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A-State Closing Early Thursday, Jan. 9, Closed Friday

Arkansas State University is closing all academic and business offices at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, and remaining closed on Friday, Jan 10, in response to the incoming inclement weather.

However, while regular business offices are not open, the campus continues to operate. Essential personnel who maintain on-campus activities, including University Housing, Dining Services and Facilities Management, will report to work. Employees who are uncertain about their status as “essential personnel” are encouraged to check with their supervisor.

Full-time employees who track working hours can submit their time as “Authorized Leave.”

Revised Facility Hours:

  • Dining Services will operate under brunch hours at Acansa Dining Hall from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.  Dinner service will begin at 4:30 p.m. and end at 7 p.m.  Howl's Grill and Starbucks will be open from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.  
  • The Dean B. Ellis Library will be closed, but is scheduled to reopen on Sunday, Jan. 12, from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m.
  • The Reng Student Union will open for on-campus student usage at 8 a.m., closing at 8 p.m.
  • The Red WOLF Center will be closed.
  • The A-State Bookstore will be open on Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

All campus residents are reminded to monitor official university media, including official social media accounts for updates. 

Emergency Contact
University Police
870-972-2093

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Dr. Paul Lessard

Instructor of Theory & Composition

Theory & Composition Area Coordinator

Education

  • D.M.A., University of Toronto, Music Composition
  • M.M., University of Florida, Composition and Saxophone Performance
  • B.S., Gettysburg College, Physics and Music

Teaching Specialties

  • Composition
  • Orchestration
  • Music Theory

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 compositional language built on juxtapositions of musical style and absurd over-the-top showmanship. His recent works engage with recent scholarship on performative effort, treating the physical difficulty 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 the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble, the Trinity Laban Conservatoire Saxophone Choir, the new music duo Slair, and a litany of soloists including soprano Midori Marsh, pianist Stephanie Chua, tubist Ian Feenstra, and saxophonist Brendan Catalano.

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 and the World Saxophone Congresses in Zagreb (2018) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaría (2023). His efforts to promote new music have led to premieres of several works, by composers including Avner Dorman, Piet Swerts, Paul Richards, and Dr. Lessard himself.

Dr. Lessard is a full-time instructor of music theory and composition at Arkansas State University, and previously taught at East Tennessee State University. He holds degrees from the University of Toronto, the University of Florida, and Gettysburg College. 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.

Dr. Paul Lessard