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 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 during a recital performance at the Regional North American Saxophone Alliance Conference in Oxford, Mississippi. Students of her private studio routinely make the Louisiana All-State Symphonic, Concert, and Jazz Bands.

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 on Selmer Paris saxophones and is a Vandoren Artist-Clinician.

Dr. Assad is a founding member of Quartetto Obrigado, a professional saxophone quartet with members from various universities in Louisiana. The ensemble regularly performs both new commissioned music and standard repertoire for the saxophone quartet. Most recently, Quartetto Obrigado worked with Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits for a performance of his Hymns from the Western Coast for saxophone quartet and choir. Quartetto Obrigado will perform David Stock’s Circling the Square for saxophone quartet and marimba at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention with Dr. Gustavo Miranda in November of 2019. Quartetto Obrigado also plans to perform at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference in March, 2020 at Arizona State University and at the World Saxophone Congress in Kurashiki City, Japan in 2021.  

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 regularly performs with the Baton Rouge Symphony, playing iconic orchestral solos such as Ravel’s Bolero and on several Pops Series concerts. 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. She also routinely gives masterclasses throughout South Louisiana. Students of her private studio routinely make the Louisiana All-State Symphonic, Concert, and Jazz Bands. She recently directed a group of saxophone students from Nicholls and other Louisiana universities in during a recital performance at the Regional North American Saxophone Alliance Conference in Oxford, Mississippi.

Dr. Assad teaches 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 is a Vandoren Regional Artist and performs exclusively on Selmer Paris saxophones.