Halcyon Sax Quartet are Sheffield based and formed in January 2024. All four players have professional musical training and came together to explore the huge diversity of music that’s possible with this versatile ensemble. We want to share our joy playing rich and varied programmes with as many people as we can. Halcyon Sax Quartet often plays a mixture of classical and jazz. We find that audiences love the variety. We can include elements of funk, folk and few floor-fillers too.
Toby on soprano sax is a classically trained saxophonist and clarinettist. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and has worked as a freelance musician around the UK for 25 years. He’s played with a number of professional orchestras, chamber music groups and lots of music theatre productions, both West End and UK tours.
Sarah on alto is a part-time music teacher and sax teacher. She plays in Doncaster Jazz Alumni and Straight 8s Big Band. She is a resident sax player for house music brands Hedkandi and FunkyLove. She studied music and English at Sheffield University. She played tenor sax in Saxsational sax quartet (with Karen) for nearly a decade.
Karen on baritone is a Professor of Applied Music Psychology at the University of Leeds. She is principal clarinet in Hallam Sinfonia and plays with the Black Velvet clarinet quartet. She researches and advocates for the value of music education and is chair of the Sheffield Music Hub board and a Trustee for Harmony Works.
