About

Dr. Joseph Sowa

Founder, Primary Instructor

Dr. Joseph Sowa grew up playing the violin and listening to classical music on NPR. He was captivated by composers as varied as Stevie Wonder, Oliver Knussen, and John Williams, all of whom inspired him to spend his life creating and working with sound.

Joseph originally followed a “normal” career path for composers, receiving a PhD in music composition and theory from Brandeis University. His dissertation examined the transformation of motive, tempo, and the symphonic genre in Thomas Adès’s Tevot (contextualizing it with Heraclitian philosophy and Sibelius’s Seventh Symphony).

But his time at Brandeis wasn’t all musical gestalt theory, 18th-century partimenti, and close analyses of great music. Joseph’s mentors David Rakowski, Yu-Hui Chang, and Marty Boykan worked hard to put students on high alert for the aesthetic hang-ups that tie most composers in knots. They taught Joseph to think twice about beliefs such as “bass-treble functions are passé” and “improvisation is not composition.”

Once he started questioning academia’s “common knowledge,” Joseph started looking closer at the way composers are taught. He noticed a lot of rules, systems, and iconoclasm, but very few thorough explanations for how to create compelling music. Eventually, he created a new framework for composing that yields imaginative and effective music with less stress.

In addition to his Wizarding School for Composers, Dr. Sowa has taught at Northeastern University, Tufts University, Brandeis University, and Brigham Young University. His courses include standard composition, music theory, and aural skills—plus classes such as “Star Wars: How Long Ago? How Far Away?”

Joseph’s work has been performed and featured in the US and in Europe in live performances and Billboard-listed albums. He has been commissioned by numerous soloists, chamber ensembles, and organizations including the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition and the Laycock Endowment for Creative Collaboration in the Arts. His sacred music has been performed in congregations across the United States and in London.

While he is thrilled with the progress of his career and he loves teaching “wizarding” compositional methods to aspiring composers, Joseph is really looking forward to the day when he can finally start work on his dream composition—a large-scale work for tuba ensemble.

Learn more about Joseph and his music at www.josephsowa.com.