.png)
_edited.jpg)
About Joshua Berrett
​
Fact: I am an immigrant. I landed in the United States from my birthplace, Cape Town South Africa, a few months after I graduated from the University of Cape Town.
​
Fact: I started playing violin when I was about 8. I found my first teacher on my own. I still play violin in an intergenerational orchestra of accomplished amateurs and professionals.
​
Fact: In high school, I was on a national radio show in SA. I was a demon speller and fact-checker.
​
Fact: I have graduate degrees in Musicology: an MA from Columbia University and a PhD from the University of Michigan.
​
Fact: I began teaching music history and music appreciation classes asynchronously online in the early
1990s. I still teach The Sociology of Music online as Professor Emeritus of Music at Mercy College.
​
Fact: After I retired from teaching college, I began teaching for Lifetime Learners in Norwalk CT. COVID
moved the in-person classes online to Zoom. I like to use videos for a full-sense experience of music. My topics range from theme songs to Rodgers and Hammerstein to Duke Ellington.
​
Fact: I have published a number of articles and books on classical and jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong and J.J. Johnson. I am honored to be cited in many other major publications.
​
Fact: Since 2007 I have been presenting workshops to demonstrate how listening to music mindfully contributes to greater wellbeing. I enjoy developing music programs for the Ageless Mind Project. In our Creative Sparks school, my courses can be found under the title, “Music Is Brain Food.”
​
Fact: I love teaching about music. I enjoy helping listeners become aware of the craft that creates music we continue to enjoy long after it was written. There is a reason why some music lasts beyond its time.
If you would like to be kept informed about all the things we’re offering you, click on and fill out the sign-up form below to.This will add you to our master mailing list.
Please consider supporting our mission, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, to make science-based innovative activities that promote healthful aging available to as many people as possible through our online programs.