ABOUT.
BIOGRAPHY
New York City-based performer and teacher, Joe Tollefsen has won top prizes in ten national and international competitions, and performed in such venues as the Lincoln Center, Woolsey Hall, and Mahidol University.
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Joe's performance experience extends to chamber music, in which role he has played for the Music in Midtown series, the Yale School of Music Lunchtime series, the Peabody Institute Friday Noon:30 series, and at the 92Y. In 2024, he concluded a tour of Southeast Asia with the Yale guitar studio that included solo and chamber performances at the Mahidol Guitar Festival and the Saigon Guitar Festival. He also served as a judge in competitions for both events.​
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As a passionate educator, Joe currently teaches music theory as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College. He taught secondary guitar lessons at Yale University, taught guitar and theory for the Music and Schools Initiative in New Haven, and maintains a private studio.
​​Joe has a Master's degree in Guitar Performance from the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Benjamin Verdery, and a Bachelor's from Peabody, where he studied with Julian Gray. He also has a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins in creative writing, and is currently a doctoral fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center, studying with João Luiz Rezende. He has previously studied with Frederic Hand and Marina Alexandra. He resides at present in New York City.