Image by Dawn Sela, © 2009
Joseph Bertolozzi has accepted the position of Director of Music at St. Joseph’s RC Church in Middletown, NY. He leaves Christ Episcopal Church in Suffern, NY, and continues as Organist at Vassar Temple in Poughkeepsie, NY where he has presided for 16+ years. He will direct the choir and play the organ for 3 weekly Masses in addition to the usual Holy Days and sacramental Masses in the Roman Catholic calendar.
As an organist he’s performed his own compositions as well as those of the classical literature in the US and in Europe (for the US State Dept.) on some of the finest and oldest organs in the world, including St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Perhaps best known as a composer, his latest explorations in sound have brought him to Tower Music, using the Eiffel Tower in Paris itself as his instrument for its 125th anniversary in 2014. This project builds upon Bridge Music, his “audacious plan” (New York Times) to compose music for a suspension bridge using New York’s Mid Hudson Bridge. These works have brought Bertolozzi sustained international attention. In 2009 his CD “Bridge Music” (Delos) reached #18 on the Billboard Classical Crossover Music Chart. Bridge Music is in its fourth season as a public installation
His concert music and theatrical scores have also enjoyed particular success, including “The Contemplation of Bravery,” an official 2002 Bicentennial commission for The United States Military Academy at West Point and his incidental score to “Waiting for Godot” at the 1991 Festival Internationale de Café Theatre in Nancy, France. He also has a large body of liturgical music for use in both Christian and Jewish worship. Many of his compositions can be heard at www.JosephBertolozzi.com and The American Music Center library.newmusicusa.org/josephbertolozzi.