Nathanael Ankeny is a saxophonist, educator and composer from Newberg, OR. His love of saxophone began in the sixth grade when he was given a vintage Selmer alto saxophone by his grandfather. He studied saxophone and jazz performance at Whitworth University (Spokane, WA) with Dave Fague, Brent Edstrom, and Dan Keberle, winning first place awards at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival solo competition and Musicfest Northwest. After graduating from Whitworth, he was awarded a graduate service appointment at Eastern Washington University to study under Todd DelGiudice and Rob Tapper. While in eastern Washington, he performed with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra, the Bob Curnow Big Band, and the Spokane Symphony. Returning to Oregon, Nathanael was hired as a professor of music at George Fox University, where he teaches applied saxophone and improvisation, theory and aural skills, music technology, and serves as the director of the University’s Jazz Ensemble. At George Fox, he has performed with Matt Wilson, Dave Pietro, Erica von Kleist, John Clayton, Benny Green, Wycliffe Gordon, Byron Stripling and Katie Thiroux. He also leads his own trios and duos in the greater Portland area, performing with Portland’s finest, including Randy Porter, Dan Balmer, George Colligan, Bill Athens, Kevin Deitz, Greg Goebel, John Lakey, David Goldblatt, Tim Gilson and Clay Giberson.
In addition to an active performance schedule, Nathanael is a committed music educator. He runs a thriving jazz and small-ensemble program for youth, teaches private saxophone and clarinet lessons in the community, and serves as a clinician for contests and festivals.