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About Joshua Berrett

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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.

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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.

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Fact: In high school, I was on a national radio show in SA. I was a demon speller and fact-checker.

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Fact: I have graduate degrees in Musicology: an MA from Columbia University and a PhD from the University of Michigan.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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