Thomas Lizotte

Tom Lizotte retired in 2019 as director of bands at Cape Elizabeth High School, Cape Elizabeth, ME., where he served for 17 years. He was a high school band director in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Florida for 32 years. His Cape Concert Jazz Ensemble had sustained success in Maine jazz events, the UNH Clark Terry Jazz Festival and the Berklee Jazz Festival. The Cape program had two big bands and five combos.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with degrees in music education (BA) and wind conducting (MA), he is a member of four teaching halls of fame, including the Maine Music Educators’ Association. He is the 2019 recipient of the John LaPorta Award, given by Berklee College of Music and the Jazz Education Network as public school music educator of the year. He is also the recipient of the 2020-2021 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educators for outstanding contributions to scholastic jazz education.

He is an active adjudicator and clinician, having conducted jazz and concert band honors ensembles in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He has presented all-state clinics on using jazz to teach social justice, jazz programming, Duke Ellington, jazz improvisation and classroom management. He is chief music judge for the Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educators. A frequent writer on educational subjects, Lizotte is a contributor to The Instrumentalist Magazine.

Thomas Lizotte can be reached by filling out our contact form, or directly by emailing thomasplizotte@gmail.com