Education
DMA Michigan State University (Music Performance)
MM Michigan State University (Music Theory)
MM Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (Music Performance)
BM Florida Southern College (Music Performance)
Classes Taught
Aural Training IV
About
Joshua McNiven is new to the Chicago area as a freelance low brass musician
and teacher. In January 2025, he began teaching freshman and sophomore aural training
courses at DePaul University. He holds a doctorate degree in euphonium performance
and a master’s degree in music theory from Michigan State University. His previous
degrees include a master’s in music performance from the Royal Welsh College of
Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales, UK and a bachelor’s in music performance from
Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL.
Passionate about the British brass band tradition, Joshua performed in the Brass
Band National Championship at Royal Albert Hall, London in 2018 during his studies
in the UK. He also performed with the City of Cardiff Brass Band, RWCMD Brass Band,
as solo euphonium with Llwydcoed Brass Band, and recently has performed with the
championship section Chicago Brass Band. He has competed in several international
solo competitions including the Jeju International Brass Competition on Jeju Island,
South Korea and the International Tuba Euphonium Conference in Valencia, Spain.
Joshua’s research focuses on narrative and storytelling in music. His dissertation
“Stories for Saroyan: Elgar Howarth’s Unknown Autobiography” focused on using
musical ekphrasis and topic theory to explain how Howarth’s euphonium concerto
serves loosely as an autobiographical work. Joshua believes in the accessibility of music
theory as an area of discussion and connection between performer and audience and
used his dissertation as an example of music theory research remaining approachable
for a wide audience.
In the classroom, Joshua is passionate about bridging the gap between music
theory and other areas of music. He focuses on students understanding music theory as
a set of tools they can regularly draw from in their careers in music. While this focus has
primarily been on his own interest in performance and education, he enjoys working
with students on new ways to benefit those in the Performing Arts Management and
Sound Recording Technology majors at DePaul University School of Music as well.