Ellie Parker
British saxophonist Ellie Parker is an active advocate of new music and creative collaboration. She is the recipient of the inaugural Laura Buss Sayavedra Award for Citizen Artistry in the city of Houston, as well as being a second-year Da Camera Young Artist. Ms. Parker is Assistant Director and saxophonist for the University of Houston’s contemporary music ensemble AURA, where she develops and premieres new works for the saxophone by living composers.
Ms. Parker is in the final year of a Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance with a minor in Musicology at the University of Houston where she studies with Dan Gelok. Additionally Ms. Parker holds teaching assistantships in Musicology and New Music and the University of Houston. She also studied at Birmingham Conservatoire with Naomi Sullivan, and completed a Masters of Music at Sam Houston State University studying with Dr. Masahito Sugihara. Ms. Parker has benefitted from additional study at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel through the Eurasmus Exchange. Ms. Parker has performed at NASA Biennial Conference in Cincinnati and Lubbock, TMEA, International Woodwind Duo Symposium, Scandinavian Saxophone Festival, World Youth Wind Ensemble Project in Schladming, Austria and enjoyed three summers at the Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute. As a concert soloist she performed with the Sam Houston State University Symphonic Band and the Claydon Chamber Orchestra.