Paul Bordeleau takes a break from his recent free performance on Bedford Community Television. (Photo: David Lazar)

For more than a half century, Bedford’s Paul Bordeleau has devoted his life to a simple proposition: that anyone, no matter their age or limitation, can learn to play and enjoy music. Judging by the thousands of smiles he has delivered across New Hampshire and the countless hours he continues to log, often free of charge, it is a promise and legacy fulfilled.

At 84, Bordeleau’s daily calendar reads like that of a maestro half his age, each day a melodious mixture of concerts, volunteer appearances, and piano lessons in his home studio.

Bordeleau began playing piano from his mom’s lap at age 6, thirsting to learn every instrument he could as soon as he could. By 17, Bordeleau was leading his own big band and headlining some of the region’s biggest dance halls. By 20, he was dodging bullets at Normandy on D-Day, as a member of the Army’s Signal Corps, installing the first American switchboard in enemy territory.

Indeed, much of Bordeleau’s life has been about service, from helping lead the Army’s 11th Airborne Division band at Ft. Campbell, KY, during the Korean War to more than 50 years teaching music to middle school, high school and college students throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and Boston University, Bordeleau has held distinction as president of the NH Music Teachers Association.

He has held equal distinction as a volunteer, sharing his passion for music daily with everyone from children to seniors and the disabled. For nearly 20 years, Bordeleau – recently inducted to a second term as president of the Bedford Rotary Club – has fielded requests each week as a volunteer performer in local hospitals and nursing homes. It is a tradition he has passed on to his students over the decades, arranging for youth ensembles to play at nursing homes regularly throughout the year. Today, Bordeleau’s list of ‘graduates’ reads like a Who’s Who of New England music educators.

“If you do what you do not for money, but for the joy of it, I believe it comes back to you,” he says.