School of Music

Phone: (626) 815-6000, Ext. 3590
Email: jclifft@apu.edu

Joel Clifft earned his Masters and Doctoral degree’s from the University of Southern California while studying with Dr. Alan Smith and Bernadene Blaha. He graduated Pi Kappa Lambda and was chosen as the “Most Outstanding Graduate” at both the Masters and Doctoral levels. Dr. Clifft attended USC on a full scholarship and in addition, was a recipient of the Gwendolyn Koldofsky scholarship. As an active collaborative pianist, he has performed in concert with such world-class musicians as clarinetist, Ken Grant and violinist, Midori. He also has performed with such organizations as the Foothill Philharmonic Society, the Debut Orchestra, the Brand Library Concert Series, the Lake Avenue Chamber Orchestra and the Idyllwild Faculty Concert. Dr. Clifft has also been engaged for many master classes, including those given by the Jascha Heifitz society, Alice and Eleanor Schoenfeld, Martin Katz, and Midori.

Dr. Clifft is the director of keyboard studies at Azusa Pacific University, where he teaches chamber music, private piano, music theory and ear training courses. In addition, he has performed with several contemporary groups, touring through Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Korea. Dr. Clifft is also an adjunct faculty member at USC where he teaches collaborative piano.

D.M.A. - Keyboard Collaborative Arts, University of Southern California, 2007
M.M. - Keyboard Collaborative Arts, University of Southern California, 2002
B.M. with honors - Piano Performance, Music Theory/Composition, Music Education, Azusa Pacific University

Outstanding Graduate, Class of 2002, Keyboard Collaborative Arts program, USC
Gwendolyn Koldofsky Scholarship recipient