Joseph Curiale

Joseph Curiale (born July 1, 1955) is an American composer and conductor.

Early life

Born in Bridgeport Connecticut, he attended the University of Bridgeport and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education. He briefly attended the University of North Texas in pursuit if a Masters degree in music composition, but before completing his degree he took up residency in Japan, where he taught and composed new music. Many of his compositions incorporate Japanese themes and traditional Japanese instruments. After nearly 2 years in Japan, he moved to Los Angeles where he began a career in film, television, and recording, signing an exclusive six-year contract with Columbia Pictures. His work has been performed and recorded by more than 100 artists ranging from Michael and Janet Jackson to Kathleen Battle.

In the early 90's, although enjoying success in Hollywood, including an Emmy Award nomination in the category of Musical Direction, Joseph felt the time had come to write music without the limiting parameters commercial work demands. In 1995 he went to London to record "Gates of Gold" with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and in April of 1997 a first CD entitled, "Awakening" was released. Greatly encouraged by the requests of Public Radio and its listeners, Joseph completed a second CD entitled, "The Music of Life" which was released December of 2001. It features the London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras as well as soloists from China and Japan. The recent re-release of the "Awakening" CD features a bonus track of "Blue Windows" performed by Doc Severinsen and Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields.

Honors

Joseph was honored at the Hollywood Bowl in the 2001 concert, "A Celebration of TV Music," which featured a performance of "Gates of Gold Suite" in a segment honoring Hallmark's history, and also did the music for the sequel in 2004. He also received a commission from the University of Wyoming and a Meet the Composer grant, resulting in the composition, "Wind River (I Am)" celebrating the New Millennium, and was Composer-In-Residence at the University of Wyoming, as well as the University of Minnesota Duluth (1998). In 2002 he received Artist fellowships at both The MacDowell Colony and The Ucross Foundation and in 2003 received the American Composers Forum/Phoenix Symphony grant to compose a multi-faceted work (including two choirs, a Mexican folk dance company, Native American dancers, singers, and instrumentalists, as well as the Phoenix Symphony) celebrating the cultural diversity of Phoenix. 2003 also brought the Arrangers Publishing release of “The Music of Joseph Curiale,” a collection of compositions from the CDs “Awakening” and “The Music of Life” arranged for marching band, with a concert band series released in 2005 with more to come in 2006. 2006 also brings the release of Joseph's first book, "The Spirit of Creativity" (Thoughts on Living One's Creative Truth), with a companion book of quotations, "The Wisdom of Creativity" due later in the year.

Beliefs

A deeply spiritual man, his works are recognized the world over for their passion, beauty and sense of wonder. A Renaissance man, creative to the core, Joseph Curiale is an accomplished writer, poet, photographer, artist and educator, whose book The Spirit of Creativity, is an insightful, passionate and inspiring guide to exploring, unlocking and honoring the creative spirit in everyone.