Saxophonist has no need to toot her own horn

IU doctoral student Stacy Wilson's office is indistinct. Only posters of saxophonists lining the walls and a CD player on a table distinguish it from any of the music practice rooms on campus.\nAfter hearing the melodious strains of Wilson's alto saxophone emerge from this room, however, one realizes that this office is not a place of mediocrity -- it's a hub of greatness.\nWilson, who is working toward her doctorate in saxophone performance from the Jacobs School of Music, is garnering a host of national and international honors recognizing her talents.\nMost recently Wilson earned first prize in the 2005 William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition, becoming the first saxophonist to take home the honor. In the final stage of the three-round competition, Wilson played by memory a concerto that was more than 18 minutes long.\n"I was really surprised," Wilson said of her win. "I was very disappointed with my performance in the competition, so I really had no idea I was going to win it."\nAmong Wilson's other awards include first prize in a Music Teachers National Association National Collegiate Artist Woodwind Performance Competition and a University performance certificate, the highest honor the school grants to instrumentalists, according to the School of Music's listing of saxophone faculty members.\nBut Wilson's friends say she doesn't let her talent and accomplishments go to her head.\n"If you met her, you wouldn't even know she's an amazing saxophone player," said sophomore music education student Corey Alston, a private-lesson student of Wilson's.\nWilson's decision to come to IU came after her current teacher, Otis Murphy, visited her alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, to do a master class and recital.\n"He played a recital that night and I was just completely blown away," Wilson said. "And afterwards I was like, I have to go study with this guy."\nMurphy reciprocates the admiration, citing Wilson's discipline and self-motivation as key elements that have made her successful as a saxophonist.\n"I think of myself as one of her biggest fans," Murphy said. "She's a self-driven person. ... She really just does it on her own."\nWilson's love of the saxophone dates back to a specific moment in the seventh grade, when a good friend of hers already in the school band pulled out the instrument.\n"One day we were just on the bus and he pulled out his saxophone and started playing 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' or something like that," Wilson said. "For some reason that just made me want to the play the saxophone."\nWilson's devotion to the instrument now takes her all over the world, such as to Labauch, Germany, where she studied and performed with internationally renowned saxophonists Vincent David and Arno Bornkamp. This February, Wilson will perform at the North American Saxophone Alliance regional conference in Chicago and give a solo recital at IU in April.\nAfter graduating from IU, Wilson hopes to get a job in one of the premier military bands, then teach at the collegiate level. She also wants to study in France with saxophone virtuosos Jean'yves Fourmeau and David.\nStill, Wilson retains the humility her friends know her for, shrugging her shoulders when asked where she would like to teach. \n"Wherever I can find a job," she said.