About

Click here to Listen to Joseph’s Compositions

Joseph Fong’s compositions for chorus, carillon and flute ensemble have earned multiple accolades in international and North American competitions. He was First Prize winner in the Notre Dame Magnificat Choir Composition Competition in 2020 (with “Lauda Anima Mea Dominum”) and First Prize winner in the Notre Dame Basilica Schola Composition Competition in 2021 (with “Oh, That I Were As In Months Past”). In 2023, he was joint winner in the Call for New Sacred Choral Music by the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Bethesda, MD (with “God of All Creation”). He was also First Prize winner in Houston Choral Society’s 2024 inaugural Choral Composition Competition (with “Dormi, Jesu”), and First Prize winner in Cincinnati Camerata’s Composition Competition in 2025 (with “Little Lamb”). In 2025, he was again First Prize winner in the Notre Dame Magnificat Choir Composition Competition (with “Nuestra Pascua”).

Joseph’s setting of Tennyson’s poem “Dark House” was among three works selected out of over 400 to be premiered by Cambridge Chamber Singers in Boston in 2024. His “O Magnum Mysterium” was selected out of over 800 works from calls for scores and premiered by KC VITAs Chamber Choir in Kansas City in 2023. Vox Antiqua, a leading liturgical choir in Hong Kong, premiered his setting of “The Lord’s Prayer” in Cantonese in 2019.

His choral works have encompassed Latin, English, Spanish and Cantonese lyrics; liturgical, religious and secular texts; piano, organ or no accompaniment; and various choral forces including SATB, SAB, SSA and TTB.

Outside of choral music, Joseph’s composition for carillon won First Prize in the 2023 Franco Composition Contest, an international competition held biennially since 1988 by The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (with “Four Reflections”); this followed his Second Prize award in the 2021 Franco Composition Contest (with “Nine Vignettes for Carillon”). In 2024, he won First Prize in Hoff-Barthelson Music School’s Flute Composition Competition with “Suite Miniature” for six-part flute ensemble. In 2025, he won Second Prize in the International Competition for Carillon Composition in Lier, Belgium with his “Echoes of Old Summer Palace” for solo carillon.

Joseph studied piano with Gabriel Kwok in his native Hong Kong and holds a Licentiate diploma in piano performance from Trinity College London. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University, where he studied music composition with Jonathan Berger, and also earned his graduate degrees from Yale. He resides in New York with his wife and three daughters.

Performances:
Joseph has had the good fortune of having his compositions performed by these distinguished groups and individuals:

  • (Scheduled) April 2026, Notre Dame, OH – Notre Dame Magnificat Choir, Nuestra Pascua
  • December 2025, Cincinnati, OH – Cincinnati Camerata, Little Lamb (premiere)
  • November 2025, Hong Kong – Luff Chorus, Lauda Anima Mea Dominum
  • November 2025, Philadelphia, PA – Penn Flutes, Suite Miniature
  • May 2025, Notre Dame, OH – Notre Dame Magnificat Choir, Nuestra Pascua
  • April 2025, Notre Dame, OH – Notre Dame Magnificat Choir, Nuestra Pascua (premiere)
  • March 2025, Houston, TX – Houston Choral Society, Dormi, Jesu (premiere)
  • June 2024, Scarsdale, NY – Hoff-Barthelson Flute Choirs, Suite Miniature
  • May 2024, Boston and Lexington, MA – Cambridge Chamber Singers, Dark House (premiere)
  • May 2024, White Plains, NY – Hoff-Barthelson Flute Choirs, Suite Miniature (premiere)
  • May 2024, Notre Dame, OH – Notre Dame Magnificat Choir, Lauda Anima Mea Dominum
  • April 2024, Notre Dame, OH – Notre Dame Magnificat Choir, Lauda Anima Mea Dominum (premiere)
  • March 2024, Hong Kong – Luff Chorus, The Lord’s Prayer
  • February 2024, Bethesda, MD – Choir of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, God of All Creation (premiere)
  • November 2023, Kansas City, MO – KC VITAs Chamber Choir, O Magnum Mysterium (premiere)
  • June 2023, Cohasset, MA – Simone Browne, carillonneur, Four Reflections for Carillon (premiere)
  • June 2023, Hong Kong – Vox Antiqua, The Lord’s Prayer
  • May 2022, Notre Dame, OH – Notre Dame Basilica Schola, Oh, That I Were As In Months Past
  • October 2021, Notre Dame, OH – Notre Dame Basilica Schola, Oh, That I Were As In Months Past (premiere)
  • June 2021, San Antonio, TX – Alex Johnson, carillonneur, Nine Vignettes for Carillon (premiere)
  • July 2019, Hong Kong – Vox Antiqua, The Lord’s Prayer (premiere)
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