Joel Greenberg
Guitar Department Head
Having discovered music at a young age and the guitar shortly thereafter, Joel Greenberg has made music a part of his life ever since. Starting out as many guitar players do — playing in rock bands — he soon discovered jazz, blues, finger-style and folk. He has been performing in the Cincinnati area for over a decade.
Joel graduated in 2006 as Jazz Studies major at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). He has studied with many teachers including Ohio jazz guitar greats Jim Smith and Wilbert Longmire. His performances have been as a leader of his own groups and as a sideman for a variety of rock, jazz, blues, and folk performers in various clubs and larger stages. He has also performed with orchestras including the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, several theater groups, and CCM jazz ensembles and combos.
Joel takes his own broad education into consideration when instructing a student, drawing from both his academic studies and instruction by seasoned professionals. For casual players he has methods for learning basic guitar skills to enable students to carry a tune or just have fun with the guitar. Joel encourages advancing students to gain a complete knowledge of the guitar through learning the music they enjoy. As students progress they build a repertoire of songs they can perform, learn the basics of music theory and composition, and obtain the insight of real musicians. Joel also encourages his students to learn how to improvise so they can begin to create their own music or just jam with other players.
Most of all, Joel believes that learning to play music and the guitar can be stimulating. He tries to inspire his students to learn as much as they can.