Bio

 

 

Saxophone is the vehicle through which Nick Ortiz shares his love for music. He has an extensive background performing classical, jazz, pop, and contemporary music, allowing him to explore a variety of styles and reach a wide range of listeners.

Nick has shared his music at the North American Saxophone Alliance (regional and biennial conferences), through local communities across the midwestern United States, and has appeared as a soloist with the UW-Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, UW-Milwaukee Saxophone Ensemble, and the DuPage Symphony Orchestra.

As an ensemble member, Nick has appeared on Darius Rucker’s 2022 Tour stop in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), at Summer Camp Music festival with the New Orleans style 6^th Street Brass Band after winning Summer Camp on the Road Tour in Champaign, and has appeared as a member of the Chicago Wind Symphony.

Nick has commissioned and premiered new works by Benjamin Damann, Mofan (Amber) Dai, Morgan Easterday, Elsie Bae Han, P.R. Martin, Emily McPherson, and Jenni Watson. Nick is also an advocate for free-improvised music, performing acoustic and electro-acoustic improvisation in solo and multidisciplinary collaborations with fellow musicians, visual artists and dancers.

He holds degrees in saxophone performance and music education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Illinois respectively. Nick has been a member of the UWM Wind Ensemble, Elmhurst College Saxophone Choir, UIUC Wind Symphony, UIUC Wind Orchestra, Illinois Modern Ensemble, Illinois Improvisers Exchange, and UWM Jazz Ensemble. His primary teachers include Dr. Nicki Roman, Debra Richtmeyer, and Roger Birkeland.

When not performing, Nick can be found working with his private studio, volunteering with the Professional Development committee for the North American Saxophone Alliance, or serving as a clinician for concert band, marching band, jazz band, or improvisation. If you are searching for Nick outside of the realms of music, he can be found reading, baking brownies, or running somewhere in the DuPage County trail system.