Joseph Alvarez
Tuba & Euphonium, Assistant Instructor
Email: jalvare3@usf.edu
Phone: (813) 974-2311
Office: MUS 342
Joseph Alvarez is a dedicated educator and accomplished tubist serving as a faculty member at the University of South Florida since 2017. He teaches applied tuba and euphonium and directs the Tuba Euphonium Ensemble.
A sought-after orchestral musician, Alvarez holds principal tuba positions with the Venice Symphony, South Florida Symphony, and Lakeland Symphony, and is a recent addition to the prestigious Disney Candlelight Orchestra. As a member of the South Florida Symphony, he is deeply committed to community engagement and actively participates in the Symphony in the Schools program, which brings arts-based education to young people in South Florida. His extensive orchestral experience includes regular performances with the Florida Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, and Orlando Philharmonic.
Passionate about expanding the tuba and euphonium repertoire, Alvarez actively commissions and premieres new works. Notable recent premieres include Tyler Kline's Loam and Matthew Kennedy's In Pursuit of Ghosts, both tuba concerti performed with the McCormick Percussion Group, as well as Kennedy's High Anxieties for contrabass tuba and piano. Additionally, Alvarez was one of the first who premiered Katahj Copley’s Limitless for euphonium, tuba, and piano, as part of his involvement in the Tuba and Euphonium Social Justice Initiative consortium.
Alvarez holds degrees from the University of South Florida and Northwestern University, and an Artist Diploma from the OAcademy Orchestral Institute. His primary teachers include Jay Hunsberger, Rex Martin, Mark Moore, and Martin Schippers. He further honed his craft as a tuba fellow at the Music Academy of the West and the National Repertory Orchestra.
Prior to joining the USF faculty, Alvarez held the principal tuba position with the Sinfonia Da Camera and performed with ensembles such as the Illinois Symphony and Chicago-based new music collective Dal Niente. He was also a regular substitute with the New World Symphony. His distinguished career has led him to perform under the batons of renowned conductors including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yan Pascal Tortelier, and Leonard Slatkin.
Alvarez is committed to diversity and inclusion in classical music. His involvement with Sphinx, a non-profit dedicated to Black and Latinx musicians, has resulted in grants, audition intensives, and workshops. In 2021, he was awarded the Most Outstanding Instrumentalist - Tuba Division distinction at the Sphinx Orchestral Partners Auditions (SOPA) Excerpt Competition.
In 2018, Alvarez shared his expertise as a performing artist and adjudicator at the Southeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference (SERTEC).