Parker Fritz (b. 1997) is a composer, saxophonist, and educator. His work as a musician is driven by his curiosity of music’s capacity to convey complex emotions and narratives through sonic metaphor. This artistic vision lies at the center of his compositional process and is reflected in a diverse body of work spanning acoustic music for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and large ensemble settings.
Parker’s music spans concert works for soloists, chamber ensembles, and large ensembles. His works have been performed across the United States and internationally in a variety of settings, including solo recitals, chamber concerts, and professional conferences such as the North American Saxophone Alliance Regional and Biennial Conferences and PASIC, as well as at colleges and universities nationwide. Recent performances of his large ensemble music include Michigan State University, Austin Peay State University, George Mason University, and The Ohio State University, among others. He regularly receives commissions and works closely with professional performers, conductors, collegiate applied faculty, and developing musicians.
As a saxophonist, Parker maintains an active performance schedule, presenting chamber music concerts, solo recitals, collaborative recording projects, and educational outreach programs. Parker has contributed to several commercial recordings with the University of Oklahoma Wind Symphony, Michigan State University Wind Symphony, Codex Quartet, Zenith Saxophone Quartet, Zen Duo, and Composite Duo. In 2021, he was featured as the soprano saxophonist on Convergence, the debut album by the Zenith Saxophone Quartet and Zen Duo. In 2022, Parker performed as a soloist with the University of Oklahoma Wind Symphony with William Bolcom’s Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Band.
Parker has earned recognition in numerous national and regional competitions as a composer, chamber musician, soloist, and academic. His top national honors include 1st place in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Composition Competition (2022), 2nd place in the MTNA National Chamber Music Competition (2018), and the bronze medal in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2025). Additional accolades include 1st place in the regional MTNA Young Artist State Woodwind Competition (2021), 2nd place in the Glass City Chamber Music Competition (2024), semifinalist status in both the Coltman Chamber Competition and the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, and alternate placement in the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition. At the university level, Parker received 2nd place in the Michigan State University Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition (2024, 2026), won the Jere Hutcheson Large Ensemble Composition Competition (2023), and was a winner of the University of Oklahoma Graduate Division Concerto (2021) as well as the Rising Stars Solo Competition (2021). During his undergraduate studies, he was awarded the Centralis Gold Scholarship (2015), the Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award (2018), and the Provost’s Award for Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishment (2019).
Parker is deeply committed to music education and teaching. He has taught composition, electronic music, and saxophone at the University of Oklahoma and Michigan State University as a graduate teaching assistant. His private saxophone students have consistently achieved success in state-level Solo and Ensemble festivals, audition-based honor bands, and summer music programs. Parker has taught saxophone and composition as a guest lecturer at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He is a faculty member at the Great Plains Saxophone Workshop, where he teaches both saxophone and composition. Additionally, Parker has presented lectures on balancing a dual career in performance and composition to saxophone and composition students at institutions across Michigan, Oklahoma, and Florida.
In addition to his work as a performer and composer, Parker is an active researcher in the fields of saxophone pedagogy, history, and orchestration. His academic achievements as an undergraduate include receiving the Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award, the Provost’s Award for Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishment, and the Centralis Gold Scholarship. His Honors Capstone project during his undergraduate studies, titled Orchestration and Analysis of Charles Ives’ Piano Music Using Henry Brant’s Theories of Blend and Balance, involved an orchestral arrangement of the second movement of Ives’ First Piano Sonata. His book Adapting to the Soprano Saxophone: Practice Strategies for Refining Sound Control (2025) serves as a practice companion for developing soprano saxophonists.
Parker Fritz holds a double doctorate in Composition and Saxophone Performance from Michigan State University (2026), master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma (2022), and a Bachelor of Music degree from Central Michigan University (2019). His primary teachers include Ricardo Lorenz, Marvin Lamb, Evan Ware, Joseph Lulloff, Jonathan Nichol, and John Nichol.