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The American baritone and choral conductor and organist, Joshua (Jossh) Lee Maize, obtained his B.M.E. degree in Music Education from the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC) (2011); his Master of Music degree in Musicology and Church Musicfrom the University of Kansas (2015); and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the UKMC (2018). He studied with Ryan Board, Raymond Feener, and Elisa Bickers.
At the Conservatory, Joshua Maize maintained a graduate teaching assistantship where he served as the assistant conductor for the Conservatory's flagship choral ensemble, Conservatory Singers, conducted the undergraduate honor choir, Canticum Novum, co-conducted the campus-wide choral ensemble, University Singers, and assisted with various choral department activities. He also enjoyed maintaining the position of Adjunct Instructor in the Music Education/Therapy division where he taught the undergraduate choral arranging course.
While at the University of Kansas, Joshua Maize studied choral conducting under Mariana Farah and musicology under Paul Laird. He served as a graduate teaching assistant in the Musicology division where he assisted with undergraduate music history lectures and administration. He also served as associate conductor for KU Concert Choir and harpsichordist for KU Collegium Musicum.
Joshua Maize's research lies primarily in music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods with a focus on the use of musical rhetoric in early German vocal repertoire. He is the founder and conductor of Schütz Projekt Vocal Artists, a Kansas City-based ensemble dedicated to the performance of works by Heinrich Schütz and his contemporaries. Recent performances include H. Schütz' Matthaus-passion (2015) and Auferstehungshistorie (2016) in collaboration with instrumentalists from the Historical Performance Institute at Indiana University. In addition to his study of the German Baroque, he is continuing research on early French and Franco-Flemish sacred music. In 2010, his research and transcription of the grand motet for female chorus, Psaume 50: Miserere mei deus, by Louis-Nicolas Clérambault won an undergraduate research award and was premiered by KC Collegium Vocale.
As a vocalist, Joshua Maize is recognized as a lyric baritone with a unique and beautiful sound, especially fitting for early music. He currently performs with the Kansas City-based ensemble, Te Deum Antiqua (2015-2018), an ensemble for which he also maintains the position of Artistic Associate. Recent performances include Dietrich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri and Victoria's Requiem of 1583. Prior to Te Deum Antiqua, he sang with Kansas City Collegium Vocale (2008-2012). Under the direction of Ryan Board, Collegium Vocale performed regularly in the Kansas City area and abroad, including as part of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina in 2009 and for the Prague Choral Festival in 2011. Aside from his work with early music, He has performed with a number of chamber choirs including Simon Carrington Chamber Singers (2010), Spire Chamber Ensemble (2009-2011), Norfolk Chamber Choir (2014), and Te Deum Chamber Choir (Director: Matthew Christopher Shepard). He is a recipient of the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Vocal Fellowship from Yale University and studied voice with Raymond Feener.
Joshua Maize began his organ study in 2006 and has already experienced a wide array of performance opportunities. He attended the Summer Organ Academy at McGill University in Montréal, Canada (2007) where he participated in masterclasses with Olivier Latry, the late Marie-Claire Alain, and Ben van Oosten. His appearances as organist include performances for the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists annual Bachathon, the Pipe Organ Encounter's Young Artist Recital, various masterclasses including with Dr. Dana Robinson from the University of Illinois, and organist for UMKC Conservatory choral performances. He has studied organ under John Ditto and Elisa Williams-Bickers.
As a church musician, Joshua Maize currently serves as Director of Music and the Arts for First Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas (since 2018). Prior to his appointment in Texas, he served for three years as Choirmaster for Grace Episcopal Church in Liberty, Missouri (2015-2018). He has maintained several church positions including Interim Choirmaster for Trinity Episcopal Church in Lawrence, Kansas (2014) and Music Assistant for Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka, Kansas (2012-2013). He has also served as the baritone Vocal/Choral Intern at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas (2013-2015) as well as a substitute vocalist and organist for area churches.
Joshua Maize is a member of several professional organizations including the College Music Society, American Musicological Society, Early Music America, American Choral Director's Association, and American Guild of Organists. He maintained a large studio of private piano and voice students, and was an active performer in the Kansas City area. He currently lives in Austin, Texas (since 2018). |
