Biography

Paul Alexander Lessard is a composer, saxophonist, educator, and man with way too many toques. Armed with a sharp musical wit, Dr. Lessard has developed a unique language that juxtaposes the rhythmic with the lyrical, the serious with the zany, and the absurd with the sensible. A key component to his technique is controlling the physical movement of performance as a musical parameter, leading to works that provide innovative challenges for the performers that dare attempt them – a growing list which currently includes chamber groups from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, pianist Stephanie Chua, the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble, tubist Ian Feenstra, and the Trinity Laban Conservatoire (UK) Saxophone Choir.

As a saxophonist, Dr. Lessard has performed across North America and Europe in genres ranging from classical and jazz to funk and punk. He has appeared as a soloist alongside concert bands, orchestras, and choirs, and has given numerous solo and chamber recitals, including at North American Saxophone Alliance conferences, the United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium and the 2018 World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb. His efforts to promote new music have led to premieres of several works, by composers including Avner Dorman, Piet Swerts, and Paul Richards.

Dr. Lessard joined East Tennessee State University in the fall of 2022, teaching music theory and composition. He holds degrees from the University of Toronto (D.M.A., Music Composition), the University of Florida (M.M., Music Performance and Composition), and Gettysburg College (B.S., Physics and Music). His primary composition teachers were Gary Kulesha, James Paul Sain, Paul Richards, and Avner Dorman. He lives with his partner and their “oh-my-God-she’s-so-adorable” dog, Luna.

Things I am:

  • Composer

  • Saxophonist

  • Educator

  • Flutist

  • Clarinetist (up for debate)

  • Foodie

  • Physicist

  • Habitual toque-wearer

  • Walking advertisement for this one really good falafel place in Toronto

  • Guy who absolutely hates long walks on the beach

  • Collector of absurd socks

  • Musician who’s actually starting to enjoy practicing scales (but admits that at this point it might just be Stockholm Syndrome)

  • Aspiring coffee snob

 

Photo credit: Arnulfo Armaya