Beth Schenck is a San Francisco based saxophonist, composer and educator. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2013, Beth has become a distinguished performer in the West Coast jazz, improvised and chamber music scenes. Her current projects as a leader/composer include works for solo saxophone, her saxophone quartet Social Stutter (Kasey Knudsen, Phillip Greenlief, Cory Wright),  Beth Schenck Quintet (with Cory Wright, Matt Wrobel, Lisa Mezzacappa, and Jordan Glenn) and House of Faern (Jenny Scheinman, Matthew Wrobel and John Wood). Each of these projects showcase Beth's versatility and commitment to pushing musical boundaries.

As a composer, Beth has written music for the Sunset Jazz Festival (Nagasaki, Japan), Women’s Work Festival (New York City), Outsound Summit (SF), Silla Festival (Korea) and schools in NYC, LA and SF. 

Beth’s music has been described by critics as “frank and beautiful” (Greg Burk), “reliably enthralling.” “light and luminous” and “transporting” (Andrew Gilbert). 

Beth heads the music department at San Francisco Day School, where she also directs the jazz program. In addition to teaching full time at SF Day School, Beth teaches through the Stanford Jazz Workshop, adjudicates the Reno Jazz Festival and coaches woodwind sectionals at several Bay Area high schools. Her dedication to jazz education extends to her role as the middle school representative for the California Alliance for Jazz, where she advocates for jazz education statewide.

For more about Beth’s projects and performances, visit bethschenck.com.