Born in 1982, Joel began his serious study of Double Bass at the age of 13 with local freelance musician Tim Breon in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was during high school years where he developed a sound foundation of orchestral playing due to his participation in many Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) music festivals, and going to the summer programs at the Performing Arts Institute at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania.

Joel holds a Bachelor’s degree in music performance from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York (2005) studying under Prof. James B. VanDemark. It was at Eastman where Joel first began to perform new music and received exposure to many contemporary composers. He is currently working on his Master’s degree at the University of Maryland, College Park under the guidance of Curtis Burris and Ali Yazdanfar of The National Symphony Orchestra.

Joel is currently living in College Park, Maryland.