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Joel Puckett

Joel Puckett (born 1977, Atlanta, Georgia) is an American composer noted for his orchestral, chamber, choral, and operatic works. His music has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, "The President’s Own" United States Marine Band, and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. He is Professor of Music and Chair of Music Theory, Ear Training, and Keyboard Skills at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.

Early life and education

Puckett was born into a musical family and earned a B.M. in composition from Shenandoah University (1999) and completed his M.M. (2001) and D.M.A. (2004) at the University of Michigan, where he studied under Michael Daugherty, William Bolcom, Bright Sheng, Will Averitt, and Thomas Albert.

Career

Teaching and academic appointments

Since 2011, Puckett has served on the faculty at Peabody Conservatory, becoming full professor in 2023 and chairing the Department of Music Theory, Ear Training, and Keyboard Skills since 2017. In 2022, Puckett also joined the composition faculty. His past teaching includes positions at Shenandoah University and Towson University, and composer-in-residence roles with ensembles such as the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras.

Major works and commissions

  • The Fix (2019) – Opera with libretto by Eric Simonson, commissioned and premiered by Minnesota Opera as part of its New Works Initiative; it received widespread press coverage including Opera News, Star Tribune, Twin Cities Arts Reader, and Wall Street Journal.
  • The Shadow of Sirius (2010) – Flute concerto inspired by W.S. Merwin’s poetry, commissioned by a University of Michigan consortium and premiered by Amy Porter; it was later recorded and featured on a Grammy-nominated Naxos album (2016).
  • I Wake in the Dark and Remember (2022) – Viola concerto commissioned by a consortium of over 20 institutions.
  • There Was a Child Went Forth (2023) – Orchestral song cycle for tenor Nicholas Phan and the U.S. Marine Band Chamber Orchestra.

Performances and broadcasts

Puckett's works have been featured on Performance Today, Sirius XM's Living American and Symphony Hall, and performed and recorded internationally by ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, The Crossing, and the U.S. Marine Band.

Style and reception

Puckett’s music is widely praised for its emotional immediacy, lush orchestration, and stylistic breadth. *Opera News* described The Fix as “a delicately wrought, gorgeously orchestrated, beautifully sung paean to a lost American dream.” Gramophone praised his choral work I Enter the Earth as “a real find,” noting “resonances at several removes of Ligeti’s Lux aeterna.”

Awards and honors

Discography

References

External links