Moscow Chamber Orchestra

Konstantin Safyanov was born in Moscow in 1983. At the age of 10, he began to study saxophone at the Grechaninov Children's Music School No. 28 with Vitaly Matveev. At the same time, he also studied piano and improvisation with Pyotr Petrukhin, who encouraged his students to join his new creation, The 21st Century ensemble, which has appeared at numerous festivals and competitions in Russia and abroad, and also recorded in the USA as part of the Moskats project. 

After graduating from the Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music at Gnessin Academy (class of Sergey Rezantsev) in 2002, Konstantin Safyanov pursued his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Moscow State Institute of Culture. He has been teaching saxophone at Children's Music School No. 28 since 2004, and, also at the Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music since 2005.

Konstantin Safyanov is a prize-winner of the International Instrumental Soloists Competition of the Classical Heritage Association (1997), Khrustalny Kamerton (Crystal Tuning Fork) National Competition of Young Composers in Jazz category (1998), and 1st Moscow Glazunov International Saxophone Classical Competition (1999). He is also a New Names programme scholar. 

At present, he leads the alto saxophone section of the Igor Butman Moscow Jazz Orchestra, while being a member of the Moscow group Simply Band and Jazz Dance Orchestra. He also collaborates with A-trio takes part in projects of the trumpeter Vadim Eilenkrig, and appears at European festivals as part of Hallgeir Pedersen guitar quartet. 

As part of the Igor Butman orchestra, Konstantin Safyanov has toured in Europe, the USA, Israel, Australia, Japan, and appeared at most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Symphony Hall in Boston, as well as in famous clubs such as Dizzie's Club, Coca-cola, Birdland, Iridium, Blues Alley and others. He has taken part in jazz festivals in Vadsø (Norway), Bielsko-Biała (Poland), Santa Barbara (USA), Umbria (Italy), to name but a few. 

The musician has collaborated with jazz accordionist Yevgeny Lebedev and pianist and composer Alexey Chernakov, played in the Cadence Millennium ensemble led by German Lukyanov, and also performed with Randy Brecker, Gary Barts, Joe Locke, George Benson, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Lovno and other world jazz stars.