Portal
Home
Calendar
Gallery
FAQ
Search
Register
Log inPITTSTON: Noted composer passes
Page 1 of 1•
PITTSTON: Noted composer passes
by Outspoken on Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:12 am
PITTSTON: Noted composer passes
BY MECHELE COOPER
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal
PITTSTON -- The loss of his friend and fellow composer caused Josh Newton great sadness.
Newton was a student of Joseph Packales, 60, of Pittston, who died Tuesday.
Packales, a retired University of Southern Maine music professor, was a composer whose work was performed internationally. He gave private courses on music composition and theory analysis, as well as directed and accompanied church choirs for 30 years.
Last year, his original symphony, "Tour/Retour," was performed by the 85-member Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra in Istanbul, Turkey. The piece was written in 1995 and is a tango.
"He was a man renowned throughout the country as a composer and traveled the world having his music played," Newton said. "He got to experience a lot and got to do the things a lot of us composers wished that we could do."
Packales had been recently hired as the new accompanist for the Kennebec Performing Arts Company.
Mary Northup, president of the company, said members were deeply sadden by the passing of Packales. During the brief time he was a part of the organization, she said, he was a "ray of sunshine."
He was hired along with Josh Wheeler, of Winthrop, who came on board as the company's choral director.
"Joe was an accomplished musician and composer who we were very fortunate to work with," Northup said. "On the evening that Josh and Joe first auditioned for KPAC, it was as if they'd been playing together for years. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. He will be greatly missed by all."
Packales has been composing music since he was 12 years old. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. in 1969 and taught music at Skidmore College and Cleveland State University before moving to El Paso, Texas, in 1984, to teach at the University of Texas. He and his wife, Barbara, moved to Maine in 1999.
He was also an organist for Highland Avenue Methodist Church in Gardiner.
Barbara Packales, a Gardiner school system elementary music teacher, said her husband was a gifted teacher, and one of the most creative people she has ever known. She said he was also religious and very spiritual. Unfortunately, her husband had been sick for a number of years.
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/5467523.html
Staff photo by Andy Molloy
BY MECHELE COOPER
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal
PITTSTON -- The loss of his friend and fellow composer caused Josh Newton great sadness.
Newton was a student of Joseph Packales, 60, of Pittston, who died Tuesday.
Packales, a retired University of Southern Maine music professor, was a composer whose work was performed internationally. He gave private courses on music composition and theory analysis, as well as directed and accompanied church choirs for 30 years.
Last year, his original symphony, "Tour/Retour," was performed by the 85-member Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra in Istanbul, Turkey. The piece was written in 1995 and is a tango.
"He was a man renowned throughout the country as a composer and traveled the world having his music played," Newton said. "He got to experience a lot and got to do the things a lot of us composers wished that we could do."
Packales had been recently hired as the new accompanist for the Kennebec Performing Arts Company.
Mary Northup, president of the company, said members were deeply sadden by the passing of Packales. During the brief time he was a part of the organization, she said, he was a "ray of sunshine."
He was hired along with Josh Wheeler, of Winthrop, who came on board as the company's choral director.
"Joe was an accomplished musician and composer who we were very fortunate to work with," Northup said. "On the evening that Josh and Joe first auditioned for KPAC, it was as if they'd been playing together for years. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. He will be greatly missed by all."
Packales has been composing music since he was 12 years old. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. in 1969 and taught music at Skidmore College and Cleveland State University before moving to El Paso, Texas, in 1984, to teach at the University of Texas. He and his wife, Barbara, moved to Maine in 1999.
He was also an organist for Highland Avenue Methodist Church in Gardiner.
Barbara Packales, a Gardiner school system elementary music teacher, said her husband was a gifted teacher, and one of the most creative people she has ever known. She said he was also religious and very spiritual. Unfortunately, her husband had been sick for a number of years.
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/5467523.html
Staff photo by Andy Molloy
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
