GianCarlo Devanii Lay

GianCarlo Devanii Lay is a Latin-American saxophonist and composer from Dallas, Texas. With story-telling and connectivity at the root of his performance style, GianCarlo has impacted audiences across the U.S. through his work on the concert stage and on social media.

GianCarlo’s passion for the arts began with dance. As a young boy, he enjoyed creating his own hip-hop choreos and performing them at large-scale dance congresses. This love for performing had planted the seed which eventually became his career as a musician. GianCarlo started learning to play saxophone during the 6th grade, and he eventually found a home in the classical competition circuit, earning top placements in major solo and chamber competitions such as NASA, MTNA, and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.

It wasn’t until his first year in college that he discovered his enthusiasm for composition and adopted the name Devanii as his composer alias. His first composition for saxophone and fixed electronics, Glitch, was a multi-faceted work that attempted to merge his abilities as a saxophonist, dancer, lyricist, and music producer. Although the piece was largely experimental, it laid the groundwork for what soon became a new direction for GianCarlo’s career. Since then, Devanii’s work has been performed across the U.S. and can be found on streaming platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, and more.

At the heart of every composition, and performance is GianCarlo’s desire to forge genuine human connection and to create music in a way that inspires and uplifts the community.