BIO

Leonard is one of the most inventive and adventuresome artist in new music today. Leonard's work has ranged from traditional jazz performance, solo concerts for saxophone and electronics, collaborations with top Cuban musicians, works for orchestra as well as sound and music for dance, theater, performance and installation.

Leonard's collaborative work with visual artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons was featured by the 49th Venice Biennial, Museum of Modern Art (NYC), purchased by the National Gallery of Canada and presented by the U.S. State Department at Dakar Biennial. Leonard composed the music for Relatives, by Tony Oursler and Constance DeJong that was featured by the Whitney Biennial and the ICA (Boston).

His ensemble and collective projects featured Marshall Allen, Bruce Barth, Don Byron, Uri Caine, Kenwood Dennard, Robin Eubanks, Frank Lacy, Oriente Lopez, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Badal Roy, Jamaaladeen Tacuma. Leonard’s "Dreaming of an Island", (for orchestra, electronics and live-video) was premiered by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. Leonard's composition Totems was premiered at Carnegie Hall by Byron and Caine. Leonard's "Echoes and Footsteps" was featured by the Tel Aviv Biennial for New Music, Issue Project Room (NYC) and the Auditorium di Roma.

Leonard performed and recorded with Afrocuba, Marshall Allen, Victor Bailey, Guillermo Barretto, Boston Ballet, Bruce Barth, Hiram Bullock, Don Byron, Uri Caine, Vic Chesnutt, Dominique Eade, Kevin Eubanks, Robin Eubanks Bill Frisell, Leroy Jenkins, Vijay Iyer, Howard Johnson, Orlando ‘Cachaito’ Lopez (Buena Vista Social Club), Rudresh Mahanthappa, Joe Maneri, John Medeski, Butch Morris, Phill Niblock, Don Patterson, Odean Pope, Todd Rundgren, Dave Samuels, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Lew Soloff, Steve Swallow, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, David Thomas (Pere Ubu), Mark Whitfield, Phil Wilson, Evan Ziporyn.

Leonard collaborated with visual artists for performances and installations in the MoMA, Whitney Biennial and Venice Biennial. He is co-founder of GASP Gallery in Boston. Leonard is a professor of Electronic Production and Design at Berklee College of Music and the artistic director of Berklee's Interdisciplinary Arts Institute. In 2011, Leonard received Berklee's Distinguished Faculty Award, along with Joanne Brackeen and Greg Hopkins. Leonard holds a bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance and a Masters in of Music degree from new England Conservatory of Music where he studied with George Russell, Bob Brookmeyer, Michael Gandolfi and Joe Allard.

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