St. Bonaventure University

School of Arts & Sciences Faculty


Sabina, Leslie

Les Sabina, visual and performing arts

ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT
Visual and Performing Arts
ACADEMIC SCHOOL
School of Arts and Sciences

TITLES/RESPONSIBILITIES
Professor, Music
Chair, Department of Visual and Performing Arts
CONTACT
Office phone: (716) 375-2320
Send an email
OFFICE
Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, 205
COURSES TAUGHT
  • Jazz Studies
  • MU 121. Music Theory I 
  • MU 122. Music Theory II 
  • MU 431. MIDI and Audio Production
ACADEMIC DEGREES
  • Ph.D., Music Composition, Michigan State University, 1992
  • M.M., Studio Jazz Writing, University of Miami, 1984
  • B.Ed., Instrumental Music, University of Windsor, 1986
  • B.Mus., Performance, University of Toronto, 1981
OTHER EDUCATION
  • Banff Centre of the Arts
  • Eastman School of Music
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
  • Former Assistant Professor, University of Windsor (Canada)
  • Former Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of York (UK)
  • Former editor of the International Association for Jazz Education’s Jazz Education Journal
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
  • Jazz performances and recordings in Detroit, Toronto and Buffalo with J.C. Heard Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Billy Eckstine, Della Reese, Milt Hinton, Buddy Tate, Roger Kellaway, and many others.
  • Concert and nightclub performances with Temptations, Drifters, Manhattan Transfer, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Megan Hilty, Johnny Mathis, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others.
  • Over 100 big band and saxophone quartet compositions and arrangements published and internationally distributed by Kendor Music, Inc., and Alfred Music (Van Nuys, CA), the world's largest educational music publisher.
  • Many "Editor's Choice" awards from J.W. Pepper, one of the world's largest sheet music distributers.
  • Author of Jazz Arranging and Orchestration: A Concise Introduction, published by Schirmer/Wadsworth (now Cengage).
  • More than 40 transcriptions and analyses of jazz work by L. Armstrong, M. Davis, C. Parker, L. Young, etc., published by Jazz Journal UK.
  • Numerous scholarly papers on jazz published in journals and/or presented at international music conferences.
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS/PROJECTS
  • Playing saxophone with many WNY jazz combos; playing saxophone with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the BPO Big Band; playing electric bass with the LTM Trio, NY Standard Time, and the SBU Faculty Jazz Trio.
  • Composing and arranging music for jazz groups of all sizes.
  • Composing production music for modern media use. Distributed in the US and internationally by Warner Chappell Production Music. Listen
  • Composing and producing meditation/relaxation music under the name Bending Time, and LoFi/Chill Jazz under the name UD 35-90. Tracks are found on all digital streaming services, such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
PERSONAL INTERESTS/COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
LINKS