Joseph S. Lyons is Ensemble Director and principal saxophonist of the Albireo New Music Collective and baritone chair of the Sharp2Science Quartet. Lyons has performed at several international, national, and regional conferences and festivals, including the 2018-2020 US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposiums, 2016 NASA Biennial Conference, and 2015, 2019, and 2021 NASA Region VI Conferences. Other highlights include a concert with the Stephen F. Austin State University Symphony Orchestra, a concerto performance with the Georgia State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and winning the GSU School of Music 2020 Dean’s Award. Lyons has also earned competitive honors in the 2021 NASA Region 4 Solo Competition, 2019 GSU Honors Recital, 2019 NASA Region 6 Quartet Competition, and 2018 Georgia MTNA Young Artist and Chamber Music Competitions. In January 2021, he was selected as a 1st Prize Winner in the 2021 ODIN International Music Competition.
A champion of new music, Lyons co-founded the Albireo New Music Collective, a group of composers and performers dedicated to the creation, performance, and recording of new music in a virtual setting during the COVID-19 Pandemic and beyond. Lyons has premiered new works in Georgia, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Virginia, and Texas; he has also premiered several new works virtually. Some of his recent projects include two new wind sextets with the Albireo New Music Collective, a series of recordings of short, unaccompanied works from the “Snapshots” Commissioning Project, and several premieres with the Sharp2Science 4TET.
As an undergraduate student at the University of Georgia, Lyons studied both saxophone and cello. He was a founding member of the Hodgson Reed Quintet, UGA’s first student reed quintet. Lyons also performed at the 2017 CBDNA National Conference with the Hodgson Wind Ensemble, and performed and lectured on tour throughout Georgia with the “quote-un-quote” Saxophone Quartet in May 2016. Lyons has received additional studies at the Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute and American Saxophone Academy, and he has performed in masterclasses taught by Allison Adams, Claude Delangle, Timothy McAllister, Otis Murphy, Phil Pierick, Debra Richtmeyer, John Sampen, Dale Underwood, and Vladislav Vals.
An active educator, Lyons has taught students whose ages range from preschool to adults, and whose range from beginners to graduate students. Lyons has extensive drum corps experience, including four summers touring with the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps (2014-2017) and two summers with Atlanta CV Drum & Bugle Corps (2011-2012); he won a DCI World Championship in 2016 and was the Bluecoats Mellophone Section Leader in 2017. AT SFASU, Lyons directed the Saxophone Ensemble. Lyons was a Graduate Assistant for the GSU Panther Marching Band, and he has taught and designed for Milton High School’s award-winning marching band and indoor drumline. Lyons has also taught saxophone, mellophone, and chamber music at Milton HS, and currently maintains an online saxophone studio. Lyons' students have received honors at the GMEA Solo & Ensemble Festival, WGI World Championships, and Bands of America Competitions; many of his students have also earned contracts with World Class DCI and WGI groups.
Lyons holds degrees from the University of Georgia (BME), Georgia State University (MM), and Stephen F. Austin State University (PAC). He currently resides in Columbia, SC where he is pursuing a DMA in Saxophone Performance from the University of South Carolina. His primary saxophone teachers are Connie Frigo, Jan Berry Baker, Nathan Nabb, and Clifford Leaman.