About Wally West
Wally West
is an award-winning and
critically acclaimed musician who embraces a unique and
deep-rooted passion for the performance and teaching of
music. Wally was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in
December 1961. He graduated from Walter Hines Page High
School, and then immediately went on to earn a Bachelor
of Music Degree in Saxophone Performance from the
prestigious Berklee College of Music
in Boston, MA in
1983.
After college, Wally has
continued his education out in the real world, as he
has performed all across the United States, Europe,
Asia and the Caribbean, touring, recording, and
performing with such popular acts as Aretha Franklin,
Ray Charles, The Four Tops, The Temptations and Natalie
Cole, as well as Arturo Sandoval, Diane Schuur, Tony
Bennett, Mercer Ellington, Ellis Marsalis, and numerous
other jazz and popular artists. Furthermore, he has
also performed across the United States as a member of
the USO Jazz Orchestra and the USAirways Jazz
Orchestra, performing for presidents Gerald Ford,
George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, and countless
other entertainment, political and military
dignitaries.
Wally has served as musical
contractor and recording artist for Kindermusik International
for their musical
curriculum CDs, which are used worldwide. Wally is
also visible on the Motown, Summit, EMI, Rockhouse
and New Moon record labels as a recording artist. He
has also served on the jazz studies faculty
at UNC-Chapel Hill
from 2001 to 2004.
In 2001, Wally was
featured on the cover and in an article and interview
in Saxophone
Journal,
the leading magazine spotlighting the best saxophone
players in the world.
Today, Wally is
both a proud member and the executive director of
the North Carolina Jazz Repertory
Orchestra,
the state's most celebrated jazz orchestra. He is in
demand as a studio session player, recording
jingles, commercials, and corporate video
soundtracks. Additionally, Wally serves as music
director and project coordinator for the John
Coltrane Jazz Workshop in High Point, NC and also is
musical director for the High Point Youth Jazz
Orchestra and the High Point Celebration Band, a
wind ensemble formed to celebrate High Point, NC’s
sesquicentennial (that’s 150 years, folks!). It was
in 2006 when Wally won the Mayor's Award for
Teaching Excellence highlighting his gift of working
with young jazz musicians at both the
John Coltrane Jazz Workshop and the
Youth Jazz Orchestra. Wally’s experience in both
performance and instruction has him called upon as
an adjudicator and clinician for high school and
college jazz festivals. Wally also serves on the
Board of Advisors at the Guilford Technical Community College
School of Entertainment
Technology.
Wally's wife Cathy
is the Coordinator of Music and Arts at
Christ United Methodist
Church in
Greensboro, where they are members. They have a
12-year-old son, Aaron, who is into swimming,
basketball, baseball and cycling, as well as playing
trombone in the school band. Aaron loves rock ‘n’
roll music, particularly Led Zeppelin and AC/DC.
Rock on! Last, but certainly not least, is Foster,
the family's mixed breed pooch, a foster rescue dog
who was soooo easy to name.
Wally volunteers his time each month to deliver
Mobile Meals to homebound senior citizens.
