The 2023–24 David P. ’60 and Susan W. Wohluester Jazz Ensemble Composition Contest welcomed award-winning jazz saxophonist Alexa Tarantino for her second guest performance April 27. It is not often that a guest performer returns for a second time. Tarantino’s return is a reflection of her extremely impressive career as a musician. 

The origins of Alexa Tarantino, a guest saxophonist at Ithaca College, as a jazz artist trace back to her hometown. Tarantino grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, where she started playing the saxophone...