Equally adept at both the classical and jazz repertoire, saxophonist Dr. Paul J. Forsyth has performed recitals and taught masterclasses at numerous concert halls, universities, and conferences around the world. Dr. Forsyth has been featured as a soloist and chamber musician at John Donald Robb Composer Symposiums, numerous North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences, World Saxophone Congresses, and International Saxophone Symposiums. He has been instrumental in commissioning several new works for solo saxophone, saxophone quartet, and saxophone/oboe duo. As a top-call saxophonist in northern Louisiana, he has performed with such performers as Regis Philbin, Lew Soloff, The Temptations, and Bobby Vinton. In 2012, Dr. Forsyth was named the Collegiate Division Chairman of the Louisiana Association for Jazz Educators (LAJE).
Dr. Forsyth joined the faculty of Northwestern State University in the fall of 2007, and currently serves as Associate Professor of Saxophone. In the past, he has been on the faculties of Albion College, Spring Arbor University, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. He received his doctoral and master's degrees in saxophone performance from Michigan State University and his bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Tennessee. His primary professors include Joseph Lulloff, Diego Rivera, Ron Blake, Paul Haar, and Mark Tucker.
Dr. Forsyth is also a member of two renowned chamber ensembles, the Iridium Quartet and the Three Reeds Duo. Drawing upon a rich history of over ten years of shared collaboration, saxophonists Paul Nolen, Marcos Colón, Paul Forsyth, and Eric Lau join forces in the acclaimed Iridium Quartet. Praised by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Colgrass as giving "a stunning performance … with elegance and grace," the quartet has appeared throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, and in the U.K.
Iridium has appeared as headliners and artists-in-residence at the Festival of New American Music (FeNAM) in Sacramento, CA, and at the John Donald Robb Composers' Symposium in Albuquerque, NM, as well as at universities such as the University of Houston and Texas A&M University. In 2012, the Iridium Quartet was a recipient of a prestigious Aaron Copland Fund Recording Grant, allowing the quartet to record its first record of new American music, Into Xylonia. A staunch supporter of new music, the Iridium Quartet has commissioned and premiered major works by composers Marcus Maroney, David Maslanka, Sonia Morales, Ben Stonaker, and Carl Schimmel.
The Three Reeds Duo, with co-founder and oboist Leah Forsyth, has begun building a repertoire that spans from baroque and classical transcriptions to contemporary concert literature. This ensemble has performed in a variety of venues throughout the U.S. and abroad, from weddings to the World Saxophone Congresses. In 2011, the Three Reeds Duo was the winner of the Derby Professorship at Northwestern State University. Through this grant, Three Reeds commissioned four new works for oboe/saxophone duo and premiered these works at the 2012 NASA Conference in Phoenix and the 2012 World Saxophone Congress in Scotland.
Dr. Forsyth is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
