Joseph Lulloff

ABOUT

Joseph Lulloff is professor of saxophone at the Michigan State University College of Music.

Acclaimed internationally for his innovative style and musical virtuosity, Yamaha and Vandoren Performing Artist Lulloff has been described by Branford Marsalis as “a marvelous musician” whose “knowledge of music, along with his ability to embrace music normally considered outside the sphere, makes him a joy to listen to.”

Lulloff enjoys a prolific career as both a performing saxophone artist and teacher. A recipient of the Concert Artists Guild Award, the Pro Musicis International Soloist Award, the Michigan State University Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Withrow Award for Excellence in Teaching from the MSU College of Music, Lulloff has been featured as guest soloist with numerous orchestras and wind bands both in the United States and abroad, including the Cleveland, Minnesota, Grand Rapids, and Brevard Music Center Orchestra, the US Navy Band, the Dallas Wind Symphony, the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Bayern Polizei Orchestra and numerous university groups from throughout the USA and Canada. He has concertized extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, performing at several music festivals including the Ojai Festival, the Lucerne Festival, the Moscow Autumn Festival, and the Ravinia Festival, and notable venues such as Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, Weill Recital Hall, and the Smithsonian Institute. Lulloff has also served as principal saxophonist with the Chicago, Cleveland,
Detroit, Minnesota and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras.

Energy, intensity, and artistry characterize Lulloff’s performances in both classical and jazz settings. Commenting on his performances with the Cleveland Orchestra of Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone, music critic Dan Rosenberg wrote, “Lulloff was amazing. He traversed the instrument with seamless agility, filled out phrases for all their expressive worth.” The Akron Beacon Journal wrote “Joseph Lulloff played with all the finesse of a top-notch concert violinist.” Further, the New York Times commented on this performance, stating that “…Mr. Lulloff demonstrated considerable virtuosity as a soloist.”

Lulloff holds a strong interest in collaborations with many notable composers to enhance the contemporary saxophone canon. The Bryant Concerto was commissioned as a gift to him and the MSU Wind Symphony from Howard Gourwitz, and has been well received both in the United States and abroad.

Lulloff’s students have won multiple prestigious national competitions, including gold and silver Medal prizes in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and first prizes at the Coleman, Carmel, North American Saxophone Alliance, Plowman and MTNA Competitions. Alumni of his saxophone studio have found success in a variety of performance and pedagogical fields, from performing with the nation’s top military bands to teaching at notable music schools at universities throughout the country.

Equally at home in the realms of classical and jazz performance, Lulloff holds the alto saxophone chair with the Capitol Quartet. During summers, he teaches at the Great Plains Saxophone Workshop in Oklahoma, and at the Brevard Music Center Summer Music Institute in the Smokey Mountain region of Western North Carolina, along with other music festivals throughout the United States and Europe.

MSU Saxophone Studio