Fall Guest Artist Series: Master Class with GRAMMY-Nominated Saxophonist Tia Fuller

The Department of Music, often in association with the NCCU Jazz Studies Program, offers several master classes each year with renowned performers and composers.

Please join us in collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist Tia Fuller for a master class in the B.N. Duke Auditorium Annex New Band Room. 

Master classes are free to attend and are open to all members of the community who would like to observe the brilliant and talented artists who work with the NCCU Department of Music. 

Tia Fuller

When GRAMMY-nominated Mack Avenue recording artist, composer and bandleader Tia Fuller picks up her saxophone, something amazing happens. Blending technical brilliance, melodic creativity, and the performing precision drawn from both her academic and stage experience, Fuller is a force to be reckoned with in the worlds of jazz, pop, R&B and more. Currently, Fuller balances the worlds of performance and education, fulfilling a demanding schedule as both a busy touring and recording artist and a full-time professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Fuller’s resume makes her uniquely qualified for these roles. The Denver, Colorado native graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, and summa cum laude with a master’s degree in Jazz Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Already established as a leading jazz musician, Fuller was selected to be a member of the all-female band touring with Grammy-winning pop star Beyoncé. Performing as part of the I AM … Sasha Fierce and Beyoncé Experience World Tour on stages across the globe, Fuller also became a featured soloist on the Beyoncé Experience DVD (Me, Myself and I) and the I AM Yours I DVD (Wynn Theatre). She also appeared on a number of major television shows, including Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, BET Awards, American Music Awards,  and Grammy Awards, and as a featured soloist with Beyoncé for President Obama at the White House.

In addition, she has received numerous awards and marks of distinction including, winning the JazzTimes Jazz Critics Poll for best alto saxophonist (2018), and Downbeat Critic’s Poll-Rising Star two years in a row in the categories of Soprano Sax in 2014 and Alto Sax and Flute in 2013. In 2018, Fuller was honored with the Benny Golson Award from Howard University; received the Distinguished Alumnae Award as the commencement speaker at the University of Colorado at Boulder; and was appointed as the 2018 Artist-in-Residence at the Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, CA.

As a professor at Berklee College of Music, Fuller shares her expertise with more than 70 students per week. She leads the college’s Rainbow Big Band and All-Stars, the Esperanza Ensemble, repertoire class, jazz improvisation, two jazz combos, and the Christian McBride Ensemble. In addition, she produces and directs groundbreaking large production ensembles focusing on the works of major pop innovators Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande and Micki Miller. Innovated by Fuller to provide more contemporary, real-world experiences for students, these ensembles are cross-collaborations with other college departments and duplicate an “A-list” tour production, incorporating musicians, choreography, strings, dancers, video and lighting.

As an artist, performer and teacher, Fuller feels that she is fulfilling her purpose here on this earth, which is to “serve as a light for others.”