From the Classroom to the Concert Hall

When she first picked up a saxophone in her sixth-grade band class at GWA, Caroline Halleck never imagined it would take her across the globe and spark an international career. As a student she embraced marching band and her love for music was evident on her senior page in the yearbook when she answered the question, “what is the one thing you cannot live without?” She responded with, “My saxophone. I couldn’t live without making music.”

Following her graduation from GWA in 2013, she continued to nurture her love for music and the saxophone and received a bachelor’s degree from The University of Georgia in saxophone performance. She later completed her master’s degree in music at the F.A. Bonporti Conservatorio di Trento/Riva del Garda in Italy where she studied with Marco Albonetti. Today she is still in Italy and is currently in a chamber music program at the Fondazione Accademia Internazionale di Imola “Incontri col Maestro” with plans to finish by this December.

Caroline is a freelance musician and has performed in world-renowned festivals such as the Spoleto Festival dei due Mondi and with prestigious music associations such the Amici della Musica, Associazione Musicale Etnea and Fondazione Gioventù Musicale d’Italia.

In addition to her educational pursuits and freelance work, she is a founding member of The Mestizo Quartet that travels and performs. “I, along with other saxophonists from Costa Rica and Israel, created the group,” Caroline said. “Mestizo is a word from Spanish that translates to a person coming from a mixed cultural background, so we felt it described our quartet perfectly! We have been mostly based in Italy as a result of Covid, but we have performed from Sicily to the Alps for a variety of music festivals and cultural associations in cities including Rome, Florence, Bologna, Naples, Cremona and Messina. We missed several tours in the U.S. and Israel in 2020 due to the pandemic.”

From the 2013 Résumé, the GWA yearbook.

Currently she is making plans for several projects, including a duo with pianist Alexandra Tchernakova, performance collaborations with Italian artist Allesandro Roma, and recordings and performances with the Bologna-based music collective, Camerata degli Ammutinati. Caroline plans to stay in Italy to continue her work as a freelance musician and teacher. “The life of a freelancer can be quite challenging. It requires so many different skills and sometimes you have to create your own place and market in the world of traditional jobs. However, now that I’ve begun, I cannot see myself doing anything else.

I believe music, art and culture are so important, now more than ever. We look to the arts to remind ourselves of our humanity - what makes us human - what our experience in the world is and what it means. I’m excited to be a small part of that.”

This long journey to success started with a small seed planted at GWA. “I think the most important lessons I learned at GWA were how to be a self-starter and to always be curious to learn more. I learned all the skills I needed to be independent, disciplined, and creative. I began playing piano at an early age and then began saxophone in the sixth-grade band with Mr. Smith and Mr. Sneath. At the time, I had no idea I would still be playing all these years later.”

When she isn’t playing saxophone, Caroline enjoys traveling and hiking. “I live close to the Apennine Mountains in central Italy, outside of Bologna. Italy is such a diverse country and there are so many beautiful places to visit, so I am still soaking up all the culture I can.”