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Born in 1961 and a graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts, the saxophonist Nobuya Sugawa is the winner in the 51st Music Competition of Japan and the 1st Japan Wind and Percussion Competition. 

He has played with most of the leading orchestras in Japan, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit and Alan Gilbert, and abroad he has appeared with the BBC Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, the Württembergische Philharmonie, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre d’harmonie de la Garde républicaine, Eastman Wind Ensemble, among others. He has also played with soloists such as Fazil Say, Jean-Yves Fourmeau, Arno Bornkamp, Kenneth Tse, Ron Carter, Martin Taylor, etc. He has been invited to give concerts and master-classes to over 30 countries. 

He has actively commissioned new works for sax to many composers, for ex, F. Say, E. Gregson, Chick Corea, R. Sakamoto, T. Yoshimatsu. Many of these works have become internationally popular and been added to the important classical sax repertoires. He has recorded over 30 CDs includes solo album from CHANDOS and published “Play Along Series” by De Haske.

He has assumed a role of the concert master of Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra for almost 22 years from 1989 through 2010, and the resident conductor of Yamaha Symphonic Band from 2007 through 2020.

Currently he is a member of Trouvère Quartet (Saxophone Quartet) and a visiting professor of Tokyo University of the Arts and Kyoto City University of Arts.

 

Instrument set-up:

Soprano saxophone: YSS-875 EXG, YAMAHA

Alto saxophone: YAS-875 EXG, YAMAHA　

http://www.sugawasax.com

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Discography