Long Biography:

Joseph Prestamo is a composer and pianist living in New York. He recently graduated with a PhD in Music Composition from The Graduate Center, CUNY. Joseph also teaches as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Aaron Copland School of Music, at Queens College, CUNY.

Joseph’s dissertation takes a close analytical look at Oliver Knussen’s solo piano piece Variations, Op. 24, examining Knussen’s relationship with tonality, and more broadly his creation of non-tonal hierarchical pitch structures. This project also examines Knussen’s sense of timing and drama, and attempts to deconstruct the compositional elements that contribute to the pacing and form of this composition. Joseph’s most recent composition, With Wings, was commissioned by WQXR New York Public Radio for their 2021 Artist Propulsion Lab. The piece was written for critically-acclaimed flutist Brandon Patrick George, and inspired by Brandon’s lyrical playing and their shared experiences growing up.

At The Graduate Center, Joseph served for five years as Director of the GC Composers, a student organization dedicated to supporting the work of the doctoral students in music composition and programing new music concerts throughout the academic year. In 2012, he graduated with a Master of Music in Composition from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at the University of Michigan, where he studied with Bright Sheng and Kristin Kuster. Previously, he completed a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, where he studied piano with Morey Ritt and composition with Bruce Saylor.

Joseph’s solo piano piece, Ballade, received the Robert Starer Award in Composition, and has been recorded on pianist Jai Jeffryes' album of piano music, Amethyst. His piano piece, Sketches, was awarded the NFMC Student/Collegiate Composition Award as well as the first prize in music+culture's International Composition Competition. It has been recorded by pianist Brian Hanke and both pieces are commercially available to stream or for digital download. Other awards include the Evelyn Marin Memorial Scholarship, the Molly Weinstein Memorial Award, the Gabriel Frontier Memorial Award, the Karol Rathaus Award, and the Presser Foundation Scholarship Award. Joseph has participated in new music festivals such as Siena Summer Music, Nova Scotia Young Composers Program (Dalhousie University), the Institute and Festival of Contemporary Performance (Mannes School of Music), and the Festival of Contemporary Music, SCI (Queens College).

Joseph is also an accomplished church musician, having served as music director at several churches in New York. From 2020-2022, Joseph lead the service music at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Chelsea, both in person and in socially-distanced online services. Prior to that, Joseph served as Music Director for two years at Trinity Grace Church Chelsea. Joseph also sang two seasons with C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, and performs studio piano work for musicians in the New York metro area. Joseph is also a photographer, and his photographic work can be found at Prestamo Photography.

Short Biography:

Joseph Prestamo is an award-winning composer, pianist, and teacher living in New York. He recently defended his dissertation, an in-depth analysis of Variations, Op. 24 by Oliver Knussen, at The Graduate Center, CUNY, graduating with a PhD in Composition. At The Graduate Center, Joseph has also served as Director of the GC Composers, a student organization programing new music concerts throughout the academic year. He holds an M.Mus from the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and a B.Mus from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, CUNY. Joseph is an Adjunct Lecturer at Queens College. 

Joseph’s solo piano piece, Ballade, received the Robert Starer Award in Composition, and has been recorded on pianist Jai Jeffryes' album of piano music, Amethyst. His piano piece, Sketches, was awarded the NFMC Student/Collegiate Composition Award as well as the first prize in music+culture's International Composition Competition. It has been recorded by pianist Brian Hanke and both pieces are commercially available to stream or for digital download. Other awards include the Evelyn Marin Memorial Scholarship, the Molly Weinstein Memorial Award, the Gabriel Frontier Memorial Award, the Karol Rathaus Award, and the Presser Foundation Scholarship Award.