New Yorker Joseph Joubert will perform some of his original piano compositions, as well as discuss his work as a versatile professional performer; an accompanist for some of the world's major musical talents; his career as an arranger and composer of keyboard, vocal and orchestral literature; and share his experiences as an ensemble director. He will also speak about the National Association of Negro Musicians, for which he serves as the official accompanist.
Joseph Joubert's wide ranging and versatile talents have earned him a reputation as a soloist and ensemble performer throughout the U.S. and abroad. Joubert has performed with the Manhattan Symphony, the New Philharmonia, the West Palm Beach Symphony, just to name a few. He has appeared as a soloist and an ensemble player in New York City's major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall. He also served for two seasons as staff pianist for Metropolitan Opera's revival of "Porgy and Bess".
Joseph has been hailed as a "sensitive and supportive" accompanist. He has collaborated with Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar, Simon Estes, Hilda Harris, William Brown, among others, and has performed at the White House for President Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin. As a musical director, Joseph has enjoyed great success. For five years he served as Music Director for Judy Collins, performing with the London Symphony and many U.S. symphony orchestras. Other directing projects include Broadway's "Five Guys Named Moe", the award-winning "Big River", "Harlem Kid Symphony" (Kobe, Japan), and New York's Shakespeare Festival.
Joubert's career as an arranger and orchestrator has led him to collaborate with musical greats, such as Ashford and Simpson, Diana Ross, George Benson, Patti Labelle, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Jennifer Holiday, Diane Reeves, among others. He received a Drama Desk Award nomination for his orchestrations for the Off-Broadway show "Violet" and a Grammy nomination, along with Buryl Red and the Centurymen, for Best Classical Cross-Over Album.
Most recently, Joseph served as musical director, orchestrator and pianist for t he premiere of "Three Mo' Divas" at the San Diego Repertory Theatre. Currently, he is serving as one of the orchestrators for the Broadway Musical "Caroline or Change". He was recently featured as conductor/arranger/pianist for the PBS special "Three Mo' Tenors", as well as the CD album on BMG Records. Joseph Joubert's remarkable versatility allows him to perform and arrange comfortably in any style, from classical to pop, from Broadway to gospel, from spiritual to R&B.
Wayne State University Department of Music is celebrating 86 years of artistic and academic excellence. The Department's faculty includes renowned jazz artists, composers, scholars, educators and members of the internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra. WSU alumni have gone on to careers in distinguished orchestras, ensembles and as soloists and music educators the world over.