Julian Velasco

Saxophonist Julian Velasco makes contemporary music with inspiration from diverse genres, including jazz; in his own words, his artistic vision "aspires to reflect and celebrate the plurality of our society." He has premiered more than 50 new works. Velasco was born in 1995 in Whittier, California, and was influenced by the diverse musical cultures of the Los Angeles area as a young person. In February of 2012, when he was 17, he made his debut on the saxophone with the South Coast Symphony of Santa Ana, California. Velasco attended Michigan State University, where he earned a dual bachelor's degree in classical saxophone performance and jazz studies, becoming one of the few students in the school's history to complete both programs. He went on to Northwestern University, earning master's and doctoral degrees. Along the way, Velasco won a long list of prizes, including Michigan State's honors concerto competition in 2017, first prize as Vandoren Emerging Artist in Classical Saxophone in 2018, and first prize in the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Division in 2020. He also earned a Luminarts Fellowship in Classical Winds in 2020, and the following year, he took the inaugural Cedille Records Emerging Artist Competition designation. Velasco has been especially visible at festivals, appearing at events oriented toward new music, including LOUD Weekend, Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival, and the Detroit Jazz Festival. He is also soprano saxophonist with the Nois (or ~Nois) Quartet, which has given more than 90 performances at such events as Big Ears in Tennessee, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the University of Chicago Presents Series, and the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, where Velasco held a fellowship. Although just out of school himself, Velasco has been in demand on college and university campuses for performances and residencies; he appeared at the University of Southern California, the Manhattan School of Music, and Princeton University, among others, and Nois was the 2020/21 Don Michael Randel Ensemble in Residence at the University of Chicago. Among the artists with whom Velasco has collaborated on new music are vocalist Nathalie Joachim, the PRISM Quartet, and jazz bassist Ron Carter. He has also appeared with conventional symphony orchestras, premiering James Aikman's saxophone quartet concerto Alarm! with PRISM Quartet and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra; in 2022-2023, he planned to give the premiere of Roberto Sierra's Concerto for Saxophones with the Chicago Sinfonietta. In 2022, Velasco released his debut album, As We Are, on Cedille, backed by pianist Winston Choi.
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