Joe’s first guitar lesson was at age seven, and it hooked him on a life of music. High School saw rock bands, and college a classical guitar degree from CSUF. Studies with legendary L.A. composer Harold V. Johnson and conductor Fritz Zweig prepared him for a couple of real jobs: a conducting position with the Crystal Cathedral Symphony in Garden Grove followed by a staff writing position at the “Happiest Place on Earth,” Disneyland. All of these opportunities were waypoints for each new phase of a career that has now spanned over thirty years.
Besides the many shows, & events in the themed park world, he was the score composer on a number of feature films, including The Oogieloves and the Big Balloon Adventure, working with Cloris Leachman, Christopher Loyd & Chazz Palminteri, Shoot Or Be Shot
with William Shatner and Harry Hamlin and the classic western, The Outsider, giving him the chance to write in one of the most favorite genres of any composer. As orchestrator, Joe contributed