Biography
Saxophonist Joseph Rulli loves the challenge of performing music that captivates audiences. The product of a musical family, Rulli’s earliest formal training began at the age of 6 with study of the piano. After switching to the saxophone at age 10, Rulli has been active as a classical, jazz, and chamber musician, engaging in the continuous development required of today’s professional artists.
Joseph joined the U.S. Air Force Academy Band in March of 2018. As of a member of this ensemble, he frequently performs and tours with the concert band, marching band, and big band, The Falconaires. During his short time in the Air Force, he has been fortunate to play at several notable events, including the opening ceremony of the 2018 Warrior Games and the state funeral of President George H.W. Bush. Rulli is also a member of the contemporary saxophone duo, NYX, with Matthew Stookey. NYX has performed at the U.S. Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, the North American Saxophone Alliance Region IV Conference, and completed an educational outreach tour in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area in the spring of 2017. Also, he has performed and recorded with some of the leading classical and jazz musicians of today, including trumpeter Allen Vizzutti, pianist Yoonie Han, trumpeter Rex Richardson, Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride, Grammy-nominated bassist and vocalist MeShell Ndegeocello, Grammy-nominated saxophonist Jimmy Greene, flautist Jimmy Walker, Grammy-winning trumpeter Randy Brecker, saxophonist Leo Saguiguit, trombonist Tom Garling, saxophonist Bobby Watson, trumpeter Sean Jones, Grammy-winning bassist John Clayton, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, saxophonist Greg Yasinitsky and trumpeter Byron Stripling. Prior to earning his position with the Air Force band, Rulli was active as a freelance saxophonist, woodwind specialist, and music teacher in the Washington, D.C.-area. There, he held a teaching artist position with the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. He was also the leader of the Joseph Rulli Trio, a jazz combo that performed regularly throughout the area. Rulli has served as on-call saxophonist with the the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Steven Byess since 2013, including a feature performance of John Williams's Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra in September of 2016. He has also performed with the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas under the direction of Paul Haas. Further, Rulli has performed in master classes for some of the leading classical and jazz saxophonists in the world, including Eugene Rousseau, Otis Murphy, Kenneth Tse, Masahito Sugihara, John Sampen, John Nichol, Sr., Jimmy Greene, Joe Eckert, the Capitol Quartet, the h2 Quartet, and the Athens Quartet. As a soloist , Rulli has been invited to perform at international and regional conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance and United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium. In the fall of 2015 he was awarded a coveted performance fellowship by the Odyssey Chamber Music Series for their 2015-2016 season. During the summer of 2015, Joseph was selected to attend the American Saxophone Academy at the Eastman School of Music. He has also studied and performed at summer festivals that include the Eugene Rousseau Summer Saxophone Workshop (2012), the Great Plains Saxophone Workshop (2016), and the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops (2010, 2011, 2012). In 2014 Rulli was the overall winner and McHaney Award recipient of the Missouri Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition, and third place winner at the 2016 Mizzou Research and Creative Activities Forum for his recital featuring compositions for unaccompanied saxophone. He has also been active in commissioning new works for the saxophone from award-winning composers Jose Guillermo Martinez, Benedetto Colagiovanni, Richard Salonen, Jeff Payne, Joshua Oxford, Trey Anthony Makler, and Travis Herd. Rulli graduated with Master of Music degrees in Saxophone Performance and Jazz Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Missouri in 2016, where he was a saxophone student of Professor Leo Saguiguit and Dr. Arthur White. He also studied clarinet with Dr. Bill Kalinkos and jazz piano with Mike Pagan. From 2013 to 2016 Rulli served as graduate teaching assistant to Professor Saguiguit and the MU Saxophone Studio, where his duties included teaching undergraduate saxophone, coaching saxophone quartets, and assisting with administrative needs of the studio. He also served as graduate music assistant for the Fine Arts Residence Community from 2013 to 2016. For 2016 Rulli was active as a graduate jazz instructor in the MU Jazz Studies Department, directing combos, big bands, and teaching applied improvisation. In 2014 Joseph was awarded the Howard and Ruth Melcher Allen Scholarship for Woodwinds by the MU School of Music, an honor given to the school’s top woodwind student. At the University of Missouri Rulli regularly performed as lead alto saxophonist of the MU Concert Jazz Band. He released his first album, Open Window, with the Concert Jazz Band in September 2014. The Columbia Daily Tribune described Rulli’s soloing with Jimmy Greene on the album’s title track as finding “a sweet spot, playing dulcet lines without ever drifting to the too-soft side.” His second release with the MU Concert Jazz Band, Flying Colors, arrived in March of 2016, alongside Randy Brecker and Mike Mainieri. Rulli also served as soprano saxophonist of Elision, MU’s premier saxophone quartet, twice placing in the Missouri MTNA Chamber Winds Competition. In May of 2014, Rulli served as principal saxophonist for the University Wind Ensemble’s tour of Italy. An aspiring jazz arranger and composer, Rulli’s arrangements have been premiered and performed by MeShell Ndegeocello, the University of Missouri Concert Jazz Band, the University of Missouri Hard Bop Combo, and the University of Arkansas Summer Jazz Honor Band. In 2013 Rulli graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Music degree in Saxophone Performance, and a minor in English. In 2012 Rulli was selected by the music faculty at the university for induction into Pi Kappa Lambda. His primary teachers were Professor Stanley Morris and Dr. Richard Salonen. At the University of Arkansas Rulli frequently performed as a member of the University of Arkansas Wind Ensemble, Jazz Lab Band, and Aux Arcs Saxophone Quartet. |
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