He is a clarinettist from Westbrook, Maine who began to play the clarinet when he was 10 years old and was given private tuition when he was 14. He studied at the University of Southern Maine followed by earning his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and a Certificate in Performances at DePaul University.
He went to Washington D.C. and became a member of “The President’s Own” Marine Band in 1997 where he was a member of the clarinet section, an E-flat clarinettist and gave solo performances over the next four years. Other orchestras he performed with include the Baltimore Symphony and the National Symphony.
He was appointed bass clarinet of The Philadelphia Orchestra by Christoph Eschenbach in 2006 where he holds the Peter M. Joseph and Susan Rittenhouse Joseph Chair.
Performing regularly as a chamber musician he has played with the Dolce Suono Ensemble and the Network for New Music. He has also participated in many festivals which include the Bravo! Vail Chamber Music Series, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Lake Champlain Music Festival and the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival.
Recordings he has performed on include Invocation by Ingrid Arauco and Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”/Dumka by The Philadelphia Orchestra.
In the field of musical education he has been a teacher at the New York State School of Orchestral Studies and the Curtis Summerfest and is a faculty member at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music.
Sources:
- https://www.philorch.org/your-philorch/meet-your-orchestra/musicians/paul-r.-demers/
- https://www.instantencore.com/contributor/contributor.aspx?CId=5113420
- https://www.stokowski.org/Philadelphia_Orchestra_Musicians_List.htm
- https://www.networkfornewmusic.org/20212022-season/2021/11/7/projections
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/4625598-Paul-R-Demers
- https://boyer.temple.edu/about/faculty-staff/paul-demers-416
- https://www.curtis.edu/academics/faculty/summerfest-faculty-bios/paul-demers/