Joshua Sobel has nearly two decades of experience in church music, including nearly five years as a professional organist serving primarily large, downtown churches. He is renowned for his skill in improvisation, especially on hymn tunes, and also for his flexibility in accompaniment, repertoire performance, and collaborations with other musicians.
Joshua currently serves as an organist at Centenary UMC, Tabernaculo Bautista Agua de Vida, and Salemtowne Retirement Community in Winston Salem. He has also played for dozens of weddings, funerals, and memorials, ranging from small family services to high-profile public events.
Joshua began playing piano and singing in the church choir at age 3, and by age 5, was able to repeat almost any melody by ear, and was capable of complex improvisation.
He began his formal piano training at age 6 at the Cary School of Music, where he spent twelve years studying under John Herrmann and others.
Having expressed an early interest in the pipe organ, his organ studies began in 2010, with the arrival of a small chamber organ at his childhood home.
He took private lessons, first with Josh Dumbleton, then the organist at Edenton Street UMC in Raleigh, and then with Dr. Mark Andersen, a former student of Marcel Dupre and E. Power Biggs.
By age 14, he was working occasionally as a professional substitute organist in the Raleigh area.
Joshua, age 3
Praised by The American Organist for his “ease and confidence at the organ,” Joshua has been invited to play at churches across the eastern US, France, Finland, Germany, and England.
He won first prize and the hymn prize in the UNCSA High School Organ Competition in 2020. He currently studies organ with Dr. Timothy Olsen at UNCSA, and performs regularly as a recitalist and chamber musician.
In early 2021, dissatisfied with current trends within the American conservatory scene, Jooshua co-founded the Maurice Duruflé Academy with the blessing of the Duruflé estate as a hub for high quality music instruction, ranging from private lessons to masterclasses.
The Duruflé academy also serves as an advocate for holistic, healthful musicianship, and all affiliated teachers are required to obtain training in injury prevention.
As chief recording engineer for Synesthete Recordings, a division of the Duruflé Academy, Joshua has produced recordings for the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the Piedmont Wind Symphony, UNC School of the Arts, and Oxford University Press, among others.