Saxophonist Simon Haram has an orientation toward contemporary music and has premiered many new works. He is also a prominent educator who has taught at several of Britain's top music schools. Haram has an interest in recording technology and has done editing and production work on various albums. His recordings include an appearance on the album Graham Fitkin: Loosening in 2024. Haram was born in Liverpool in 1969. He attended the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, studying with top saxophonist John Harle and graduating in 1992 with distinction. Haram won various honors at school and early in his career, and he was the first wind player ever accepted for the Young Classical Artists Trust award. In 1994, he appeared on his first recordings, which included Sax Pax for a Sax, by the composer Moondog. He joined his teacher the following year on the album John Harle's Saxophone Songbook. His first solo album, On Fire, appeared in 1997 on the Black Box Classics label. The program on that album, consisting entirely of contemporary works, has been typical of Haram's career. He has worked with such composers as Graham Fitkin (in whose Graham Fitkin Group he has performed), Andrew Poppy, and Dave Heath. He has performed as a soloist with the London Sinfonietta (which has commissioned three new works for him to play), multiple top British symphony orchestras, and groups abroad, including the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2008, he performed at the composer's invitation in the premiere of Harrison Birtwistle's opera The Minotaur at the Covent Garden Opera House. Haram is frequently active as a chamber musician, having performed with the Duke Quartet, percussionist Daniella Ganeva, and pianist Scott Mitchell, among others, and he has contributed to various theatrical productions. He has recorded for Black Box and Naxos, among other labels, and has done production work for recordings on many other labels. In 2024, he was heard on the Signum Classics label on the album Graham Fitkin: Loosening. Haram is professor of saxophone at the Royal Academy of Music and has also taught at the Guildhall School, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, and the Royal Northern College of Music, as well as giving master classes in Britain and abroad. ~ James Manheim, Rovi