Joseph Hasper is an American composer who works in a variety of styles ranging from jazz to post modern. He has composed or arranged works for the Holland Symphony Orchestra, Carolina Cool Jazz Orchestra, Reading Pops Orchestra, Newburgh Symphony, Coachella Valley Symphony, Izmir Youth Symphony, Symphonic Pops of Long Island as well as works for countless professional and educational ensembles in over 52 countries.
Joseph studied composition at Carnegie Mellon University with Leonardo Balada He later studied jazz theory and arranging at the Mannes College of Music with Rich Shemaria and Phil Markowitz, completed music courses at the Armed Forces School of Music in 1986 and 1990, and earned additional music theory credits from the Army Institute for Professional Development. After more than 20 years as a composer he went on to study Composition (DMA) and Music Theory (MM) at the University of Oklahoma. He holds degrees in Composition (DMA, BFA), Music Theory (MM), and Educational Technology (MEd).
In the field of electronic music his teachers include David Berlin, Marilyn Taft Thomas, Roger Dannenberg, and Konstantino Karathansis, and he is particularly interested in live and interactive electronics using MAX/MSP/Jitter. Among his works that incorporate electronics are Water Dance (for dancers, septet, and live electronics), Exile (for solo xylophone and interactive electronics), À bientôt (for solo horn and live electronics) and Three Quandaries for Violin (for solo violin and live electronics).
In addition to jazz compositions, over 100 of his orchestral, wind band and chamber works have been performed by military, professional, and amateur ensembles across the world. He has been commissioned to compose works for The Bach Society Chorus, Western Illinois University, Grove City College, Fresno Pacific University, horn player Ben Cacioppo, Water Technologies for Emerging Regions Conference, Armstrong High School, Titusville Middle School, Mifflin County Middle School, and Grover Middle School.
Performance highlights include premieres of Immigrant (piano trio) as guest composer at the Fresno New Music Festival; Hope is the Thing with Feathers (wind ensemble) as guest composer at the Western Illinois University 2022 Showcase of Bands; WaTER Dance (ballet for septet and live electronics) at the 2012 International Water Technologies Conference; ABC Dance and Les Jongleurs (ballets) performed at the University of Oklahoma; Stephen Foster Medley for the opening of the Asiatic Bandmasters Conference in Seoul, Korea; Requiem For A Moment (solo guitar and wind ensemble) with guitarists Robert Laskey and Eric Peterson; Suite for a Short Time (orchestra) at the 2019 PMEA conference; First Quandary for Viola by Cornelia Petroiu, and exhibition of Portrait of Scotland (solo guitar) at the Carnegie Mellon University centennial exhibition.
Among his accolades are awards from the American Prize (2nd Prize for choral composition), 5th International “Alfonso Perri Altomare” Concert Band Composition Competition (3rd Place), Anton Stadler Composition Competition, UNT 360 Jazz Initiative (honorable mention), Texas Small Band Association Composition Competition (finalist) and the Parade of American Music Composers Award (Four-Star Composers Award). He has received grants from the American Music Center, the University of Oklahoma School of Music, and the Robberson Fund. He has been a guest composer at Western Illinois University and the Fresno New Music Festival, and has music performed at conferences of the Oklahoma Composers Association and the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA).
Dr. Hasper previously taught at Cameron University, Kutztown University, Shippensburg University, and the University of Oklahoma, and is currently Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Ensembles at Grove City College.
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