Joseph Carucci named new director of Dana School of Music

October 18, 2021

YSU’s Dana School of Music has announced that Joseph Carucci was chosen via a national search to become the new director of the school beginning with the 2021-22 school year.

“We are very excited for Joe to join the YSU community and look forward to his leadership of the Dana School of Music,” Cliffe College of Creative Arts dean Phyllis Paul said.

Carucci comes to YSU after serving as the head of Eastern Kentucky University’s School of Music, where he also held a coordinator position in the music industry area. He has also taught at Lincoln Memorial University, the University of Minnesota – Morris, and Transylvania University, as well as having taught classroom and instrumental music in California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and New York.

A saxophonist and composer, Carucci has performed and recorded both nationally and internationally with artists such as The Temptations, Four Tops, Manhattan Transfer, Patti LaBelle, Christian McBride, and Eric Alexander. He performs regularly with groups such as the DiMartino-Osland Jazz Orchestra and Joslyn and the Sweet Compression. Many of his compositions are available through Walrus Publishing and Jazz Lines Publications and have been used on Pioneer Public television for various programs.

Carucci holds a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Kentucky.

Founded 150 years ago, Dana is one of the oldest music schools in the United States. It is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and hosts more than 100 events annually. Alumni have gone on to perform around the world in orchestras, opera companies, prestigious military groups, and other touring ensembles; teach in conservatories, universities, and primary and secondary schools throughout the country; and win numerous prestigious honors, including Grammy Awards and enshrinement in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.