Music Theory Faculty

 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 held fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival and at the University of
 Michigan where Joel received a D.M.A. in composition studying 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.  This commission resulted in it perched for Vespers nine.
 
 Upcoming commissions include a flute concerto for flutist Amy Porter and a consortium of university wind ensembles led by University of Michigan and Michael Haithcock, and a violin concertino for a consortium of 10 chamber ensembles and universities.
 
 This summer, Puckett joined composers Zhou Long, James Matheson, Mason
 Bates and Kevin Puts as the featured composers at the Westport
 Arts/ South Shore Music chamber music series entitled, "The Composer
 Project" where Antares premiered Colloquial Stanzas.
 
 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 Peabody Conservatory after
 previously having served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Shenandoah Conservatory.

 Listen to clips @ http://www.myspace.com/joelpuckett