Nicholls State University
Quartetto Obrigado
Taylor Barbay Assad is an active member of the professional saxophone community and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in France, Scotland, Croatia, and all over the United States. As an advocate for new music, she has premiered works for solo saxophone, saxophone and live electronics, saxophone and fixed media, saxophone duo, chamber ensemble, and saxophone quartet. Her work in the commissioning of various compositional projects led to her dissertation titled “Insights into the Collaborative Process between Electronic Music Composers and Commissioning Saxophonists.” In this project, she explored the relationships between composers and performers and examined case studies of completed commissioned new works for saxophone and electronics. She has performed at the Electric LaTex Festival, the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, New Music DePaul, the Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, NOLA Chamber Fest, at North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial and Regional Conferences, and at the World Saxophone Congress.
Dr. Assad is a founding member of Quartetto Obrigado, a Louisiana-based professional saxophone quartet. The ensemble regularly performs new commissioned music and standard saxophone quartet repertoire at North American Saxophone Conferences and at World Saxophone Congress conferences. Quartetto Obrigado collaborated with Red Shift Choir for a performance of Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits’ Hymns from the Western Coast. They also premiered David Stock’s Circling the Square for saxophone quartet and marimba with Dr. Gustavo Miranda at the 2019 Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
As a jazz musician and doubler, Dr. Assad has performed with industry greats such as the Four Tops, Johnny Mathis, and the Harry James Jazz Orchestra. She has performed with the Ocala Symphony Orchestra and with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she performs with Minos the Saint, an eclectic chamber-folk ensemble with Cajun and Zydeco influence and elements of music from the Eastern European, Latin, and jazz traditions. Dr. Assad routinely directs sectionals and gives clinics and masterclasses throughout Louisiana. She directed a group of over thirty saxophonists from Louisiana universities at the Regional North American Saxophone Alliance Conference in Oxford, Mississippi. Students of her private studio routinely make the Louisiana All-State Symphonic Band, Concert Band, and Jazz Ensemble.
Dr. Assad teaches saxophone, flute, and jazz at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. She has degrees with concentrations in Music Education, Music Performance, and Arts Administration. Her primary teachers include Griffin Campbell, Jonathan Helton, and Geoffrey Deibel. She performs exclusively on Selmer saxophones and is a Vandoren Artist-Clinician.
tassad3@gmail.com