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Joseph Waters (1952-) is an American classical composer who grew up playing in rock bands.

His compositions often explore the confluence of the music of Europe and Africa, as well as numerous combinations of traditional acoustic instruments and electro-acoustic sounds.

Waters is an active proponent in the development of an aesthetic that bridges the gap between contemporary "popular" genres and traditional western classical music.

In 2003 the city of San Diego commissioned sculptor Roman De Salvo, along with Waters, to create a public artwork in the form of a safety railing on the civilian overpass on Interstate 94 at 25th Street. Entitled Crab Carillon, the result is a set of 488 tuned chimes, that can be played by pedestrians as they cross the overpass. Each chime is tuned to the note of a melody, composed by Waters. The melody is in the form of a [palindrome], to accommodate walking in either direction. The music can be heard on the City of San Diego Public Art Website

In 1983 Waters co-founded Network for New Music (NNM) (along with pianist Dr. Linda Reichert). Based in Philadelphia, NNM was originally a support and service organization for living composers. Waters co-managed NNM until 1988, when he left to pursue other projects. Under Reichert, NNM continues today as a professional chamber music ensemble dedicated to the commissioning and performance of new works.

In 1998 Waters founded NWEAMO (New West Electro-Acoustic Music Organization). NWEAMO presents composers and musicians from around the world in concerts that unite the worlds of avant-garde classical and experimental electronica. Each October the NWEAMO Festival travels between San Diego and various international locations. The NWEAMO festival has presented concerts at venues in San Diego CA, Mexico City, New York City, Boulder CO, Miami FL, Stony Brook NY, Portland OR, Berlin Germany, and Marghera & Veneto (near Venice), Italy. Waters serves NWEAMO as Artistic Director.

He performs and composes for the Waters_Bluestone_Duel, a collaboration with percussionist Joel Bluestone that explores the combination of live electronics and percussion, as well as SWARMIUS an interdisciplinary quartet comprising Felix Olschofka (violin), Todd Rewoldt (alto saxophone), Joel Bluestone (classical percussion) and Waters (composer and electronics performance).

Waters is Full Professor of Music (Composition and Computer music) at San Diego State University (San Diego, California, U.S.A.)

His work has been performed at venues which include: Australasian Computer Music Conferences Melbourne & Perth (Australia), Beethoven-Haus (Bonn Germany), Bomb the Space Festival Wellington (New Zealand), Composer's Hall Moscow Conservatory (Russia), Festival Internacional Cervantino Guanajuato (Mexico), Hong Kong Cultural Center, Hungarian Radio hosted Budapest & Nadasdy Castle (Hungary), Ljubljana Cultural Center (Slovenia), Rosario & San Martin de los Andes (Argentina), SEAMS Fylkingen Stockholm (Sweden),SoHo Apple Store performance stage New York City, Southern Theater Minneapolis, Theater Kikker (Utrecht Netherlands), Tsing Hua University (Beijing China), UNAM (Mexico City), University of Cadiz & Conservatorio Superior de Musica Valencia (Spain), Univ of Chile (Santiago), Wellington (New Zealand), Venetto Jazz Festival & Acadamia di Canto (Venice Italy), Warsaw Electronic Festival (Poland), and other locations ...

Waters studied composition at Yale University (M.M. 1982), the Universities of Oregon (Ph.D. 2002) and Minnesota (B.S. 1980), as well as Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut. Primary teachers were Jacob Druckman, Bernard Rands, Roger Reynolds, Dominick Argento, and Martin Bresnick.

Discography

SWARMIUS (2008) Aleppo Recordings, VOIC001, featuring the SWARMIUS Ensemble: Todd Rewoldt, Felix Olschofka, Joel Bluestone, Joseph Waters

Offshore (2006) Albany Records, TROY813, featuring the Bakken Trio, Todd Kuhns, Ron Blessinger, Susan Smith & Philip Hansen

Joseph Waters (2001) North Pacific Music, NPM LD 009

Alejandro Escuer: Aqua — Musica para flauta y electronica (2002) Quindecim Recordings, QP091. Various Artists commissioned by Alejandro Escuer, includes Dream in Aqua & Scarlet by Joseph Waters

Playerless Pianos (2005) North Pacific Music, NDM LP 007 — Seventh Species Composers Series, Various Artists collection, includes Counterpoint Studies: Trochilidae • Variations on a Bebop Theme • Counterpoint in F by Joseph Waters

References

A composer's lifelong quest: Moving the music forward (April 27, 2008), James Chute (Arts Editor), The San Diego Union Tribune

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 His compositions often explore the confluence of the music of Europe and Africa, as well as numerous combinations of traditional acoustic instruments and electro-acoustic sounds.
-Like many of his contemporaries, Waters is engaged with the development of an aesthetic that bridges the gap between contemporary "popular" genres and traditional western classical music.
+Waters is an active proponent in the development of an aesthetic that bridges the gap between contemporary "popular" genres and traditional western classical music.
 In 2003 the city of San Diego commissioned sculptor [[Roman De Salvo]], along with Waters, to create a public artwork in the form of a safety railing on the civilian overpass on Interstate 94 at 25th Street.