Joseph Celli
Encyclopedia
Joseph Celli is an American
musician and composer specializing in contemporary and improvised music for oboe
and English horn
. In addition, he plays the Yamaha WX7 MIDI breath controller, as well as double reed instruments from several Asian cultures, including the Korean hojok and piri
, and the Indian mukha vina.
His early training was as a jazz
saxophonist which allowed him to work his way through college performing with rhythm and blues and jazz groups as he began specializing in experimental performance for the oboe and English horn. He studied oboe with Ray Still of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
and members of the New York Philharmonic
, the Boston Symphony Orchestra
, and other leading oboists. Subsequently, he received a Fulbright Award to study piri with National Living Treasure Chung Jae-Gook in South Korea
and the hichiriki
at the Imperial Court
Gagaku
in Tokyo, Japan.
Celli has conducted much work in the field of experimental music, both as a performer and presenter, and has worked with Jin Hi Kim
, John Cage
, Ornette Coleman
, Phill Niblock
, Alvin Curran
, Pointless Orchestra, Roberto Carnevale
and the Kronos Quartet
. He has performed in over 40 countries and presented, with Jerry Hunt
, the first live satellite performance in the United States. As a concert presenter he has been involved in over 3,000 events including world premieres by Steve Reich
, John Cage, and many others. He presented the U.S. premieres of Spiral
and Solo by Karlheinz Stockhausen
in addition to over 50 works composed for him by various composers.
Celli served as a co-director with Mary Luft of Tigertail Productions for two New Music America
festivals in Hartford, Connecticut
and Miami, Florida
. He is a founding member of the No World Improvisations ensemble and Executive Director of the Black Rock Art Center in Bridgeport
, Connecticut
, United States
. He is also the founder and director of O. O. Discs, a CD label devoted to new music that has released over 70 discs.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician and composer specializing in contemporary and improvised music for oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
and English horn
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
. In addition, he plays the Yamaha WX7 MIDI breath controller, as well as double reed instruments from several Asian cultures, including the Korean hojok and piri
Piri
The piri is a Korean double reed instrument, used in both the folk and classical music of Korea. It is made of bamboo. Its large reed and cylindrical bore gives it a sound mellower than that of many other types of oboe....
, and the Indian mukha vina.
His early training was as a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist which allowed him to work his way through college performing with rhythm and blues and jazz groups as he began specializing in experimental performance for the oboe and English horn. He studied oboe with Ray Still of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
and members of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
, and other leading oboists. Subsequently, he received a Fulbright Award to study piri with National Living Treasure Chung Jae-Gook in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and the hichiriki
Hichiriki
The is a double reed Japanese fue used as one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese gagaku music, the other being the ryūteki. The hichiriki is difficult to play, due in part to its double reed configuration. Although a double reed instrument like the oboe, the hichiriki has a cylindrical...
at the Imperial Court
Imperial Household Agency
The is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal...
Gagaku
Gagaku
Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai...
in Tokyo, Japan.
Celli has conducted much work in the field of experimental music, both as a performer and presenter, and has worked with Jin Hi Kim
Jin Hi Kim
Kim Jin-Hi is a geomungo player and composer.She is known for introducing the geomungo to the wider world through her contemporary chamber and orchestral compositions and large-scale multimedia pieces, as well as her extensive work in avant-garde and cross-cultural free...
, John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock is a composer, filmmaker, videographer, and director of Experimental Intermedia, a foundation for avant-garde music based in New York with a parallel branch in Ghent, Belgium.-Biography:...
, Alvin Curran
Alvin Curran
Composer Alvin Curran , is the co-founder, with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, of Musica Elettronica Viva, and a former student of Elliott Carter. Curran's music often makes use of electronics and environmental found sounds....
, Pointless Orchestra, Roberto Carnevale
Roberto Carnevale
Roberto Carnevale is an Italian composer, pianist and conductor.- Biography and career :Born in Catania, he started studying piano at the age of seven. He took a degree in Arts at the University of Catania and he attended the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena...
and the Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
. He has performed in over 40 countries and presented, with Jerry Hunt
Jerry Hunt
Jerry Hunt was an American composer who created works using live electronics partly controlled by his ritualistic performance techniques, influenced by his interest in the occult. He committed suicide in response to terminal cancer...
, the first live satellite performance in the United States. As a concert presenter he has been involved in over 3,000 events including world premieres by Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, John Cage, and many others. He presented the U.S. premieres of Spiral
Spiral (Stockhausen)
Spiral , for a soloist with a shortwave receiver, is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1968. It is Number 27 in the catalogue of the composer’s works.-Conception:...
and Solo by Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
in addition to over 50 works composed for him by various composers.
Celli served as a co-director with Mary Luft of Tigertail Productions for two New Music America
New Music America
New Music America was an American festival of experimental or Downtown new music.The festival began at The Kitchen in New York City in 1979. In this first year, the festival was actually called New Music New York....
festivals in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
and Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. He is a founding member of the No World Improvisations ensemble and Executive Director of the Black Rock Art Center in Bridgeport
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut.Bridgeport may also refer to:-Places:In Canada:* Bridgeport, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:* Bridgeport, Alabama* Bridgeport, California, in Mono County...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is also the founder and director of O. O. Discs, a CD label devoted to new music that has released over 70 discs.