Thomas Liley has performed throughout the United States and in Canada, China, Eastern Europe, and Thailand in solo and chamber music recitals and as a soloist with well-known conductors such as Karel Husa, Sir Vivian Dunn, David Gregory, and James Barnes. In 2007 and 2011 Liley presented master classes and recitals at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, China, and in 2009 and 2011 he performed, taught, and lectured at the Hong Kong International Saxophone Symposium.
A charter member of the World Saxophone Congress, Liley serves on the Comité International de Saxophone. He has long been involved with the North American Saxophone Alliance and is a member of the Executive Board, serving as Director of Scholarly Publications. Articles and reviews by and about Liley have appeared around the world. Named "the acknowledged scholar of the saxophone" in England and "the saxophone encyclopedia" in China, he is co-author of the highly acclaimed book The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone, author of A Brief History of the World Saxophone Congress, and editor of the biography Larry Teal: There Will Never Be Another You. His most recent book is Eugene Rousseau: With Casual Brilliance.
As a member of the U. S. Navy Band in Washington, DC, Liley toured the country and performed for dignitaries at the White House. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Music in Saxophone with Distinction by Indiana University, where he studied with the internationally renowned virtuoso Eugene Rousseau. Liley has been Guest Professor of Saxophone at Indiana University, the University of Minnesota, Kansas State University, and the University of Iowa. Liley has been a Yamaha Performing Artist since 1982.
