Dr. Adam McCord is Associate Professor of Saxophone at the University of Louisville School of Music. He has served on the faculties of Indiana University as a sabbatical replacement for Dr. Otis Murphy as well as Miami University, Ohio Northern University, Wittenberg University, Wake Forest University, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
As an orchestral musician, Dr. McCord performs regularly with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and the Louisville Orchestra (LO), and has performed with the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Greensboro Symphony, and the Lexington Philharmonic, among others. With the LO, he can be heard on Yuja Wang’s GRAMMY-winning recording of Teddy Abrams’ Piano Concerto on Deutsche Grammaphon’s The American Project. The Washington Post noted from a recent performance of Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances with the NSO: “Silken solo contributions from Adam McCord on alto saxophone were a highlight of the first movement’s ethereal passage for wind ensemble.” He has performed under the batons of Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Teddy Abrams, James Gaffigan, Gianandrea Noseda, and several other leading conductors.
He was a featured soloist at the 16th WASBE International Conference in San Jose, California, performing Frank Ticheli’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone, and has performed at several World Saxophone Congresses, North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial conferences, and US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposiums. Dr. McCord has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician and has given masterclasses and clinics across the nation. He has premiered works by Marc Satterwhite, Steve Rouse, Brittany Green, Frederick Speck, Armando Bayolo, Neil Thornock, and KiMani Bridges, among others.
Dr. McCord holds a Doctor of Music from Indiana University where his primary studies were with Otis Murphy. He received a Master of Music degree also from Indiana University, earning the Performer’s Certificate, Indiana University’s highest performance honor. He received a Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, in saxophone performance and music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where his teachers were Steven Stusek and Craig Whittaker. Dr. McCord can be heard on the Deutsche Grammaphon, Navona, Arizona University Recording, Mark Custom Recordings labels, and is a proud Yamaha Performing Artist and D’Addario Woodwind Performing Artist.