BRIAN KACHUR

Saxophonist Brian Kachur has garnered both national and international recognition as a soloist—having been named a Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Winner of the University of Michigan Concerto Competition, and having been selected as one of only 16 Americans to compete in the 8th Adolphe Sax International Competition in Dinant, Belgium. Brian has also earned top prizes in several chamber music competitions, including First Prize in those organized by the North American Saxophone Alliance and the Music Teachers National Association, as well as the Gold Medal in the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

 

Brian has performed orchestral repertoire with the Evanston, Rockford, and Battle Creek Symphony Orchestras, as well as the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra. Brian was a featured soloist on Jean-Denis Michat’s The Dark Side alongside Cerus Quartet at the 2024 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2022, Brian was featured as a soloist with the University of Michigan Symphony Band, where he performed Steven Bryant’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone under the baton of Michael Haithcock. In October of 2024, Brian performed a Guest Artist Recital at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Frequently performing as a jazz saxophonist in addition to his classical work, Brian has performed with the One More Once Big Band based out of Clifton, New Jersey and has been featured as a soloist with the Northwestern University Jazz Ensemble. Brian also composes and arranges as a member of a jazz combo at Northwestern.

 

As the baritone saxophonist of Aero Quartet, Brian has performed on many notable concert series, including those of Chamber Music Yellow Springs, Chesapeake Music, and Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. The ensemble was also featured at The Midwest Clinic in 2023, and has given radio broadcast performances for The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts Live on WFMT Chicago and Classical KING-FM Seattle’s Northwest Focus Live. Brian can be heard on Aero Quartet’s self-titled debut record on the London-based record label Orchid Classics, which reached the Top 15 of the Billboard Classical Charts during its initial release. The album was a featured release on the French music streaming service Qobuz, and has been broadcast internationally on radio stations, including Barcelona’s RNE Radio Clásica 93.0.

 

Brian is an active proponent of new music, having organized commissions and premiered works by composers such as Jennifer Higdon, Andrew Mead, Stacy Garrop, Karalyn Schubring, Garrett Schumann, and Alfredo Carbrera, among others. Most recently, Brian commissioned Miami-based composer and tubist Justin Gruber to write a Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, which Brian will premiere in March of 2025.

 

Brian frequently presents masterclasses at universities across the United States, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Lawrence University, Oakland University (MI), Eastern Michigan University, Northern Illinois University, and California State University–Fullerton, among others. Brian currently serves as a Graduate Assistant at Northwestern University, teaching supplemental lessons to undergraduate saxophonists and coaching saxophone chamber ensembles. Brian previously taught saxophone at public schools in the Canton and West Bloomfield districts of Southeastern Michigan.

 

Brian is currently earning a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance from Northwestern University, studying with Taimur Sullivan. Brian holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Saxophone Performance from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Dr. Timothy McAllister and Dr. Andrew Bishop. Aside from the saxophone, Brian is musically active as a barbershop singer and is a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society. He currently sings baritone with the New Tradition Chorus in Glenview, Illinois, and also sings with his quartet, Three and A Half Baritones.

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