Joseph brings to the Center for Sacred Art a heritage rich in religion and spirituality, a passion for the arts, and a fascination with the world’s sacred traditions. As a co-founder of the Center, he has worked tirelessly to establish its vision and scope while designing and offering many programs in sacred chant.
At the present time Joseph is primarily focused on developing musical programs with an intention for healing stuck or unwell ancestral patterns. We are grateful that he continues to contribute leadership, and support for the needs of the Center for Sacred Art in a variety of ways.
Spiritual leadership is part of Joseph’s family tradition: his grandfather, uncles, and sister have all served as ministers. Building on his study of Hebrew, Greek, Jewish and Christian scriptures (including work at University of California, Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union), Joseph has continued to deepen his understanding of world faith traditions, spending two years in intensive study of Tibetan Buddhism and seven years as part of a Buddhist-Christian study and practice group. More recently he has been exploring shamanism and other earth-based traditions.
The multifaith reality of today’s world is a key inspiration for Joseph’s singing and teaching. Beginning with his encounter with the Jewish community and travel in the Middle East in his early 20s, he has had an enduring fascination with the diversity and beauty of spiritual practices from around the world. Joseph has two decades of experience singing Gregorian chant in liturgies, interfaith chant sessions, and meditative concerts.He has studied sacred music in the Buddhist, Hindu, Eastern Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions, and regularly brings the insights from this breadth of study to his musical endeavors.
For many years Joseph taught and led Gregorian chant at Center for Sacred Art retreats, workshops and classes—ranging from presentations focused solely on music (e.g., Buddhist-Christian chanting, the Music of the Spheres, and music in Dante's Divine Comedy)--to interactive chant components for visual art programs (e.g., Russian Icons Revealed, Books of Hours, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen). The twice-annual immersive residential Gregorian chant retreats that he led for over a decade are fondly remembered by many who participated in that extraordinary sacred chant experience.