Baritone Saxophone
Originally from rural southern Ohio, Drew Hays has toured throughout the US and in Europe as the baritone saxophonist in the New Century Saxophone Quartet, and can be heard on the group’s 8th studio album, Weekend Travelers. He has performed with the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Greensboro Symphony, the Charlotte Symphony, the Roanoke Symphony, the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, the Red Clay Saxophone Quartet, and the Equinox Jazz Orchestra. Drew is a founding member and baritone saxophonist in the Piedmont Triad Jazz Orchestra as well as frequently arranging for the group. Drew’s debut album, Saxophone Premiere: The Saxophone Music of Sherwood Shaffer was a joint project with renowned concert tenor saxophonist James Houlik and released in 2011. In 2018, he performed as soloist with the University of Illinois at Chicago Wind Ensemble.
Drew has given lectures or premiered new works at the Jazz Education Network national conference, the World Saxophone Congress, the U.S. Navy Band’s International Saxophone Symposium, the North American Saxophone Alliance’s Bi-annual and Regional conferences, and the Carolina Saxophone Symposium. Drew currently serves as a Professor of Music and Music Department Chair at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, where he teaches saxophone, theory, and jazz studies. He also serves as Music Director of the John Coltrane Jazz Workshop each summer in High Point, NC. He has previously served on the faculty of North Carolina A & T State University, Bucks County Community College, Duquesne University, and numerous community music schools in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Drew completed a DMA in Saxophone as well as a post Master's Certificate in Theory Pedagogy at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. While a student, he performed as soloist with orchestras at both schools as a winner of their respective concerto competitions. Drew currently resides in Greensboro, NC, with his wife Angie. When not teaching and playing, he is an avid runner, audiophile, and enjoys a good cup of coffee.