After 18 years in New York City, alto saxophonist and composer Patrick Cornelius has cultivated a substantial body of work as a composer and bandleader, and performed his original music in some of the world’s top jazz venues. Hailed as “self-assured” and “resourceful” by The New York Times, “Elegant” and “Extraordinary” by DownBeat Magazine (in whose annual Critics Poll he was listed among the “Rising Stars” for the past 4 years), and “Bold and Gifted,” by All About Jazz, Cornelius has released 7 albums featuring established masters (like Jeff Ballard and Frank Kimbrough) and rising stars (including Gerald Clayton, Kendrick Scott, and Miles Okazaki). As a composer, he has earned an array of awards and commissions, including 4 consecutive ASCAP “Young Composer Awards,” and Chamber Music America’s “New Jazz Works” in 2012, and has been commissioned to compose and arrange original music for ensembles across the globe. Cornelius’ latest album, “While We’re Still Young,” draws inspiration from the children’s poetry of A. A. Milne. The music was debuted live on NPR’s “The Checkout Live with Josh Jackson,” and later featured on “JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater.” 

An active music pedagogue, Patrick (who received a Bachelor’s Degree from Berklee College of Music, a Masters Degree from The Manhattan School of Music, and an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School), has appeared as visiting artist or guest lecturer at many international institutions, including The Royal Academy, the Birmingham Conservatoire, Guildhall, Hull University, Trinity College, and Edinburgh University in the United Kingdom, St. Mary’s University and UTSA in Texas, The Centro Culturale and San Jose University in Costa Rica, The University of North Carolina, The Juilliard School, and Snow College in Utah. He is currently professor of jazz saxophone at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, and a music faculty member at The United Nations International School in New York City, and lives with his family in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.