Joel Michael-Schwartz

About the Artist

Joel Michael-Schwartz is an eclectic and deeply curious mandolinist, guitarist, teacher, and composer. He is based in Baltimore, and performs, collaborates, and teaches around the Mid-Atlantic. Bridging traditions and using music as a tool of cross-cultural communication is at the heart of his wide-ranging musical life. Equally at home playing Bach, flamenco, bebop, swing, and celtic, he brings expression, command, and a quirky sense of fun to all his artistic endeavors. Passionately dedicated to small group collaborations, Joel delivers soundscapes that are entirely his own, spinning out melodies, textures, and an endless variety of expression from the mandolin family and guitar. Surprising, organic fusions of styles from around the world are his trademark, bringing out firey, angular passages one moment and heart wrenching, lyrical lines the next. He hails from Evanston, Illinois, where he studied with jazz mandolin legend Don Steirnberg. He graduated with a B.A. (cum laude, honors in music) in mandolin performance and composition at Goucher College in Baltimore, where he studied jazz and classical mandolin with professors Jeffrey Chappell, Steve Yankee, and David Evans, and studied composition under Kendall Kennison. After graduation, he remained in Baltimore, performing, teaching, and pursuing new musical, further-reaching avenues. In the summer of 2018, he was invited to study at the Silkroad Ensemble’s Global Musician’s Workshop, where he worked collaboratively with musicians from around the world. Joel currently studies with Edward Perez (Cristina Pato, Silkroad, Ignacio Berroa). He has also studied with Brazilian choro legend Dudu Maia. Joel is constantly trying to push his boundaries and that of his instrument, be it through teaching, composition, improvised concerts, multimedia collaborations, or more traditional performances. He currently collaborates and performs in a variety of Baltimore-based ensembles, including Duo Dyad (world music, classical), Swing Set (jazz of the 30s-50s), and The Iron Ring (contemporary Celtic), and teaches guitar, mandolin, and composition privately. He has appeared in recital at Peabody Conservatory, Towson University, and Goucher College, as well as at many of the Baltimore area’s best venues, including An Die Musik, the Mansion at Strathmore, Germano’s, the Mobtown Ballroom, and the Howard County Historical Society. He has performed with jazz masters Frank Vignola, Alfonso Ponticelli, and acclaimed pianist/composer Jeffrey Chappell. He has also performed and recorded with many local powerhouses such as Seth Kibel, the Cold Spring Jazz Quartet, Clarence Ward III, Sami Arefin, Eddie Hybryk, and Chris Taylor (Bosely, Otherworld). Websites and contact: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmewQqPG0hSkMJfD1h6M02Q Websites: www.thenewmandolin@gmail.com www.ironringmusic.com Email: thenewmandolin@gmail.com