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Noam Lemish

Pianist - Composer - Educator - Scholar

About Me

Dr. Noam Lemish is a pianist, composer, scholar and educator. He has appeared in numerous performances and conducted workshops across Canada, the US, Europe, and in Bhutan and has released multiple albums, including most recently the JUNO-nominated Twelve (2022) and Erlebnisse (2021). His research focuses primarily on transcultural jazz practices and improvisation pedagogy. His teaching interests cover a wide variety of areas within jazz studies, as well as composition, Jewish music, open-improvisation and the practice of Deep Listening.

In many ways, Lemish’s transcultural identity is reflected in his music. Over the course of a quarter century of musical creation he’s always sought to expand the scope of his exploration, often blurring or ignoring deeply etched boundaries between genres, peoples, and traditions. He’s a jazz artist and a classical composer of chamber works, an improviser and an accompanist, an intrepid cross-cultural investigator and an interpreter of contemporary composition.

Lemish is presently engaged in a diverse array of projects including leading the Noam Lemish Quartet, co-leading a quartet with oudist/guitarist Amos Hoffman, a duo with percussionist George Marsh as well as premiering and recording the piano music of composer W.A. Mathieu. His compositions include jazz works for small and large ensembles, chamber, choral, piano, and “The People’s King”: a commissioned transcultural suite in celebration the King of Bhutan’s 30th birthday composed while teaching music in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan in 2010.

Lemish serves as Associate Professor and Jazz Area Coordinator at York University in Toronto. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Jazz Performance and a Masters degree in Composition from the University of Toronto.