photo: John Perkins

Joseph T. Spaniola is a composer on a passionate quest to engage the hearts and minds of audiences and performers through the communicative powers of music.

Spaniola is active as a composer, arranger, educator, conductor, lecturer, producer, clinician, and adjudicator. He has composed works for band, orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, voice, choir, and electronic tape. His works have received honors from National Band Association, The American Prize, Global Music Awards, Florida State Music Teachers Association, Dallas Wind Symphony, and others. His compositions have been performed and recorded by ensembles in North America, Europe, Japan, South America, Israel, China, Australia, Taiwan, and Singapore.

He has worked on projects for a wide variety of artists, ensembles, and institutions across the United States, Europe, and Japan including Reneé Fleming, Sammy Nestico, the London Symphony Orchestra, Rick Nielsen (of Cheap Trick), Frank Sinatra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet, the Boston Brass, Paul Compton, the Eastern Wind Symphony, the White House Historical Association, Buick, Chrysler, and others. His works have been premiered or presented at conferences and festivals hosted by the College Music Society, American Bandmasters Association, International Trombone Association, International Clarinet Association, International Double Reed Society, The Midwest Clinic, International Trumpet Guild, the Tuba/Euphonium Conference, North American Saxophone Alliance, and others.

Spaniola is a Professor of Music, and the Director of Music Theory and Jazz Studies at the University of West Florida. Prior to joining UWF, he was the Chief Composer/Arranger for The U.S. Air Force Academy Band. Works by the composer are available through Musica Propria, Kagarice Brass Editions, Tuba Euphonium Press, and Joseph T. Spaniola Music. The composer is a PARMA Recordings artist with releases on their Navona Records and Big Round Records labels. He studied music at the University of North Texas, Michigan State University, and Boston University.

Albums

Symphonic Stradivarius

Release Date: January 10, 2025
Catalog Number: NV6688
21st Century
Concertos
Orchestral
Orchestra
Violin
Navona Records is pleased to present SYMPHONIC STRADIVARIUS, featuring decorated violinist Davide Alogna and the esteemed London Symphony Orchestra. Several contemporary composers assemble in this release to showcase the diverse influences and creative capabilities of modern classical composition. Recorded at the historic LSO St. Lukes, this repertoire offers musical insight into the environmental aspects of our world, all united by a world class ensemble, celebrated soloist, and an instrument that has been passed down through centuries of lauded performers: a “1690s ‘Stevens’ Stradivari” belonging to the very first group of red varnished Violins ever made.
Dimensions Vol. 5

Dimensions Vol. 5

Release Date: July 28, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6542
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Hot on the heels of its preceding installments, DIMENSIONS VOL. 5 from Navona Records highlights the works of seven celebrated composers. These orchestral pieces showcase a broad range of innovative compositional styles featuring traditional and modern influences, drawing inspiration from an opera about a mystical wolf, moments of uncertainty and reflection in life, the music of Handel, and traditional Latvian folk music, just to name a few. Leveraging musical passion and orchestral ferocity, DIMENSIONS VOL. 5 offers listeners a broad example of some of the most exciting work in contemporary orchestral music.

Dashing Vol. 2

Release Date: November 12, 2021
Catalog Number: NV6374
21st Century
Baroque
Holiday
Orchestra
Piano
Saxophone
Navona Records presents DASHING VOL. 2, a festive assortment of new classical and jazz arrangements and compositions inspired by staples of the holiday season. Unwrap this gift from Sarah Wallin Huff, Joseph Turrin, Kristina Marinova, Jordan VanHemert, David W. Solomons, Elizabeth J. Start, Alan Rinehart, and Joseph T. Spaniola to find a variety of new works and familiar favorites. All of the traditional holiday sounds are featured in this album, embellished with distinguished compositional twists that complement seasonal standards. Experience the holidays in a refreshing way with reharmonizations of Silent Night, Carol Of The Bells for solo guitar, a jazz arrangement of Christmas Time is Here, and more.

Woven in Time

Release Date: October 22, 2021
Catalog Number: NV6369
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
An eclectic collection of cultural themes, WOVEN IN TIME is grounded in connections made through distant timestamps. Each piece weaves culture and ideas of the past with a modern approach to composition, revitalizing and repurposing the popular culture and literature of yesterday into contemporary music for our enjoyment today.

Pinnacle Vol. 2

Release Date: September 24, 2021
Catalog Number: NV6368
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Clarinet
Piano
String Quartet
Navona Records presents PINNACLE VOL. 2, a collection of contemporary chamber works by composers John A. Carollo, Edmund Cionek, Sarah Wallin Huff, Santiago Kodela, Adnan Marafi, Amintas Silva, Joseph T. Spaniola, and Kong-Yu Wong, that highlight the melodic, emotive, and dramatic styles offered by today’s chamber music. Throughout the album, the composers explore the cyclicity of life and nature.