Dr. Joshua Heaney is a saxophonist and music educator based in Oklahoma City. His performances and research have taken him to Italy, Switzerland, and throughout the United States at regional and national engagements. Described as, “a sparkling and emotionally charged elixir of sound” (Morning Classics with Mary Claire Murphy), Dr. Heaney has received accolades from audiences and critics alike. He was a prizewinning performer in the Thomas M. Brumby Concerto Competition, Medici International Music Competition, Susquehanna University Concerto Competition, Georgia State University Music Honors Competition, Great Composers Competition Series, Douglas Wayland Chamber Competition, GMTA Solo Winds and Chamber Winds Competitions, ENKOR International Chamber Music Competition and a North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition finalist with Rosarium Quartet. Dr. Heaney has performed as a concerto soloist with the Oklahoma City University Wind Ensemble, Missouri State University Wind Ensemble, OKC Symphonic Band, Keene State College Concert Band, Heidelberg University Symphonic Band, Atlanta Chamber Collective, Atlanta Wind Project, Georgia State University Wind Ensemble, among others. As an orchestral saxophonist, he regular performs with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, in addition to previous experiences with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Lima Symphony, Macon Symphony, and the Eastern Music Festival Pops.

Striving for human connection through contemporary music, Dr. Heaney has commissioned and premiered over 50 works by distinguished composers such as Augusta Read Thomas, Marilyn Shrude, Marc Mellits, Viet Cuong, and many others. He has performed for engagements including Atlanta SoundNOW, Bowling Green New Music Festival, Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival, College Music Society Great Lakes Regional Conference, Society for Minimalist Music’s International Conference on Music and Minimalism, SHE: Festival of Women in Music, Navy Band Saxophone Symposium, National Association for Music Education Eastern Region Conference, and North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial and Regional Conferences. He also has been featured on various music series and radio programs, such as ArtsX, EAR|EYE, ASCAP New Music Friday, San Francisco Classical Voice’s Week in Music, WABE Atlanta Music Scene, WGTE Live from FM 91, among others. Most recently, Dr. Heaney premiered “Ripple,” a new concerto for saxophone, wind ensemble, and electronics by Matthew Kennedy. Dr. Heaney can be heard performing music by Steve Reich and Viet Cuong on commercial single releases as well as music by composers Stephen Woods and Matthew Quayle on commercial album releases. In 2022, Dr. Heaney released his debut album ALCHEMY in collaboration with pianist and composer Benjamin T. Nylander, available on CD and digital platforms through Clarinet & Saxophone Classics Recordings (London, UK).

An impassioned music educator, Dr. Heaney serves as Saxophone Instructor & Recruitment Coordinator at Oklahoma City University’s Wanda L. Bass School of Music and is the founder-director of the Oklahoma Saxophone Ensemble. He previously held academic teaching appointments at Heidelberg University and Bowling Green State University. Dr. Heaney is a frequent guest artist-teacher at public schools and universities. His passion for music education extended to a residency at the Giuseppe Sarti Scuola di Musica in Faenza, Italy through Susquehanna University’s GO Program, where he researched the Italian community music education system and ear-training pedagogy. As a pubic school music educator in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dr. Heaney was awarded Wake County’s Diane Kent-Parker First-Year Teacher Award and was featured as WRAL-5’s Teacher of the Week. During summers, Dr. Heaney serves as saxophone faculty with the internationally recognized Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute at Snow Pond Music Festival and New England Music Camp’s Core Session.

Dr. Heaney holds degrees from Susquehanna University (BME), Georgia State University (MM, AD), and Bowling Green State University (DMA). Dr. Heaney’s primary teachers include Gail B. Levinsky, Jan Baker, David Bixler, John Sampen, and Frederick L. Hemke. He maintains active affiliations with the National Association for Music Education, North American Saxophone Alliance, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. 

Dr. Joshua Heaney is a Conn-Selmer Artist Clinician and performs on Selmer Paris saxophones exclusively.