Marina Sakellakis

Dr. Marina Sakellakis is a multi-faceted performer, educator, and advocate for the arts based in Austin, Texas. She is the event manager at the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin, where she received her doctoral and master’s degrees in saxophone performance. She also serves as adjunct professor of saxophone at Austin Community College and Huston-Tillotson University.

Marina is a founding member and tenor saxophonist of the saxophone quartet, Zed. The ensemble has won awards at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition, the MTNA Chamber Music Competition, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and more. Most recently, Zed was invited to compete in the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and Festa in Japan, and became one of the first saxophone quartets invited to the Walter W. Naumburg International Chamber Music Competition. Active as both performers and educators, they have completed residencies at Louisiana State University, Baylor University, Montclair University, and other institutions across the country.

Marina has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and multi-instrumentalist in performances throughout the United States, Portugal, Switzerland, France, and England. She was a featured concerto soloist in the consortium premiere of Viet Cuong's Second Nature, and was the saxophone soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances with the Round Top Festival Orchestra. Her recent recordings include Ivan Trevino's Ofrenda for a Friend and Karalyn Schubring's Sunburst.

Committed to accessibility in the arts, Marina works with Austin Soundwaves, where she teaches woodwind instruments and supports local music education programs. She was named a Firebird Fellow through the Academy for Impact through Music, where she worked with a global cohort to research music education for positive social change.