Wayne Hoey was born and raised in Lynn, Massachusetts. Wayne started playing Yamaha saxophones early in his career as a United States Army musician. His military assignments included Ft. Devens, Massachusetts; Ft. Monmouth, NJ; Ft. Leonard Wood, MO; Ft. Gordon, GA; and three tours to Yongsan and Camp Casey, South Korea. He has performed with many professional artists throughout his career, to include Yamaha Artists Michael Dease and Wycliffe Gordon. After his first retirement from the Army, he settled in Augusta, Georgia, actively playing in the ensembles he started, the Sophisticated Swing Big Band and the six-piece group All That Jazz. All That Jazz performed along the East Coast from Florida to Massachusetts. All That Jazz also traveled to Takarazuka, Japan to perform, representing Augusta, Georgia in their sister city program.
Wayne moved to Colorado and attended Colorado State University earning a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. After just playing professionally for so many years, he now enjoys teaching and mentoring music students. Wayne retired a second time as Director of Bands at Jenkins Middle School in Colorado Springs. He played regularly with the Little London Winds Concert Band, Dwight Shaw Big Band, Swing Factory Big Band, and other Colorado performing groups.
Wayne now resides in Augusta, Georgia, where he directs the Augusta University Conservatory Middle School Jazz Ensemble. His love of the old big bands led him to create his own sound with The Wayne Hoey Big Band. Wayne performs regularly with the Savannah River Winds Concert Band, Augusta Concert Band, and the Columbia County Wind Symphony. He has directed Georgia and South Carolina Honor Jazz Bands.
