Patrick McCulley
Saxophone
A Portland saxophonist, educator and composer,Patrick McCulley’s playing emphasizes twentieth century repertoire, from Ibert, Lantier, Maurice, Husa, Noda, Glass, as well as his own compositions for solo saxophone. As staunch advocate of the beauty of a saxophone’s tone, a recent performance of the McCulley-Falconer Duo drew praise from Oregon Arts Watch for its “entrancing blend and phrasing.” Brett Campbell said a recent performance of McCulley’s composition “Chaining the Leviathan” for solo alto saxophone “showed compositional promise as well as stupendous solo chops.”
As a jazz performer, McCulley has had the privilege of performing at the 2012 Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival as a member of the University of Idaho’s Jazz Ensemble 1 with legendary saxophonists/ clarinetists Paquito D’Rivera and Anat Cohen.
Patrick has an ongoing interest in exposing young people and young musicians to saxophone music. Patrick has performed at the Waypost and Star Theater in Portland and his community work includes volunteer performances for various Portland schools including Jason Lee Elementary School, Church of the Holy Redeemer Catholic School, Markum Elementary School, Cleveland High School, and Whitman Elementary School.
Originally from Oakridge, Oregon, Patrick McCulley studied with Idit Schner, Jesse Cloninger, Mariko Ross, and Dave Camwell while getting his B.A. in Music at the University of Oregon. While on a full scholarship to the University of Idaho for his Masters of Music, Patrick studied with Vanessa Sielert. Patrick currently performs with the McCulley-Falconer Duo, and with Classical Revolution, PDX.
Patrick was flexible and helpful in finding a regular lesson time for our middle school-aged son, and under Patrick’s guidance he has improved immensely! As an instructor, he has a great feel for when to introduce new music and when to focus on technique. Most importantly, his love for music has been contagious—our younger son even expressed a desire to switch to saxophone after watching Patrick for just a few minutes!
—Brandon and Christina S.I’ve learned a lot while taking music lessons from Patrick. He was able to quickly identify those areas where my understanding of fundamentals was weak, and quickly helped me improve in the basic skills of playing sax. Each lesson provides an opportunity for me to learn something different about music, as well as about playing sax. Patrick relates well to adult learners. I find Patrick’s “I play-You play” teaching method to be especially effective.
—Robin F.
