The Ensemble

The New York metropolitan area-based Cobalt Quartet was born of a deep passion for exceptional music as well as a common vision for the saxophone quartet as a vehicle for the highest levels of artistry. The quartet is particularly interested in presenting modern compositions by living composers alongside the very best of the repertoire and lesser-known contemporary works, whether written originally for saxophone or transcribed. Since its founding in 2017, the ensemble has presented varied and exciting programs with several partners including: the Asian Women Composers Association of NYC, Concrete Timbre, Andrew Koss, the Megalopolis Saxophone Orchestra, the Long Island Composers Alliance, the New York Composers Circle, the New Jersey Wind Symphony, and the New York Women Composers.

Raymond KellySoprano

Raymond Kelly is an accomplished saxophonist and educator based in the New York metropolitan area. He is a founding member of the Cobalt Quartet, a saxophone ensemble dedicated to performing modern compositions by living composers alongside classic and lesser-known works. The quartet has collaborated with various organizations, including the Asian Women Composers Association of NYC, the New Jersey Wind Symphony, the New York Composers Circle (NYCC), and the Long Island Composers Alliance (LICA).

In addition to his academic achievements, Kelly has an active performance career. He has performed with ensembles such as the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, The Metro Symphony Orchestra, and the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet. He was the winner of the 2016 Graduate Concerto Competition at Rutgers University, performing Frank Martin's Ballade for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra.

Kelly earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from Rutgers in 2023, studying under Paul Cohen. He also holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music and Oberlin Conservatory, having studied with Timothy Ruedeman, James Umble, and jazz legend Gary Bartz.

Anthony IzzoAlto

Anthony Izzo received his masters in classical saxophone performance at the Aaron Copland School of Music. He has given world premieres of works by notable composers such as Leo Kraft, Saman Samadi and John Szto. He has performed all over the NYC area and in many venues in Long Island. In addition to performing, Anthony has written many solo and small ensemble works. He has written concert music, animation music and video game music. At ACSM, he was the president of the Composers Workshop, a notable group of student composers that hire professional ensembles and soloists to perform their music. Anthony studied saxophone with Dr. Paul Cohen and composition with Mikael Karlsson and John Wykoff. He is currently an elementary school music teacher in Maspeth, Queens and teaches grades K – 2.

Ryan MantellTenor

Ryan Mantell is a New Jersey based saxophonist and teacher. He has taught instrumental music in New Jersey at all levels K-12, and maintains a private studio of saxophone students as well. He is an active performer in New Jersey and New York, playing saxophone regularly for the New Jersey Wind Symphony, the Megalopolis Saxophone Orchestra, and the Hudson Valley Saxophone Orchestra. Ryan is the founder and director of the North Jersey Youth Saxophone Ensemble, an initiative to bring a unique chamber music experience to high school age saxophone students in northern New Jersey. Ryan earned a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from Rutgers University, as well as a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree with Performance Honors from Syracuse University.

Josh LangBaritone

Josh Lang is a saxophonist who lives in Brooklyn. He studied under Dr. Jonathan Bergeron at Northern Arizona University and has performed across the country and in Germany and Poland. He's worked with several saxophone quartets, wind ensembles, choirs, and new music groups since moving to New York, and those initial collaborations have transformed into a handful of regular appointments including Cobalt Quartet. Besides those, he occasionally records new pieces with composers from the Manhattan School of Music and New York University.

Josh has also done quite of bit of engraving and arranging. Some notable highlights would include his editions of Zdeněk Lukáš' works for saxophone quartet and his editorial work on a 15-song children's musical, The Grouch and the Love Bug, for which he did more than just arrange and engrave: he also harmonized, orchestrated, and produced backing tracks.