About Emma Di Marco
Australian saxophonist and composer, Dr Emma Di Marco, is a leading performer in classical saxophone as well as a Selmer Paris Ambassador, D’Addario Woodwinds Artist, Churchill Fellow, and TEDx Speaker. Emma’s career highlights include Australian and international performances, multiple studio albums, chamber music performances, music education, research, compositions, and entrepreneurship. She has performed in over ten countries across four continents, showcasing a diverse repertoire and exceptional mastery of her instrument. Emma is a passionate advocate for Australian art music, commissioning and premiering over 20 works by Australian composers for solo saxophone, saxophone duo and quartet, and chamber ensemble and has completed two Australian tours of specially commissioned Australian saxophone repertoire. Her latest album, Shimmer (2025, Corella Recordings), features commissioned solo saxophone repertoire collected over twelve years of her career, solidifying her impact on contemporary saxophone music globally. The title track from this album was also nominated for a Queensland Music Award. She is a founding member of the Barega Saxophone Quartet, performing on their two commercially released albums: Three Serpents (2015) and Abandon Control (2018). Her performance credits include international music festivals in Asia, four World Saxophone Congresses, appearances at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial conferences, the Brisbane Music Festival, freelance performances in classical, jazz, and contemporary ensembles across Australia, and she has been a saxophonist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra since 2013. She has a PhD in Musicology, a Masters of Teaching, and a Bachelor of Music with Honours in which she received the University Medal. Emma lectures in Saxophone at the University of Queensland and is Head of Woodwind at a leading private school in her home of Brisbane. She is also the founder of Di Marco Music, a sheet music publishing company dedicated to high-quality Australia sheet music for instrumentalists and music education resources. Emma is a familiar presence on social media and hosts two podcasts, Sax Bites and UNMUSICAL.
About Cathy Likhuta
Dr Catherine Likhuta is a Ukrainian-Australian composer, pianist and recording artist whose music creates vivid musical worlds through storytelling, colour and emotional connection. Rooted in her Ukrainian heritage and shaped by a passion for human experiences, her works combine brilliant instrumental writing with warmth, imagination and a powerful sense of purpose. Catherine’s compositions span orchestral, wind band, chamber and solo repertoire, and are performed by internationally renowned artists as well as young musicians around the world. Her music has been heard at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Glyndebourne Opera House and Meyerson Symphony Center, and performed by ensembles including Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Winds, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet and the Orchestra of the National Radio of Ukraine. A passionate advocate for Ukrainian culture, Catherine believes music has the ability to connect people, celebrate resilience and reveal beauty in unexpected places. A two-time winner of the International Horn Society Composition Contest (Virtuoso Division), she has received numerous awards including the University of Queensland Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award. Catherine holds a PhD in composition from The University of Queensland and is also an active concert pianist, regularly performing her own works.
About Samuel
Samuel is a second-year Bachelor of Music student at the University of Queensland majoring in Saxophone. His saxophone journey began as a Year 5 student in his school music program and he has since become a rising star of classical saxophone. Samuel has won numerous competitions, most recently winning the Open Division of the Queensland Clarinet and Saxophone Competition in his home of Brisbane, Australia. He has also been a selected finalist multiple times for University of Queensland O’Brien Family prize. Samuel has a keen interest in new music for the saxophone and this has led him to perform a number of contemporary Australian works as a section leader with the UQ Saxophone Ensemble as well as taking part in the Nexus New Music series at the Queensland Conservatorium (2025). He also has a particular interest in transcriptions and has done two major works in transcribing notable concertos for other instruments for the saxophone which have received positive reviews from fellow saxophonists: the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto (2024) and the Sibelius Violin Concerto (2026). Samuel is a student of Dr Emma Di Marco and has had further lessons with notable Australian saxophonists Erin Royer, Joseph Lallo, Yo Yo Su, and Niels Bijl.
Samuel’s most recent challenge has been learning the Adjusting Parameters suite by Jenni Watson, a 9-movement marathon piece for solo alto saxophone and backing track. Each movement represents a different parameter of life that is changing throughout the modern age, and features different extended techniques on the saxophone, highlighting its extended range and colour. This piece was initiated by a Consortium of international saxophonists and this will be the first performance of the entire work in Brisbane.
