Susan Fancher

Susan Fancher is a brilliant force in the world of classical saxophone, known for her luminous tone, poetic musical sensibility, and bold advocacy for contemporary repertoire. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has inspired and premiered hundreds of new compositions by emerging and established composers. She is an active performer of diverse musical genres from concertos, recitals with piano, chamber music, orchestral music, electroacoustic music, and sacred music. She makes important contributions to the saxophone field through her inspirational work as a performer, recording artist, scholar, and teacher.

From the small rural community of Albion in Western New York, Fancher went on to study with world-renowned pedagogues Frederick L. Hemke at Northwestern University, where she earned her doctorate, and Jean-Marie Londeix in Bordeaux, France, where she was awarded the Médaille d'Or. Over her career, Fancher has lived and worked as a member of the local music scenes in Chicago, Stockholm, Vienna, and Buffalo, and is currently based in Greensboro and Durham, North Carolina. In every setting, she has contributed actively to the local music community—collaborating with fellow musicians, building connections, and supporting the creative work of others.

Susan Fancher has performed in many of the world’s leading venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Filharmonia Hall in Warsaw, Merkin Concert Hall, the Chautauqua Institute, Slee Concert Hall, Brazil's Sala São Paulo, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. She has appeared in concert in Albania, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and throughout the US. Dr. Fancher is an artist and clinician for Selmer and Vandoren/DANSR.

Recent and upcoming projects highlight her artistic vitality and collaborative spirit. In April 2025, her recording with the Ciompi Quartet of Schley Road, a quintet for soprano saxophone and string quartet by Scott Lindroth, was released on the New Focus Records label. The album release was celebrated by a concert at Merkin Concert Hall in New York. Also in April 2025, Fancher’s recording together with pianist Jim Douglass of Lance Hulme’s Sax Attractor was released on Leaps & Bounds, a two-CD retrospective of the composer’s music on the Métier Records label. Mélange, an album of improvisations together with saxophonist Mark Engebretson and percussionist Anders Åstrand was released in November 2025. An upcoming album together with pianist Ināra Zandmane is in progress and expected to be released sometime in 2026.

Fancher's extensive discography reflects both her artistry and her creative initiative as a recording artist. She was the lead artist and producer on several projects, including Ponder Nothing and In Two Worlds (Innova), as well as two albums devoted entirely to the music of single composers. Her recording Erthe and Air, the saxophone works of Hilary Tann, highlights a live performance of the soprano saxophone concerto Shakkei with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra at the 15th World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok. Equally significant, her album Hawk, a collection of saxophone works by Stuart Saunders Smith, offers an immersive portrait of Smith's distinctive musical voice.

In addition to her solo projects, Fancher has worked extensively as soprano saxophonist with prominent saxophone quartets. With Stockholm’s Rollin’ Phones Quartet, she recorded the album Suite Française on the Philips label and appears on several other recordings with that ensemble. As a member of the Vienna Saxophone Quartet, she recorded two full albums featuring compositions written for that ensemble by composers such as Robert Carl, Friedrich Cerha, Lukas Ligeti, Alexander Wagendristel, and Wolfram Wagner, in addition to quartet music by Iannis Xenakis and John Cage. With the Red Clay Saxophone Quartet, she recorded two full albums, Red Clay Live! and Burton Beerman's oratorio Tikvah, and an EP entitled Night Lights of music by M. William Karlins and Mark Engebretson. A recording of John Supko's Crossed Shadows, written for the Red Clay Quartet, will be included on a future album of the composer's music. With the Amherst Saxophone Quartet, she recorded a full album of her transcriptions of music by Josquin Desprez, as well as Paul Chihara's Forever Escher for saxophone quartet and string quartet, together with the Arcata String Quartet. During her membership, the Amherst Quartet also commissioned new works by Terry Riley and David Sampson, and collaborated with Philip Glass and Steve Reich in live performances of their music at June in Buffalo. In 2024, she joined forces with saxophonists Rahsaan Barber, Heidi Radtke, and Mark Engebretson to form the Abele (pronounced "Able") Saxophone Quartet. In addition to her work as a performer and champion of new music for saxophone quartet, Dr. Fancher also authored an influential column on the saxophone quartet that appeared regularly for over a decade in the Saxophone Journal. Together, these projects document her significant role in expanding the saxophone quartet’s repertoire and establishing her legacy as both a performer and scholar.

An experienced and passionate teacher, Susan Fancher is a Lecturing Fellow at Duke University, where she teaches saxophone, chamber music, music entrepreneurship, and a course called Experiencing Live Music. She is devoted to guiding every student—regardless of life stage, playing level, or musical aspirations—toward fulfilling their potential as a musician and developing a personal repertoire that reflects their artistic voice. She has held many college teaching positions, given dozens of guest master classes internationally, and is a sought-after instructor, shaping generations of saxophonists through her mentorship. She also co-hosts the popular Saxophone Academy podcast with Dr. Wally Wallace, bringing their substantial expertise to a large international audience.

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