2023 1st Prize Classical Saxophone: Isaac Boone | VEA Competition

2023 1st Prize Classical Saxophone: Isaac Boone

Isaac Boone is a third-year undergraduate from Hanover, IN, pursuing degrees in saxophone performance and music education at Northwestern University. His diverse array of musical interests gives him multiple outlets to cultivate his ever-growing passion for music.

An avid chamber musician, Isaac plays soprano saxophone in Masso, a Chicago-based undergraduate saxophone quartet. In 2022, Masso was awarded 3rd prize in the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition; in 2023, Masso maintains an active performance schedule through their commissioning project and concert series, inter-acts, with recitals in Milwaukee, East Lansing, Eau Claire, Evanston, and Chicago. As a collaborative pianist, Isaac has accompanied saxophonists from Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, University of Missouri, Kansas City, and Brevard Music Institute.

Outside of performing, Isaac has composed and arranged extensively for saxophone ensembles. His original compositions include works for SAATB quintet, AA duet, and solo alto sax with piano, including two January 2022 commissions for the Simian Duo, a Kansas City/Ann Arbor based piano/saxophone duo. To date, his largest arrangement is Overture to Candide for saxophone ensemble, which was performed in April 2022 by the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music saxophone studio.