Teaching Overview
Sound Files at Bottom of Page
Joel Kabakov is currently teaching Music Cultures of the World (MUS 108) and " The Eclectic Guitarist " at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles, Oregon. He enjoys teaching this class because it lets him explore different cultures based on his starting point of classical music and flamenco stylings.
He has an extensive background in music as composer, performer, director, conductor and professor with a Bachelor's degree in music from the University of California Berkeley, a Master's degree in music composition from California State University Northridge, and a Ph.D. and Graduate Prize Fellow from Harvard University in music composition.
His teaching experience includes teaching counterpoint, music history and chamber music at Harvard, serving as Head of the Composition Dept. at the Boston Conservatory of Music, Theatre and Dance, seven years as director of advanced curricula for the educational division of Yamaha International. He was Professor of Composition at Whitworth College in Spokane, WA. He was a founder of the Espana Institute and served on the faculty that included Jose Greco, Nana Lorca, Manolo Vargas and Antonia Rojas. Under the auspices of Young Audiences of America he toured for seven years lecturing and performing the music of Spain with dancer/choreographer Antonia Rojas and company.
Joel's teaching passion is "to awaken the composer in the performer and to awaken the performer in the listener."
Sound Files
These are original compositions by Joel Kabakov. Joel teaches composition for any combination of instruments, from
solo piano to a full orchestra. This includes development of themes, orchestration, and classical forms (Sonata, Fugue, etc).