Leigh Pilzer

Appointed Fall 2005

Leigh Pilzer is a Washington, D.C.-based saxophonist, arranger and educator. She has led her small groups at many of D.C.’s top jazz venues and has toured extensively as a member of both the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and The DIVA Jazz Orchestra. Pilzer often performs with the National Symphony Orchestra in concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and on the orchestra’s nationally televised PBS holiday specials. 

Pilzer is a gifted composer and arranger whose work is in the libraries of the SJMO and DIVA as well as military, college and professional jazz ensembles throughout the country. Recorded arrangements include her original composition East Coast Andy, the opening track on The DIVA Jazz Orchestra 25th Anniversary Project and horn parts on releases by Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy. She also wrote the orchestrations for the touring and off-Broadway versions of Maurice Hines Tappin’ Thru Life.

Pilzer holds a doctorate from George Mason University, two master’s degrees from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree from the Berklee College of Music. She has served on faculty at the University of Maryland, Towson University and George Mason University, teaching Jazz Theory; Jazz Arranging; Jazz History; and Fundamentals of Rock, Blues and Jazz.