Caption: Musician and University of Colorado Boulder professor, Stratøs, playing the saxophone in a music technology class on Feb. 17, 2026 (Avery Clifton/The Bold)

By Avery Clifton

The audience in the music hall sits in hushed anticipation. Stratøs steps out on the shiny wood stage, acknowledging them with only a nod. After taking his place at center stage, his sleek, curved saxophone in hand, the hall fills with his signature electronic notes.   

“It’s become an integral part of my sound,” Stratøs said. 

Stratøs is a saxophonist, composer, producer, photographer and cinematographer. In addition, he teaches students to find their artistic voice as a composition professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. 

“When you dedicate yourself to artwork, there’s more than enough time for several disciplines,” he said. 

The musician’s artistry began in Michigan when he went by the name Eddie Codrington, and he started playing the saxophone, flute and clarinet in high school. He said that the saxophone was the only instrument he played seriously. 

Stratøs attended West Michigan University for his undergraduate and master’s degrees in jazz studies. He independently studied music composition, audio engineering, photography and cinematography. He developed his stage name shortly before releasing his first album “Planets” in 2021.

“The idea behind that was to kind of make, like, a singular identity that would be synonymous with visual arts and music, to try to make things less confusing,” he said. 

The album was self-written, composed and produced. Each song is named for a planet in the solar system. He said the theme allowed him to use multiple composition styles while still being marketable. 

In 2022, he moved to Los Angeles and worked with other artists. He wrote music with the likes of Charlie Burg, including “Lancaster Nights” featured in the 2023 romantic comedy “Anyone But You.” 

His current project, “Challenger Deep” is inspired by his late grandfather, a fisherman in Barbados. The album details a fictional story where his grandfather descends to the lowest point in the ocean. 

“There’s like, cities and cities of people and their stories who have yet to be told down there,” Stratøs said. 

The project will include a photobook of his relatives in Barbados and short films about the production. He sees it as dissolving the typical boundaries of his artform and said that he likes his albums to invite other forms of storytelling. 

“I would describe myself as kind of like a world building type composer,” he said. 

While he produces integrated art projects, Stratøs still finds the pressure to work in one discipline discouraging, as specializing in one art form is more marketable.  

“It’s just that we live in a society now where it’s easier to market something if it’s specialized, if we can brand it,” he said. 

Despite its challenges, Stratøs says that being a multidisciplinary artist also has its benefits, professionally and creatively.  

“My, sort of like database of connections and network is a little bit wider because it includes photographers and visual artists,” he said. 

One of those connections is Adam Hersh, who has played the keyboard for Stratøs in the past. Hersh said that Stratøs focused on giving his collaborating musicians creative freedom, and that he was a relaxed and open leader on the stage. 

“I think he really trusts the musicians to create something with him,” Hersh said. 

Creative freedom is also important to Stratøs as an instructor. He hopes to give students the tools to express themselves. 

“I’m very interested in helping people, you know, in their time on this earth as artists, make the artistic statement that is the most them,” Stratøs said.  

CU musicology professor Jermey Smith recalls observing Stratøs in an individual student session, moving between a shiny black piano and a wooden desk with audio software displayed on a computer. He says that Stratøs encouraged the student to experiment with the music and emboldened her personal expression.   

“Stratøs accepted that things might start very small and then he showed you how rich it could be,” Smith said. 

Stratøs’ goal is for students to define themselves as musicians where in the ever-changing music industry, artistry must be their focus. 

According to Stratøs, some students want to focus on how to get music deals, but he says entering art making from that perspective sets them up to fail.

“If you got to figure stuff out, you still have this thing that no one can take away from,” Stratøs said.