Kendra Wheeler
Kendra Wheeler is a saxophonist and educator whose work spans the standard saxophone canon, a wide range of chamber music, and contemporary and electroacoustic projects that explore timbre, texture, and improvisation. Her solo and chamber work places particular emphasis on commissioning and premiering new pieces, including works by underrepresented and marginalized composers, using collaboration as a primary site for musical dialogue and exchange. Since 2020, she has given more than 50 performances and lectures and has commissioned over 25 new works, contributing to the contemporary saxophone landscape and sustaining a national and international profile across 20 U.S. states and nine countries. Across these projects, she advances saxophone artistry and pedagogy by expanding the repertoire, building support networks, and modeling the versatile professional skills she asks of her students. Her work has been recognized by the Concert Artists Guild and the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition.
In her teaching, Wheeler avoids a one-size-fits-all approach. She meets each student as an individual, emphasizing sound, gesture, musicality, and communication at every stage of development. Her teaching centers on reflective listening, intentional musical decision-making, and adaptable artistry, with the conviction that technical fluency and interpretive insight are inseparable. She asks her students not just to play, but to say something—and to understand why—treating performance as a practice of communication and collaborative music-making, and preparing them to become insightful performers, teachers, and collaborators.
Wheeler’s advocacy extends beyond her own performances. She founded the Women of Color in Classical Saxophone Network, co-chaired the North American Saxophone Alliance’s DEIBA Committee, and curates the Anthology of Saxophone Music by Black Composers—work that broadens the repertoire and reshapes the sense of who is seen and supported in the field. As a member of Medusa Saxophone Quartet and through active duo and chamber projects, she regularly commissions and premieres new works, with a focus on experimentation, equity, communication, and lasting artistic relationships.
Wheeler is an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University, an Eastman Artist, and a performing artist for Légère Reeds and Key Leaves.
