Saxton Rose

Saxton Rose serves as Dean of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) since 2020, overseeing all graduate, undergraduate, and high school academic programs, operations, and personnel for over 60 faculty/staff members. As artistic director, he curates 200+ annual performances and supervises the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute and Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute.

Education:

• Artist Diploma, Conservatorio “Agostino Steffani” Castelfranco-Veneto, Italy
• M.M., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• B.M., University of Colorado Boulder

A nationally recognized bassoonist, Rose currently performs as Principal Bassoonist of the Winston-Salem Symphony and with New York's Zéphyros Winds quintet. His leadership prioritizes modernizing music education through curriculum innovation, including minors in Improvised Music/Jazz and Multiple Woodwinds, plus a Master of Music in Composition for Film and Visual Media. He spearheaded the first major undergraduate curriculum revision in two decades, integrating music business, recording technology, and professional development.

Rose has secured over $7 million in scholarship funding, establishing the Dean’s Scholars Award, Concertmaster Scholarship, and Malcolm & Patty Brown Orchestra Fellowship. He expanded the school's global presence through partnerships with three Chinese institutions and co-founded Germany's International Chamber Music Academy of Ochsenhausen. His initiatives include the UNCSA Chamber Music Festival and interdisciplinary projects like UNCSA Media recording label.