Wilson Poffenberger
Wilson Poffenberger
BIO
Described as an “admirably skilled player” (The News-Gazette), saxophonist Wilson Poffenberger is a multifaceted performer and educator whose work spans a diverse array of genres and styles. Wilson currently serves as Assistant Professor of Saxophone at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he engages with the saxophone studio via applied instruction, saxophone pedagogy, and chamber music, with additional duties in the jazz and music theory areas.
As an awards winning saxophonist, Wilson has garnered prizes at several prestigious national and international competitions including the American Prize Chamber Music Competition, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, ENKOR International Woodwind and Brass Competition, and having been the first saxophonist to win the Krannert Debut Artist Competition. He has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, American Modern Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, Illinois Wind Symphony, contraBAND Ensemble, and the Dana Symphony Orchestra. As a jazz musician and recording artist, Wilson has collaborated alongside artists such as Marvin Stamm, Wycliffe Gordon, Jim Snidero, Don Aliquo, Chris Vadalla, and Jim Pugh, in addition to freelance work in Boston, Central Ohio, and South Georgia.
A tireless advocate for new music, Wilson has premiered over 40 new works, collaborating with composers such as Matthew Aucoin, Annika Socolofsky, Gregory Wanamaker, Carolyn Borcherding, David Biedenbender, and Badie Khaleghian, among many others. Wilson is a founding member of RE:duo, a boundary-pushing saxophone and viola duo whose mission is to engage audiences with innovative programming that blurs the lines between a variety of artistic disciplines. RE:duo has held residencies at leading institutions including Boston Conservatory at Berklee, University of North Texas, and the University of Florida, with additional ensemble-in-residence positions at the Composers Conference, Avaloch Farms Music Institute, Cortona Sessions for New Music, and the MATA Festival.
A passionate educator and mentor, Wilson has presented guest lectures and masterclasses at institutions such as the University of Georgia, New England Conservatory, Duquesne University, Georgia State University, University of Florida, and Texas A&M International University. He has enjoyed teaching in the summers at the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program and Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s High School Composers Intensive. Wilson’s students have found success as public school band directors throughout the country, and have gone on to receive scholarships, competition honors, and graduate admissions at institutions including the University of Illinois, University of Minnesota, and Vanderbilt University.
Wilson earned his D.M.A. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, M.M. from Youngstown State University, and B.S. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, with additional study at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Boulogne-Billancourt as a Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar and in the Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Contemporary Classical Music Performance Program (CCMP). Prior to his appointment at UWSP, Wilson served as Lecturer of Saxophone at Valdosta State University. He performs exclusively on Selmer Paris saxophones and is a JLV Sound Ambassador.
When he’s not playing saxophone, Wilson enjoys honing his home coffee brewing skills, playing golf, and hanging out with his tuxedo cat, Pierre.
Research Interests
- Improvisation
- Composer-Performer Collaboration
- Chamber Music
Community Involvement
- Community concerts with VSU student ensembles
- “American Soundtrack” fundraiser for the Turner Center for the Arts (Valdosta, GA) with the Ed Barr Big Band
- Community outreach concerts at the Avaloch Farms Music Institute with RE:duo
- Boston Music for Boston Spaces community project with RE:duo
- Rendezvous Musical Concert Series at the Fondation Des États-Unis (Paris, France)
Professional Membership
- Member, North American Saxophone Alliance
- Socials Coordinator, New Music Mosaic
- Co-Founder, RE:duo
Professional Experience
- XVII World Saxophone Congress (2018), Invited Performance
- International Computer Music Conference (2025), Invited Performance
- SPLICE Festival (2018, 2023, and 2025), Invited Performance
- International Saxophone Symposium (2009-2025), Invited Performance
- Electronic Music Midwest (2022), Invited Performance
- North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) National Conference (2014, 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2024), Invited Performance
- Boston New Music Initiative Living Composers Summit (2022), Invited Performance
- Recording Artist with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (2021, 2022)
- Unchained: An Immersive Multimedia Concert Experience with Badie Khaleghian at the Midtown Arts and Theater Complex in Houston, TX (2023)
Honors and Awards
- Grand Prize Winner, ENKOR International Woodwind and Brass Competition (2018)
- First Prize, Krannert Debut Artist Competition (2019)
- First Prize Winner, Mostly Modern Concerto Competition (2019)
- First Prize Winner, UISO Concerto Competition (2020)
- First Prize Winner, Dana Young Artist Competition (2015)
- Silver Medal, Fischoff Competition (2019)
- First Prize, NASA Quartet Competition (2020)
- American Prize in Chamber Music (2021)
- Invited Performance, The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Festival (2019)