The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Saxophone Octet performs across each academic year, both at the conservatoire and further afield. These concerts are generally project based and aim to provide students with a stepping stone between small chamber music and larger ensemble playing, whilst giving opportunity to gain experiences on all members of the saxophone family. Since 2008, projects have included – 'Crossing Paths: new music of Johannesburg', ‘JTV: Cloud Cuckooland’, “Hello, Mr Sax!”, ‘The Sounding Image,’ ‘Viva Vivaldi,’ ‘Less is More’,‘Travelling Music’, ‘The Night the Buses Died’, and ‘Hoe Down’. They have given performances at Birmingham's Symphony Hall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Newport Music Festival and Stafford Music Festival. They regularly perform as part of the contemporary music series Frontiers, and have presented educational concerts as part of the conservatoire’s chamber music festival. Members of the group were heavily involved with the ensemble and chamber music sessions at the inaugural Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Saxophone Day, 2015. The RBC octet is directed by Naomi Sullivan. She has been a member of several ensembles, and she has held masterclasses and concerts across the USA and Europe. She has worked for a number of UK orchestras including Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, Piccadilly Dance Orchestra, The Opera Group, Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Orchestra of the Swan and Music Theatre Wales. In 2007 Naomi started teaching at Birmingham Conservatoire and has been Head of Saxophone since 2008.
