Joseph Celli (born March 19, 1944) is an American musician and composer specializing in contemporary and improvised music for

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

. In addition, he plays the

Yamaha WX7 This is a list of products made by Yamaha Corporation. This does not include products made by Bösendorfer, which has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation since February 1, 2008. For products made by Yamaha Motor Company, see the ...

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

breath controller, as well as double reed instruments from several Asian cultures, including the Korean ''

hojok The ''taepyeongso'' (), also called ''hojok'', ''hojeok'' 호적 號笛/胡笛, ''nallari'', or ''saenap'', 嗩吶, is a Korean double reed wind instrument in the shawm or oboe family. It is possibly descended from the Persian ''sorna'' and i ...

'' and ''

piri Sophie Leigh McBurnie (born 14 March 1999), known professionally as Piri, is an English musician. Born in Rochdale, she is half of the band Piri & Tommy and an original member of the female and genderqueer collective Loud LDN. Three of her w ...

'', and the Indian ''mukha vina''.

Early life

Celli is

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

, both of his parents were born in Italy (from

Ripi Ripi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about east of Frosinone. Ripi borders the following municipalities: Arnara, Boville Ernica, Ceprano, Pofi, Stra ...

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, central Italy) and both immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1920

His early training was as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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 Ray Still (March 12, 1920 – March 12, 2014) was an American classical oboist. He was the principal oboe of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 40 years, from 1953 to 1993. Early life He was born March 12, 1920, in Elwood, Indiana, and moved to ...

of the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

and members of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

, the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

, and other leading oboists. Subsequently, he received a

Fulbright Award The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

to study the folk instrument ''

'' with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n musician Chung Jae-Gook (hangul: 정재국; hanja: 鄭在國, b. 1942), recognized as National Living Treasure and Important Intangible Cultural Property no. 46; and also to study the Japanese ''

hichiriki The is a double reed Japanese used as one of two main melodic instruments in music. It is one of the "sacred" instruments and is often heard at Shinto weddings in Japan. Its sound is often described as haunting. The is derived from the Chin ...

'' at the Imperial Court

gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794–1185) arou ...

in Tokyo.

Career

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 (; born February 6, 1957) is a composer and performer of ''geomungo, komungo'' and electric komungo, and a Korean music specialist. Kim is known as a pioneer for introducing ''geomungo'' (거문고, a Korean fretted board zither, also ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

Phill Niblock Phillip Earl Niblock (October 2, 1933 – January 8, 2024) was an American composer, filmmaker, and videographer. In 1985, he was appointed director of Experimental Intermedia,Alan Licht, ''Common Tones: Selected Interviews with Artists and Music ...

Alvin Curran Alvin Curran (born December 13, 1938) is an American composer, performer, improviser, sound artist, and writer. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and lives and works in Rome, Italy. He is the co-founder, with Frederic Rzewski and Richard ...

Pointless Orchestra ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay Entertainment subsidiary Remarkable Entertainment for the BBC and hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode, four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obs ...

Roberto Carnevale Roberto Carnevale (born 15 June 1966) is an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic teacher. 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 the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

. He has performed internationally in over 40 countries. With

Jerry Hunt Jerry Edward Hunt (November 30, 1943 – November 27, 1993) was an American composer who created works using live electronics partly controlled by his ritualistic performance techniques which were influenced by his interest in the occult. He was ...

, Celli presented 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 Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

, John Cage, and many others. He presented the U.S. premieres of ''

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...

'' and ''

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

'' by

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) 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. He is known for his groun ...

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 was a nomadic American festival (held in Montreal during its last year) showcasing at its origins New York City's Downtown Music, but growing into one of the largest new music festivals ever held in North America, all in an attem ...

festivals in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

and

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He is a founding member of the

No World Improvisations No or NO may refer to: Linguistics and symbols * ''Yes'' and ''no'', responses * No, an English determiner in noun phrases * No (kana) (, ), a letter/syllable in Japanese script * No symbol (🚫), the general prohibition sign * Numero sign ( o ...

ensemble and Executive Director of the Black Rock Art Center in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He is also the founder and director of O. O. Discs, a CD label devoted to new music that has released over 70 discs. He is also the founder and director of O. O. Discs, a CD label devoted to new music that has released over 70 discs with world-wide distribution. Celli can play on both the western oboe and on non-western oboes.

Discography

* Organic Oboe: Premiere American recording of Stockhausen, Celli, Goldstein, and Schwartz. Joseph Celli, oboe, English horn reeds and electronics. O.O. DISC #1. * Celli Plays Niblock: Niblock for Celli: Compositions by composer Phill Niblock for oboe, English horn performer Joseph Celli. India Navigation Records #3027 * No World Improvisations: Joseph Celli and Jin Hi Kim performing improvisations on English horn, Indian double reed Mukha Veena, Yamaha WX-7 midi breath controller, Korean komungo and changgo. O.O. DISC #2. Digital Recording Compact Disc. Also released and distributed in Asia byWarner Music Korea FL 002. * Vermont the Seasons: Music of Malcolm Goldstein with Joseph Celli, oboe, English horn and reeds. Folkways Records FX 6242. * La Belleza Del Silencio: Music of Orlando Jacinto Garcia with Joseph Celli, Yamaha WX-7 midi breath controller. O.O. DISC #6. Digital Recording Compact Disc. * Non World (Trio) Improvisations: Joseph Celli, Jin Hi Kim with Alvin Curran, electronics; Shelley Hirsch, vocals; Malcolm Goldstein, violin; Mor Thiam, African Percussion; Adam Plack, didgeridoo. O.O. DISC #4. Digital Recording Compact Disc. * Resolver: Music of composer David First with Joseph Celli performing on Yamaha WX-7 midi breath controller. O.O. DISC #5. Digital Recording Compact Disc. * Video Ears – Music Eyes: Video Music of Joseph Celli Four compositions featuring Malcolm Goldstein, Ulrich Krieger, Brian Johnson, Jin Hi Kim and Grupo de Musica Folklorica del Peru. O. O. DISC #22. Digital Recording Compact Disc. * Living Tones: Music of Jin Hi Kim with Joseph Celli performing on oboe and English horn. O. O. DISC #24. (Seoul Records/ Cantabile in Korea). Digital Recording Compact Disc. * Inori: A Prostituta Sagrada, Music Jocy de Oliveira. Joseph Celli, double reed instruments. ReR Records BJOCD, Digital Recording Compact Disc. * Bitter Love: Songs From Peony Pavilion, Tan Dun, composer; Sony Classical Records.

References

External links

Joseph Celli pageBlack Rock Art Center site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celli, Joseph American experimental musicians 1944 births Living people American oboists American male oboists Cor anglais players Musicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut American contemporary classical music performers