Joel P. Navarro

He was born to a musical family, the first grandchild to Dalmacio and Felipa Pizaña, who were one of the earliest converts to Evangelical Christianity in the Philippines when the Americans came in 1898. He is the eldest of three children to Jose Navarro Navarro Jr. (1928-1980), a former businessman, stage actor, and orator; and Angeles Pizaña (b. 1932), a mezzo-soprano, music educator, and choir conductor. His siblings are Jeriel David (1956-1974), and Arlene Grace (b. 1962), a clinical counselor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Navarro's training as a choral artist began in his grade school years when he sang as a choir boy, first with Prof. Flora Zarco Rivera, who conducted his grade school choir; and then with Dr. Romulo Pizaña, his maternal uncle, who conducted their church choir. He attributes his musical inclinations to the nurture of very musical parents and relatives. As a person of faith, he remembers his childhood days when his relatives would often gather to discuss and debate theological issues at the dinner table. He became interested in theology and the intersection of faith and music as a young boy. He became involved with the Inter-School Christian Fellowship, the high school ministry of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, as the president of his high school chapter. He considers Filipino theologian and pastor emeritus Rev. Dr. Isabelo F. Magalit and Filipino cultural anthropologist Dr. Melba Maggay as his early mentors in his Christian faith. Admitted to the highly-prestigious Philippine Science High School on full scholarship, he was one of the young students groomed to be future scientists in the Philippines. Upon graduation from high school in 1971, he took up B.S. Mathematics at the University of the Philippines. There he became heavily involved with choral singing and became soloist, section leader, and choir board member of the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus, then under the direction of Prof. Reynaldo T. Paguio, a protege of Lloyd Pfautsch of Southern Methodist University, and a former Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Music. Tragedy struck in his family in February 1974 when his younger brother, Jerry, died at the age of 18. To help the family heal from the emotional trauma, his family moved to Bacolod City in southern Philippines. Finding a second home in the friendly airs and artistic endeavors of that city, Joel continued his studies at the University of St. La Salle. There he met Peque Gallaga and joined his theater group, Maskara. Navarro appeared in the lead role as Francisco Pizarro in the Peter Shaffer play "The Royal Hunt of the Sun" which Gallaga directed. The play was entered as the university's entry to the Iloilo Drama Association drama competition. The play won 1st prize in all categories, including Best Actor for Navarro, except for Best Female Actor simply because there were no female speaking lines in the play. Navarro finished a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod in 1976. He had a brief stint in Bacolod working as Research Associate at the Sugar Industry Foundation and as Math instructor at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos. Navarro then returned to Manila in 1977 and entered the graduate program in Mathematics at the Ateneo de Manila University as a scholar of the Fund Assistance to Private Education. He became involved with the Ateneo College Glee Club, then conducted by the great Filipino tenor, Noel Velasco. He was then invited to become Velasco's successor when Velasco left for Boston in 1979 to pursue a voice scholarship. While conducting the Glee Club, Navarro pursued a B.M. in Choral Conducting at nearby University of the Philippines College of Music in 1979. There he studied under Reynaldo Paguio and Francisco Feliciano, and earning his Bachelor of Music (1985) and Master of Music (1993) degrees in Choral Conducting. Paguio was his college conductor at the University of the Philippine Concert Chorus. Feliciano was his composition and theory professor, and later became his administrator when Navarro joined the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music from 1989 to 1995. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting at Michigan State University in 2005, studying with Drs. Charles H. Smith, Jonathan Reed, and David Rayl. His doctoral dissertation was "A Style Study of Selected Choral Works of Ramon Pagayon Santos." Prior to his move to the U.S., he took intensive conducting classes under renowned German pedagogue Martin Behrmann. Navarro moved to the United States of America in 2001 to do his doctoral studies in music conducting at Michigan State University. He was subsequently hired by Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2002. He became tenured in 2007, and was promoted to full professor in September 2012. Concurrent with his teaching post at the college, he served part-time as Music Minister at Hope Reformed Church, Grand Rapids from 2002 to 2008. He served part-time as Music Minister of the Basic English Service at Church of the Servant Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan from 2012 to 2014. He moved to Singapore in June 2014 to teach and administer the graduate choral conducting program in church music at Singapore Bible College. He retired from full-time teaching at S.B.C. last November 30, 2020 and moved back to Manila, Philippines where he will teach online courses as an adjunct lecturer. ==Personal life==