Joseph Connell

Bio

Joseph Connell teaches percussion lessons and directs the GW Percussion Ensemble. He plays drum set and percussion with numerous symphony orchestras and ensembles and has appeared on recordings with the National Symphony Orchestra including the Grammy winning “Symphony No.1” by John Corigliano and “Remembering JFK 50th Anniversary Concert” featuring Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.”

In addition to the NSO, Mr. Connell has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Calgary Symphony and the Royal Philharmonic with Marvin Hamlisch and Idina Menzel at Royal Albert Hall.

Musicals performed at the John F. Kennedy Center include “Showboat,” “Wicked,” “Titanic,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “By Jeeves,” Stephen Sondheim’s “Bounce” (Mr. Connell plays drum set, timpani and percussion on the Original Cast Recording), “An American in Paris,” and “Anastasia”.

Equally at home in rock and jazz fields, Joseph has performed with artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin, Kendrick Lamar, the Who, the prog-rock group Yes, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.

Mr. Connell’s drum set and percussion work can be heard on PBS, the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel.

Mr. Connell’s drum set transcriptions have been published in Modern Drummer Magazine.

Joseph has toured throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Europe and Russia, performing and giving masterclasses in drum set and percussion.