About Wally

Wally West is an award-winning, critically acclaimed musician whose career reflects a deep and enduring passion for performance, education, and music advocacy.

A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Wally graduated from Walter Hines Page High School in 1980 before earning a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 1983.

Following his formal education, Wally built an extraordinary performance career that spans the globe, touring throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. He has shared the stage with a diverse array of legendary artists across jazz, pop, and classical genres, including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Bob Hope, Joe Williams, Lou Rawls, Michael Feinstein, Marvin Hamlisch, Natalie Cole, Branford Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, Tony Bennett, and many more. He also performed extensively with the USO and USAirways Jazz Orchestras, playing for U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

A frequent guest artist with orchestras, Wally appeared regularly with the Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and North Carolina Symphonies for their POPS concert series. He also contributed to recordings on Motown, Summit, EMI, Rockhouse, and New Moon labels and served as a musical contractor and recording artist for Kindermusik International.

Wally’s commitment to jazz education is equally distinguished. He has taught on the jazz faculties of UNC-Chapel Hill, Gardner-Webb University, UNC-Charlotte, and Guilford College, and has served as an adjudicator and clinician for countless jazz festivals. From 2000 to 2013, he was a member and executive director of the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, and later co-founded, performed with, and served as administrative director for the Piedmont Triad Jazz Orchestra. From 2002 to 2021, he served as music director and project coordinator of the John Coltrane Jazz Workshop in High Point, NC, where he was honored with the Mayor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2006.

Wally is also the founder of Wally West Music, a music entertainment and consulting agency that operated from 1995 to 2021. During this time, the business placed musicians and DJs for thousands of social, corporate, and private events. In its later years, the company focused on Wally’s passion for jazz education—coaching and directing student jazz ensembles across North Carolina.

Though now retired from performance, Wally’s musical legacy continues through his son, Aaron, an accomplished saxophonist in his own right.

Today, Wally serves as the Director of Artistic Planning for the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, where he works closely with staff, musicians, and guest artists to coordinate programming, logistics, and contracting.

In recognition of his artistry, Wally was featured on the cover and in an in-depth story in Saxophone Journal in 2001, a leading publication spotlighting the world’s top saxophonists.







Wally's wife Cathy recently retired as the Senior Director of Worship and Arts at Christ United Methodist Church in Greensboro, where they continue to be members. She is a member of the Bel Canto Company, a professional choral ensemble, as well as a freelance pianist and vocalist in the Triad area of North Carolina. Cathy is a Winery Operations Associate at Stonefield Cellars Winery in Stokesdale, NC.



Wally and Cathy's 27-year-old son, Aaron, is a 2020 graduate of Appalachian State University with a BA in Music Industry Studies with a concentration in Recording and Production, and a 2022 graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa with an MM in Jazz Studies. He is currently performing, teaching, and is involved with various recording and sound projects in Tampa, FL. And we welcome Kenzie, Aaron's fiancee, into the West family! Kenzie works in the bicycling industry and travels extensively with her job.



RIP Sonny, our beloved wire-haired dachshund, who left us on April 4, 2025.

Wally and Cathy volunteer their time delivering Meals on Wheels / Mobile Meals to homebound senior citizens.