone and music theory areas as a saxophone quartet coach, private lesson teacher, and graduate teaching assistant in the aural skills and music theory areas. As a soloist, Allardyce competed as a finalist in the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Collegiate Solo Competition.
Tenor Saxophone- Jeffrey Allardyce
As a chamber musician, he holds the tenor chair in Sound Session, a newly-formed graduate saxophone quartet within the College of Music. Sound Session previously received first place in the NASA Quartet Competition, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Chamber Music Competition, Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition, and graduate division of the NOLA Chamber Fest. Allardyce also actively performs within the Lansing area and around the state of Michigan, notably as a guest chamber musician with members of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra.
While at Eastman for his Master of Music in Saxophone Performance and Literature, Allardyce performed in the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Eastman Saxophone Project, and the Telos Quartet. As a soloist, he competed in the state, divisional, and national rounds of the MTNA Young Artist Competition and the semi-final round of the NASA Collegiate Solo Competition. Within Telos, he also competed in the semi-final round of the NASA Quartet Competition.
During his undergraduate, Allardyce performed with Central Michigan University’s Wind Ensemble, Jazz Lab 1, and the Eclipse Quartet. As a soloist, he placed first in CMU’s Young Artist Competition, Patricia Nixon Memorial Woodwind Scholarship Competition, and CMU’s Concerto Competition.
He has performed in masterclasses with notable teachers such as Chien-Kwan Lin, Christopher Creviston, Stephen Page, James Umble, Clifford Leamon, the h2 quartet, and the Sinta Quartet. He has performed around the country and around the world, most notably at the World Saxophone Congress XVII in Strasbourg, France and the World Saxophone Congress XVIII in Zagreb, Croatia. Jeffrey’s past teachers in high school, undergraduate, and graduate studies include Jonathan Nichol, John Nichol, and Chien-Kwan Lin, respectively.
Tyler Young is a musician, educator, and acoustic audio engineer based out of Lansing, Michigan. Young is currently ABD in a doctorate of Saxophone Performance at Michigan State University, to be completed in the Spring of 2023.
After finding the saxophone at the age of 12, Young performed and competed throughout his home of Moore County, North Carolina, placing in regional bands, jazz ensembles, and locally performing in his own funk group, ‘304’s Jazz’. At the age of 17 Young relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina to study saxophone performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with Steven Stusek. Young found himself traveling for school yet again, as he studied with Patrick Meighan at Florida State University, thus completing his undergraduate tenure in 2017. The saxophone led him north to Michigan State University, where for five years he planted roots to teach as a graduate assistant of MSU, perform, and record.
Since 2019, Young has been the visiting Professor of Saxophone at Alma College in Alma, Michigan, where he teaches weekly saxophone lessons to music majors and minors, mentors undergraduate music students in their careers, and lectures on chamber music performing and pedagogy. In the spring semester, Young also teaches a specific course entitled ‘Career Skills for Musicians,’ aimed at helping students identify and utilize their strengths in creating their own path to musical success.
Baritone Saxophone- Tyler Young
As a chamber music specialist, Young has performed in over ten saxophone quartets, finding local, national, and international competitive success. In their 2022 season alone, his saxophone quartet Sound Session placed first in the MTNA Chamber Wind Competition, the North American Saxophone Alliance Chamber Music Competition, the Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition, and the NOLA ChamberFest Competition. Young has also been a part of an improvisation ensemble named the Third Stream Duo since 2015, which has toured frequently throughout the Eastern US, recorded an EP of all original improvisations in 2017, and given artist performances and improvisation masterclasses at Florida State University and Michigan State University. Recently, the Third Stream duo completed a year-long Artist in Residency at the Fine Arts Association near Cleveland, Ohio in 2022. The duo performed recitals, outreach services to local high schools, and gave improvisation masterclasses. Since 2019, The duo owns and operates New Music Festival of The Pines, a new music and improvisation festival geared towards high school and collegiate musicians located in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Alongside adult classes on improvisation and composition, the grant-supported festival garnered attendance from four local high schools and culminated in a sold out student concert where students demonstrated the improvisation skills they learned while in attendance.
Young is an active recording engineer, producer, and videographer in the Lansing area. Recent 2022 projects include engineer, producer, videographer on a solo piano album for the Californian label Ivory Classics, Producer for Branford Marsalis and the Virginia Symphony through Arts Laureate, as well as assistant engineer and producer on a choral album of SSAA ensemble ‘mirabai’ to be released on the Blue Griffin label. Along with these projects, Young records, produces, and live streams music events around East Lansing and Alma, Michigan on a regular schedule.