Joe Balistreri
Recognized for “especially moving” interpretation (The American Organist) and “impressive technique and bristling enthusiasm” (The Diapason), Joe Balistreri’s organ performances include conventions, university conferences, and orchestral collaborations. He was named a member of of The Diapason’s inaugural “20 under 30” class. Balistreri has taught organ, chant accompaniment, and music theory at the University of Michigan and the University of Notre Dame.
Joe Balistreri has enjoyed a varied and rich career in sacred music, serving Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, and Jewish congregations. For a decade, Balistreri was Coordinator of Music Ministries for the Archdiocese of Detroit, serving as a resource and community facilitator for parish musicians and clergy. He also was Director of Music at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, where he was principal organist, directed the choirs, and lead the Cathedral Cultural Series. He facilitated the Sistine Chapel Choir’s 2017 visit to Detroit and launched the Cathedral Choir Academy and the Schola Cantorum Detroitensis.
Balistreri recently earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts from Sacred Music Notre Dame with a concentration in organ, studying with Dr. Kola Owolabi. His dissertation Gregorian Chant at the Keyboard is the first major English language comparative analysis of late-19th- and early-20th-century Gregorian chant accompaniment treatises from France and Belgium. Balistreri also holds degrees from the University of Michigan under the mentorship of Dr. James Kibbie. He was recently appointed Director of Diocesan and Cathedral Sacred Music at Rosary Cathedral, Toledo. Joe is the founding executive director of the St. Matthew Music Institute, a nonprofit promoting advanced scholarship in sacred music praxis and musical outreach in Detroit and beyond.
Concert & Liturgical Programs
- L’Orgue Mystique in Context: Tournemire’s Music Among Other Chant-Based Treasures
- First and Last: Pierre DuMage’s Première Livre d’Orgue and Louis Vierne’s Sixth Symphony
- Missa sicca: The Catholic Mass sung by the Organ
- Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr: Cross-cultural Doxological Music
- Organ Vespers: A Participatory Chanted Liturgy with Organ Commentary
Presentations
- Plainchant Accompaniment Today: Historic Techniques and Philosophies to Inform Current Practice
- The Symbiosis Between Plainchant Accompaniment and Organ Literature in mid-19th- to mid-20th-century France and Belgium
- Divine Office Primer: How to Prepare Music for the Modern Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours
- Liturgical Documents and Ministerial Praxis
Masterclasses
- Chant Accompaniment Techniques
- Organ Improvisation
- French Baroque Performance Practice
- Creative Hymn Playing
- Organ Repertoire
Composition Commissions
- Psalm and antiphon settings for congregation, solo voice, or choir
- Hymn arrangements and reharmonizations
- Organ solo
- Choral solo
- Organ and other instruments
Contact Information
313.310.3957
