Originally from Miami, Florida, Sam Valancy is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Contemporary Music at Bowling Green State University. Valancy has won several accolades as a soloist and chamber musician, including Outstanding Soloist Award at the 20th Annual Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington Competition presented by Wynton Marsalis in 2015, a Downbeat Magazine Award for his performance with the Frost Salsa Orchestra in 2018, and First Prize in the Frost School of Music Concerto Competition in 2018. Valancy has performed as a soloist with the Frost Wind Ensemble and Kansas City Wind Symphony. Valancy holds an MM in Saxophone Performance from Northwestern University, an MM in Music Theory and Artist’s Certificate in Saxophone Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a BM in Saxophone Performance from the University of Miami. His primary teachers include John Sampen, Zach Shemon, Taimur Sullivan, Dale Underwood, and
Gary Keller.
You can find Samuel’s 2024 Summer Music Competition alto saxophone performance here.