Hailed as "extremely moving" by New Music Box and "lovely and communal" by the Austin American Statesman, the music of Joel Love explores an eclectic mix of genres, from short video pieces to works for chamber and large ensembles. It creates colorful landscapes of sound through the use of image, melody, and extended tonality, and seeks to reveal the connection between music and spirituality.

Joel was recently commissioned to compose a new work, Lightscape, for the opening of light artist James Turrell's The Color Inside. Joel is the only two-time winner of the PARMA Recordings Composition Competition, which selected Lux and Synchronicity in Purple Minor for publication. Aurora Borealis was selected as a finalist in the 3rd International Franck Ticheli Composition Contest. Real Fiction received a Compositional Excellence Citation by the New York Youth Symphony in 2010. In 2009, while Joel was pursuing his M.M. in Houston, Joel was one of the first young artists with Da Camera of Houston, who presented him with an Aspiring Artist Award and the commission of Just One Person.

Joel’s works have been performed by a number of large and small ensembles, exhibited at several art galleries, and screened at theatres and festivals throughout the United States. Joel has also had his work set to dance: in 2015, his work, Lightscape, won a composition competition by Frame Dance Productions and was utilized as the foundation for a multi-generational dance that celebrated the company's wide variety of talent and students. Recent performance highlights include a performance of his new percussion trio, In the Gloaming, in Austin, TX by line upon line, and his new saxophone quartet, In memoriam, by the Kenari Quartet at Chamber Music America's National Conference in NY, NY. This year's North American Saxophone Alliance National Conference will feature five performances of Joel's music throughout the 4-day conference, including a brand new work for saxophone octet that will be performed by the Kenari and Barkada Quartets.

His film scores include the documentary film Stitched, official selection at the 2011 Carmel Art and Film Festival, as well as a short film Kidfellas, “Best Musical Score” at Houston’s 2011 48-Hour Film Project. Last year, Joel's score for Socks in the City won honorable mention for Best Musical Score at New York City's 48-Hour Film Project. Other notable collaborations with artists from other disciplines feature a city-wide public art exhibit with artist Karyn Olivier, Inboud: Houston, and a 3-month installation by Prince V. Thomas, On Joy, On Sorrow at the Houston Center for Photography, praised by the Houston Chronicle as ”a beautiful piece that feels cleansing to watch”.  

Joel recently completed a DMA in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin and holds degrees from The University of Houston's Moores School fo Music (M.Music) and Lamar University’s Mary Morgan Department of Music (B.Music). He lives in Houston, TX, where he teaches music full-time at Houston Community College's Southwest location in Stafford, TX.

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