TEACHER
Joseph Welch is the Professor of Music at Blackburn College in Carlinville, IL. At Blackburn, Joe directs the choir, music directs productions, and teaches applied piano. The Blackburn Music curriculum was designed from scratch by him. Its focus is on artist-centric instruction, letting students' interests and skills guide their paths. For Music majors, the hallmark class is an Arts Entrepreneurship class that is designed to ensure graduates are employable in the arts upon graduation.
As Chair of the Department of Music and Theatre, Joe oversees the performance season for both Music and Theatre, as well as the Blackburn College Arts & Issues Series. The Department prides itself on healthy working relationships.
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Joe was a 2021 Collaborative Piano Intern with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. There he studied with Craig Terry, Michelle Markwart-Deveaux, and Valerie Trujillo. He work alongside fellow interns, Corie Auger, Caitlin Moore, and Whitney Myers. The emphasis of his studio work was pop, R&B, jazz, musical theatre, and singer-songwriters.
Joe vocal coaches for Artists-in-Training, an Opera Theatre of St. Louis program for high school singers. This one-of-a-kind experience pairs promising young singers with voice teachers and vocal coaches throughout the St. Louis region.
He also coaches all singers at Blackburn College.
Joe frequently visits schools as teaching artist, masterclass teacher, and choral clinician.
In one extended residency with Heartland Symphony Orchestra, he visited over 900 kindergarten through high school students over the course of a week. One teacher remarked: "When he was playing for the sixth grade, he was in one of the most dramatic sections, when all of a sudden the students all stood up and moved in close to the piano to watch him play. We had several students attend the concert, and they could hardly wait to tell me about it. I can say he probably was the best artist in residence I have had in over 30 years teaching."