FAURÉ, SAINT-SAËNS AND RACHMANINOV
Tallis Room
4:15pm - 4:45pm, Sunday 29 July, 2018

SOLO RECITAL - JAY BYRNES (Sydney)

JAY BYRNES
Saxophonist, Arranger and Educator Jay Byrnes, is one of the most pre-eminent faces in the Australian music scene. Specialising in the performance of both transcriptions and new works for saxophone Jay has become renowned for his interpretations of music from Bach to Piazzolla and beyond. Jay is acclaimed for his dynamic stage presence and rigorous attention to stylistic performance and has become a leader in the interpretation of Latin American music for the saxophone. Jay has performed throughout Europe, South America and Australasia as both a soloist and chamber musician and has developed a reputation for being a versatile and charismatic performer.

As an educator, Jay has held teaching positions in the United Kingdom, Venezuela and Australia. He has also given masterclasses at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica Astor Piazzolla - Argentina, the Queensland Conservatorium - Australia; and was guest tutor for 2 years at the Conservatorio de Musica Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela whilst completing his Masters degree in Portugal from 2007-2009. In 2016 Jay Byrnes completed his Doctoral Studies at Sydney University.

Jay currently teaches and lectures in Saxophone and Music Fundamentals at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as well as running the Saxophone Academy Sydney, a unique saxophone focused school that aims to introduce saxophonists of all levels to world class saxophone education. Jay released his debut album in 2015 ‘El Asunto del Tango’ which was featured as CD of the week with Finemusic Fm. He has also released 2 albums with the Nexas Quartet – Current (2016) and ‘Ballads from the Pleasant Life’ with opera star Peter Coleman-Wright (2017). Jay is a passionate arranger having created over 100 works for saxophone in many different settings. His arrangements have been performed by ensembles such as The Nexas Quartet (AUS), Orquestra Portuguesa de Saxofones (POR), The Four Baritones (NL) and the Sydney Saxophone Collective (AUS), as well as many well known domestic and international artists.

Jay is an endorsed artist for both D'Addario and EGR ligatures. He has also been a Yangaisawa Saxophones Domestic Artist in Australia since 2008 and an official Yanagisawa International Artist since 2015.