Joel Puckett is a composer who is dedicated to the belief that music can bring consolation, hope, and joy to all who need it. The Washington Post has hailed him as both "visionary" and "gifted" and the head critic for the Baltimore Sun, Tim Smith, hailed his newest piece, This Mourning, as "being of comparable expressive weight" to John Adams' Pulitzer Prize winning work, On the Transmigration of Souls.
Born on the south side of Atlanta, Joel is the son of a dixie-land jazz musician and a classical tubist. He spent his childhood improvising with his father and learning the fundamentals of both concert and popular music. He has recently completed his D.M.A. in composition from the University of Michigan where he studied with William Bolcom and Michael Daugherty. Formerly a cantor at St. John's Episcopal Church in Detroit, he has also been an active performer of both contemporary and cabaret works.
The Washington Chorus—recipient of the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance— commissioned and premiered Joel's new work This Mourning, for chorus, orchestra, 40 wine glasses and tenor soloist, to rave reviews at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.Of the third movement Baltimore Sun critic Tim Page said, "The final movement reaches profound heights. As the chorus intones Dickinson's lines, 'There must be guests in Eden, All the rooms are full,' a cathartic, almost ecstatic rise of melody and emotion unfolds."
Puckett’s music for wind band has enjoyed great success. His work Ping, Pang, Pong, which was written for Michael Haithcock and the University of Michigan Symphony Band, has been performed by some of the best college and professional ensembles in the country including The President’s Own Marine Band. Written just 3 years ago, this piece has now seen over 40 performances with many more scheduled for this season.
Puckett is the recipient of the first American Bandmasters Association/University of Florida Commission. The award, which was funded by a generous grant from the University of Florida band program, includes a $10,000 commission to create an ‘artistic work’ for wind band to be premiered in Miami at the ABA Convention in March 2008.
Joel has served as an adjudicator for national competitions for young composers, such as the SCI/ASCAP competition. He also frequently gives guest lectures and master classes. He most recently has lectured at City College in Harlem, NY; Indiana University in Bloomington, The University of Texas—Austin, Michigan State University and Western Washington University.
This fall Joel has joined the faculty of Shenandoah University after previously having served on the music faculty at Towson University in Baltimore, MD.
Additional Links:
www.joelpuckett.com
www.originalskinpercussion.com
