Mikayla Peterson

Mikayla Peterson is a saxophonist and educator based in Denton. She currently serves as the Adjunct Instructor of Saxophone at the University of North Texas and maintains a studio of aspiring young saxophonists from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. 

Peterson is an alumna of the University of North Texas, where she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in saxophone performance, with a related field in music education. Her final project was informed by other gender studies in music education and the students she teaches daily. Peterson’s dissertation, titled “Finding a Place in the Band Room: The Female Saxophonist’s Self-Concept, Identity, and Experience,” explored the lived experiences of female saxophonists in two contrasting environments: a single-gender and a co-educational high school. Providing a voice to students in these underrepresented communities was central to her work and was guided by Dr. Peterson’s commitment to equality in music education and performance.

As a dedicated educator and performer, Dr. Peterson strives to serve as a role model for her students while actively maintaining her performance career. She is currently the alto chair and a founding member of the Lotus Saxophone Quartet: a GRAMMY-affiliate-nominated ensemble that strives to showcase contemporary works by living composers of diverse backgrounds. The ensemble has performed internationally, having given recent performances at the 19th World Saxophone Congress in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, and the United States Navy Band Symposium in Fairfax, Virginia. Lotus recently performed Viet Cuong’s piece, “Second Nature,” with the University of North Texas Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Amy Woody, and was recognized for their inclusion on the GRAMMY-nominated album, “Impossible Dream” by Broadway artist, Aaron Lazar. This album includes collaborations with artists such as Josh Groban, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Odom Jr., Rebecca Luker, Sting, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kristin Chenoweth, and Loren Allred, among others.

Additionally, Peterson performed as a member of the North Texas Wind Symphony under the direction of Professor Eugene Migliaro Corporon during the completion of her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. She can be heard on the ensemble's newly recorded CDs, “Closure and Respair” (2023), and on the 2024 Latin GRAMMY-nominated recording of “Caribbean Berceuse” by Paquito D’Rivera performed with the Barcelona Clarinet Players.

As a student at the University of Wyoming, she was named a National Finalist in the 2017 MTNA Young Artist Competition and was awarded first prize in the 2019 Dorothy Jacoby Concerto Competition with her performance of Henri Tomasi's “Concerto.” She has since performed for distinguished saxophonists including Claude Delangle, Timothy McAllister, Dan Goble and Erik Steighner. Peterson can be heard as the lead tenor saxophonist on the Wyoming Jazz Ensemble’s first commercially recorded album, “Winds of the Snowys.” 

In each of the educational scenarios she has instructed, Dr. Peterson strives to build a space of creativity and an inclusive environment where each student feels safe and valued. Before her appointment at the University of North Texas, she served as a Teaching Fellow for the UNT saxophone studio and UNT music business program and taught a career readiness course at UNT to aspiring undergraduate music performance and education majors preparing to enter the field. She also worked as a saxophone instructor in the Denton Independent School District and as an elementary music teacher at Redeemer Montessori School in Irving, Texas.

Dr. Peterson’s primary teachers include Eric Nestler, Scott Turpen and Jennifer Turpen.

For more information, please visit her website: www.mikaylalisapeterson.com