Gerard McChrystal is an award-winning saxophonist from Derry, Northern Ireland. He took up the saxophone in 1982 and trained at the RNCM, Manchester, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, and Northwestern University, Chicago, becoming the first RNCM student to graduate with three awards. A passionate advocate for new music, especially by Irish composers, he has premiered works by figures including Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Sir Malcolm Arnold, James MacMillan and John Metcalf, and collaborated with Philip Glass, Rambert Dance Company, London Musici, the Soweto String Quartet, the Smith Quartet and guitarist Craig Ogden. He has performed in over thirty-five countries and made fifteen recordings with orchestras such as BBC NOW and the Ulster Orchestra. McChrystal is Professor of Saxophone at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London, and also teaches at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. A 2025 Divine Art album features music by Edward Cowie written for him.